Nowadays, Cloud computing (The delivery of computing services such as email, file sharing, applications, databases, etc., from a remote location such as data centers) has become mainstream. Our dependence on it is increasing by leaps and bounds. This is because our shared resources, software, and information are provided to our devices and computers on-demand from anywhere the internet is available.
Although the cloud brings many valuable features and benefits and makes our lives and work much easier; we should not forget that the cloud is not trouble-free. There are significant issues associated with using the cloud, and it pays off to be knowledgeable about them. The term “Cloud Computing” covers many services and formats. Most of them are technical terms and abbreviations such as SAS, software as a service, etc.
The cloud computing issues
Suppose you use free email services such as Google or Yahoo mail, that is, Cloud computing. Also, using a paid service such as Amazon Web Services for data storage or Microsoft Office 365 for email, QuickBooks Online for accounting, or a hybrid system connecting your private cloud with your on-premise servers. The Cloud computing issues discussed below could be more generalized than specific, but none the less the issues remain the same:
1. Privacy
The host company can access user data with or without authorization. At any time, the service provider has access to the data stored in the cloud. They could change or even erase data by accident or on purpose. Although this is a grey area, most prominent internet companies such as Google, Yahoo and Apple deny accessing your data. Still, they and others have that capability and may share your data or information. There are many fine lines in their security and privacy policies that no one reads. But it permits them to do whatever they want with your data.
2. Governance
Many restrictions exist in places that deal with data and hosting. These regulations and compliances (Federal Information Security Management, HIPAA, and others ) must be followed. It can be expensive to protect your data and comply with various compliance rules.
3. Security
It is a great myth that businesses think that their data/information is safe in the cloud. Commonly, Cloud base services use third-party vendors for storage and other services, and anything that happens to them can affect your data. Even Microsoft has a disclaimer that they do not back up your data, or any data over 30 days old cannot be retrieved. The question is, is it reasonable to expect a Cloud-based corporation to protect and secure one’s data if one uses their services for a low or no cost? As we know, they can share user information with others. Therefore, the cloud is vulnerable to security threats. It is essential to look at the provider’s backup policy and back up your data on different media. Ask the Cloud service provider about options for securely backing up your data and archiving features or modules and the appropriate costs.
4. Pay-per-use service fees
Cloud computing services are on-demand services that allow users to expand or compress the volume of a resource depending on their needs. As a result, you are charged based on how much you use the service. It’s tough to establish a pre-determined fee for a specific number of services. Such pricing fluctuations make cloud computing costly. But one should do a cost-benefit analysis to make a proper decision to utilize the cloud. Although you can quickly scale up and down, it requires supervision and management to rein in the costs.
5. Higher Cost
If you want to use cloud services without interruption, you’ll need a robust network with more bandwidth than regular internet networks, and there is a cost to maintain this kind of infrastructure. If your company is vast and diverse, a standard Cloud service subscription won’t be enough. Otherwise, using a standard Cloud service while working on complicated projects and applications may be inconvenient.
6. Cloud Migration
Cloud migration can be difficult, expensive, and challenging to integrate on-premises apps and databases with the cloud. Significantly, the integration of legacy systems is the main issue in a multi-cloud environment. However, there are calculators and other tools available to provide accurate estimates. If you work with a knowledgeable and experienced IT company, they can offer you an accurate and precise roadmap that includes phases, steps, and costs. In addition, you may need to ask your vendor if their applications are compatible in the Cloud environment.
The significance of cloud computing
With the popularity of work from home and work from anywhere, you can see that cloud computing has been one of the significant information technology innovations. Businesses are using them to enhance productivity and lowering business costs.
Cloud is here to stay, and its acceptance by businesses of all sizes is the reason for its rapid growth. Although cloud computing challenges are there, if well-managed, these issues can be resolved quickly and inexpensively. Third-party companies have solutions for these issues (for example, backup and archiving for email), and more solutions to address cloud-related problems are entering the market. And if you are not using the cloud, you are missing the benefits that your business brings.
