The Cloud: A Beginner Guide
Cloud. Cloud migration. Hybrid cloud. Cloud security. The discussion is all around us. Filling our social media feeds. In the news articles to which we subscribe. And there’s an expectation that you’re on board and in full agreement that cloud is the way to go. But, what if you’re not quite on board? What if you have questions about what cloud means and can do for your company? It’s easy to ignore our lack of understanding, because we don’t want to be the one asking the questions when we think everyone else already has the answers.
It’s pretty much a sure thing you’ve heard about THE cloud and its importance. But maybe you’re not sure why this is the next biggest and bestest. And you’re not alone. Often the big buzz in IT and business is just that, a buzz, with little breakdown of the ins and outs, the pros and cons, and the actual value for businesses big, small, and somewhere in-between.
What Is Cloud, Exactly?
The simple answer? It’s a a bunch of servers accessed by the Internet. It’s the software and databases that do their daily routine on those servers. These servers are in data centers all over the planet. Using these cloud servers means not having to maintain your own on-premise servers and data centers. The fact that you’re not running systems and storing data on your own physical servers provides a multitude of benefits (we’ll discuss these in a future read).
How Do We All Work With These Remote Servers & Data?
It’s all about virtualization. And, no, you don’t need a virtual reality headset and gauntlets, or anything else besides the devices you already work with!
Instead of running software and accessing files on your physical computer, your desktop of laptop, you run that software and access that data from a “virtual” machine. The experience is exactly the same, only the access point is different.
What If The Cloud Server Goes Down?
Great question. It’s not as catastrophic as you might imagine. Certainly less so than dousing your laptop, on which you store ALL of your important documents, and NOWHERE else, with your morning cup of coffee.
Most cloud providers provide seamless access and uptime because they backup their services across several of these virtual machines, often across multiple areas (locations).
What About All The “As A Services”?
This can certainly get confusing, and we plan to create an article series on the nuts and bolts differences between these service systems. But, in nutshell:
Saas (Software As A Service) allows you to use software with a specific purpose. Think email marketing with MailChimp or SendInBlue. Or using a messaging service like Slack. Or photo editing and design like Photoshop as part of Adobe Creative Cloud.
Paas (Platform As A Service) requires a level of development skills to use optimally. Instead of the software delivering a specific capability or service, like the creation and send of emails, PaaS options allow the user to build their own applications. Examples include Microsoft Azure and the Google App Engine.
We’ll dive into IaaS (Infrastructure As A Service) and FaaS (Function As A Service) in future articles.
What About Public, Private, Hybrid? What Do Those Mean?
Once again, we’ll dig deeper into the many different ways you can migrate to the cloud, but for the purposes of this beginner guide, the following should help.
On public cloud the servers (the virtual computers) and the data centers are owned by a third party and those servers and data centers are shared amongst all those paying for their services.
Private cloud systems house those servers and data centers in house, on business premises. It’s often referred to as a designated private network.
Finally, hybrid cloud allows for a mixture of publicly and privately accessed servers and/or data centers. These kinds of systems can offer flexibility and creativity for companies who require both to operate optimally.
There You Have It, A Beginner Guide To Cloud Data Management
Of course, this is a very simplified look at a very complex business service and storage solution.
We offer this to those companies looking to onboard their employees and get their backing as digital transformation and document management initiatives move forward. It’s best not to assume that everyone understands and dive too deeply into technology terminology that might leave employees feeling confused or not important to you future plans.
Have questions about simple cloud systems installations and migrations? We’d love to help. Call today or schedule a demo if you know you’re ready to proceed.