Recent studies have shown that the greatest growth in cloud usage is currently coming from enterprises. Enterprises are using the cloud for a variety of applications including highly scalable company websites, social applications, grid computing for scientific research, employee collaboration, and a number of other web-based services.
In the enterprise, cloud hosting can take various forms including:
- Software as a Service (SaaS) – This area is seeing the highest level of adoption, especially in the fields of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resource Management System (HRMS), etc.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – IaaS is finding a moderate level of adoption in development and preproduction environments.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) – This area has high potential, but still remains at a relatively low level of adoption due to barriers such as limits on expansion and difficult integration.
There are many reasons for an enterprise to shift to IT solutions that include cloud hosting. First of all, both capital and operating costs can be drastically reduced by utilizing resources solely when you need them and paying only for what you use. In addition, with a managed hosting solution, the burden associated with managing various IT resources across the enterprise is given to the cloud hosting provider so that IT personnel can focus on delivering value to the company. Finally, cloud hosting provides for business dexterity, since the entire IT infrastructure can be scaled up or down to meet demand. Companies can quickly and easily respond to the needs of the rapidly changing markets to ensure they are always providing value to their customers.
Just like any other project within the enterprise, basic principles of project management such as estimation accuracy, project planning, requirements management, and quality management are all important for cloud projects. Adopting cloud hosting should be well thought out as part of an enterprise-wide strategy, so that each stakeholder understands the benefits of cloud and where it fits into the overall IT goals of the enterprise.
Atlantic.Net is a leading cloud hosting provider located in Orlando, Florida. We offer cloud hosting solutions that give you flexibility and control, backed by almost twenty years of experience in connectivity, advanced computing, hosting, and web technologies. Our data center in Orlando provides an enterprise-level hosting environment with competitive pricing. Call 1-800-422-2936 to get a free quote and consultation with our professional staff.
