Cloud Computing - A Guide for Businesses

Cloud Computing: A Guide for Businesses

In recent years, cloud computing has become an important part of the IT landscape. Companies of all sizes and industries are taking advantage of this technology to reduce costs and improve their business operations. But what exactly is cloud computing and how can it help your business? In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about cloud computing.

What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a method of providing IT resources on demand over the internet. Instead of operating their own physical servers and data centers, companies can access the IT infrastructure of cloud providers. They only pay for the resources actually used, saving significant costs. All software products developed by innFactory have a cloud computing connection, whether because the web app is hosted in the cloud or because the backend or data processing is handled by one of the three major cloud providers.

What Benefits Does Cloud Computing Offer?

Agility: With cloud computing, companies can quickly access a variety of technologies. They can quickly test and implement new ideas to improve their business operations and differentiate themselves from the competition.

Elasticity: Cloud computing enables companies to scale the amount of resources as needed. This allows them to quickly respond to changes in the business environment and optimize their IT costs.

Cost Savings: By using cloud computing, companies save significant costs since they don’t have to operate their own servers and data centers. Instead, they only pay for the resources actually used.

Global Deployment: Cloud computing enables companies to deploy applications worldwide in just minutes. By reducing the distance between applications and end users, latency is reduced and the customer experience is improved.

Types of Cloud Computing

Although new types such as Container as a Service (usually an abstraction of Kubernetes) or Serverless as a Service have become established in the vocabulary of cloud engineers in recent years, there are basically three main types of cloud computing. Both of the above can be categorized under PaaS:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

IaaS includes the basic building blocks for cloud IT. Companies can access network functions, computers, and data storage and have maximum flexibility and management control over their IT resources.

Platform as a Service (PaaS):

With PaaS, companies can deploy and manage applications without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. This saves them time and money.

Software as a Service (SaaS):

SaaS provides companies with complete applications that are run and managed by a service provider. Companies can focus on using the software without having to worry about maintaining the infrastructure.

AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud

When considering cloud computing for your business, there are three main providers you should consider: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Each provider has its strengths and weaknesses, but all offer a wide range of cloud services, from storage and databases to artificial intelligence and machine learning. AWS is the industry-leading provider, offering a wide range of services and resources. At innFactory, we frequently use AWS for IoT services, such as Direst and the fully connected campsite, or for serverless applications, like those we developed for Hypoport or Europace. Azure is ideal for companies already operating in the Microsoft world, as it integrates seamlessly with existing Microsoft systems. For example, at innFactory, we also offered our Cotema vaccination software for Microsoft in Azure, while the rest of the customers had their environment in Google Cloud. This brings us to Google Cloud, which is an excellent choice for companies focusing on data analytics and artificial intelligence. Furthermore, Google’s managed Kubernetes service offers the largest feature set and is an ideal foundation for container-based environments and microservices. An example of an IoT cloud platform in Google Cloud is Siteco iQ.

With our cloud engineers, we offer comprehensive support and expertise to ensure that your company benefits from the advantages of the cloud.