Separating the myths from the facts of cloud computing is a good place to start when you are trying to figure out the best solution for your business. Let’s take a look at five popular cloud computing myths and the realities behind them so that you can make intelligent and informed decisions about the cloud.
Myth #1 – My Data Won’t Be Secure in the Cloud
Any public or private Cloud Hosting solution will ultimately be as secure as it is engineered to be. So, ask your cloud provider what steps they have taken to ensure your data’s security. Reputable cloud providers understand that any serious security breaches will receive publicity and ultimately damage their reputation. This is why public cloud provider security is often better than that of even most large enterprise data centers.
Myth #2 – I Won’t Have Full Ownership of My Cloud-Based Data
You can have full data ownership if you choose your cloud provider carefully and pay attention to contract terms. Negotiate contracts that give you full ownership of your data, including your right to choose where the data is stored, if necessary.
Myth #3 – The Cloud is Always Less Expensive
Whether or not the cloud is more costly than other options depends on several factors: the other hosting solutions you are contemplating trying, network and bandwidth requirements, hardware needs, and the cloud service and application being considered. When comparing the cost of a cloud deployment, make sure you consider the costs of power, cooling, staffing, and data center real estate for deploying the same application in-house or in traditional hosting.
Myth #4 – Cloud Computing is For Small Businesses, Not Enterprises
Studies have shown that the biggest growth in cloud usage is currently coming from enterprises because the benefits are often greatest for enterprise-sized businesses. Larger companies are using the cloud for a variety of applications ranging from highly customized websites to social applications and employee collaboration.
Myth #5 – Cloud is Not Reliable
Top-quality cloud providers have backups in place to prepare for downtime and improve overall reliability. Well-planned backups and redundancies help reduce the effect caused by potential outages. Also, there is little to zero downtime with a proper fail-over installed. Atlantic.Net offers industry-leading service levels backed by a 100% up-time guarantee for our cloud servers.
At Atlantic.Net, our cloud servers are supported by our industrial-grade, scalable, secure, and robust cloud hosting platform. Whatever your hosting needs, we have the infrastructure, service, and expertise to serve you. Our machines can support multiple database-driven sites, streaming media, complex e-commerce sites, and more! Call 1-800-521-5881 to learn more!
Does Implementing the Cloud Mean There’s No Role Left for IT? (Blog #9)
There is no question that two types of staffing shifts will occur because of the cloud: individuals working in IT today will need to learn new skills to remain effective in the industry, and certain jobs will shift from the company to the cloud service provider. Additionally, many new IT jobs will be created due to the cloud, including cloud developers, integration specialists, etc.
Most organizations will need help from IT to choose, migrate, configure, integrate, and monitor cloud services properly. The cloud, in turn, can help make IT much more responsive in delivering the applications and data required by the company.
Also, cloud-based systems do not manage themselves. In a cloud hosting environment, the company will need personnel who understand your company’s software applications and how they relate to the business. Additionally, because security issues become more important when a cloud provider manages data and/or infrastructure rather than internally, IT departments will need individuals who understand the company’s security issues at a deep level.
You may find that fewer people are needed to manage your servers with the cloud, but you will still need project managers, network administrators, and business analysts. With fewer IT resources required for the core tasks, the IT department will have more time to spend on the strategic aspect of its role: delivering business value to the company.
Atlantic.Net provides a full line of cloud hosting solutions that give you flexibility and control, backed by almost two decades of experience in connectivity, advanced computing, hosting, and web technologies. Give your IT department the availability, security, and scalability they demand from their infrastructure by choosing Atlantic.Net’s flexible and affordable VPS hosting. Atlantic.Net even supports HIPAA compliant hosting. Call 1-800-521-5881 today to get started with a free trial!
