When the Cloud was first introduced, there were many skeptics. Even now, there are still naysayers and people who reject the idea of placing sensitive or even any information at all on the internet, a practice that is becoming increasingly common. Whether you run an agency dealing in SEO Sydney or a food and beverage establishment, the cloud can be extremely useful in helping you organize your data, business processes, and optimize your day to day operations.
Are the fears of the Cloud unfounded?
That’s not to say that there aren’t any vulnerabilities when it comes to the Cloud, but there are certain steps you can take to mitigate risk, which many enterprises don’t view as necessary and hence opens up opportunities for misfortune.
There are also going to be instances where the servers fail. AWS, Amazon’s leading cloud service provider, suffered a high-profile outage in November 2020, followed by Google’s server failure in the month after. These examples show us that the public Cloud is not infallible.
According to one CEO of a tech company based in New York, “Corporations that rely solely on public cloud to function and run are putting their businesses at risk for loss of revenue, security vulnerabilities and unexpected losses in productivity. Public cloud is not invincible.”
There is the possibility of things going sideways, regardless of how well you manage your data because accidents can happen. The best thing is to keep a hardcopy or a softcopy in a secure location such as your own database or even on a separate cloud, depending on how important the information is.
Aside from that, Cloud storage can get rather pricey, especially for public Cloud services such as what Google Cloud provides. However, the price of securing your data and making sure that everything runs smoothly with a smaller risk of downtime may be worth the price, depending on the nature of your business.
How Google Cloud differs from other providers
Since Cloud has become such a fixture in our community, it isn’t surprising to find that there are various providers all across the board. Google Cloud stands out by comparison because Google is well known, which makes it highly accessible. Furthermore, as long as you’re using one of their services, you’re already making use of Google Cloud. Each Gmail account is tied to a Google Drive, which is essentially Google Cloud.
According to the company themselves, Google has had 15 years of experience navigating the virtual world which puts them on top of others. Having been in operations for more than a decade, from the rise of the consumer-led internet era to now, gives them the advantage of understanding how it works, giving them the ability to offer the most efficient solutions. The company has shown great innovation and has adapted machine learning and specialized algorithms since the early years and are able to use the same tools to help analyze your big data which is where technology has been headed in.
What type of companies can benefit from the Cloud and how
The solutions that Cloud computing offers can be applied to a number of sectors, from startups to large enterprises. Here are a few examples of the industries that can benefit the most from Google Cloud.
The Retail Industry
From books to cars, retail relies heavily on data. Being able to search through a global or state-wide database can offer your customers the most updated information. It would be unfortunate if you lose out on sales or the customer goes to a competitor nearby to purchase something that they had originally wanted from your store simply because they don’t want the added hassle of having to check another one of your outlets.
The Institution of Education
Any information-sharing industry can benefit from Cloud by providing information on an easily accessible platform. The education sector has been integrating Cloud into their classrooms by providing necessary information through Google Drive, and disseminating information and assignments with a click of the button. Teachers can also track the student’s progress through the tracking functions across Google’s systems.
Business and Finance
Handling sensitive information when it comes to the financial industry can be a bit of a challenge. With Cloud-based technology, you will be able to encrypt information and heightened security – but only if you pay for it. Don’t imagine that your information is secure just because it’s on the cloud. As mentioned above, there are also vulnerabilities. From billing to transactions and interactions between business-owners, financial institutions, and clients, the Cloud can offer a more seamless experience.
World of the Law
Almost no other industry requires the kind of storage capacity that the legal industry does. Not only does data need to be stored for extended periods of time, it has to be both secure and accessible. Without the power of the Cloud, it is a tedious and almost impossible undertaking. However, with the implementation of Cloud-technology all over the world, we can expect that crimes and unsolved cases are closed much more efficiently because no information will be hidden from justice seekers.
