Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

I am super excited to explain the Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing to my readers as cloud computing is my favorite topic and I know after reading this guide it will be yours too.

In this guide, we will take about the Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing along with types of cloud computing and their advantages and disadvantages.

Without any further delay, let’s explore this guide. 😎

The simplest way to store the devices’ memory is through a local server which means simply on the computer’s locally provided space. Users and businessmen can also opt for different styles to store the devices’ memory; one available method to store the device is ‘Cloud Computing.

No need to fret about what if Cloud computing is not up to your taste; Cluster Computing, Personal Computing, Time Sharing Computing, Client-Server Computing, and Distributed Computing are also there for you to check out.

Let’s start first by getting complete knowledge about what the rush is about Cloud Computing.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is still a foreign subject to many computers technician so let’s clear the doubt first in the most uncomplicated way. In simple terms, Cloud Computing is a computing service that enables users to store files and applications in the ‘Cloud.’

Do not start panicking about what the hell is Cloud; in simple words, we can say it is the internet or virtual space and you just need the internet that will provide access to the web and abracadabra all the saved data and applications residing there will be easily accessible.

The stored files and applications are accessible only if users have access to the web/ internet. It lets the user access multiple services over the internet, which includes services ranging from tools to different applications such as saving apps and files, software, databases, and networking.

A clear view of Cloud Computing:-

Cloud computing stores the files interestingly, rather than the normal boring storage area in the computer’s hard disk or local server; Cloud Computing provides Cloud-based storage, which allows the user to save the apps and files in the remote database (server not on the same computer but a different computer).

The saved data is accessible any time of the day from any corner of the world if the user has access to the web or the internet. Cloud Computing can just be for a person (private) or it can be public and hybrid (both private and public) as well.

Email, creating and testing apps, analyzing data, audio, and video streaming, delivering software on-demand, sales management, customer relationship management, financial management, human resource management,  billing, and collaboration applications are some cloud computing services used to. Community cloud, the big data cloud, and the multi-cloud are some of the discoveries we are getting used to.

Cloud Computing Companies:-

Kamatera, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Rackspace, Oracle Cloud Applications, Salesforce, SAP, VMware, Egnyte, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure are some of the best cloud computing companies. 

Types of Cloud Computing:-

We can’t say Cloud computing is an electrical appliance or a piece of technical instrument. It is a computing service over the internet compromising 3 stacks often known as Cloud Computing Stacks. The name ‘computing stacks’ comes from their infrastructure as they top one another.

The 3 cloud services providing stacks :

1. Software-as-a-service (SaaS)

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is one of the stacks of Cloud computing services. It lets the users access Cloud-based apps on the internet, which include daily used things such as email, calendars, and working tools, which can be seen in Microsoft Office 365.

Software as a service works as a ‘delivery and licensing model’; it lets users access software available on the Web. A person with a subscription or a pay-as-you-go model can access this software over the internet through the web instead of installing that software on our computers.

In Software as a service, a provider hosts and manages the software and all the related things to it, such as updating it, and underlying infrastructure, and providing all the facilities and security of the stored information. Some examples are the Google application and Salesforce which functions on a subscription.

Advantages of SaaS:-

Major advantages of SaaS are:

Scalable:-

Software as a service (SaaS) provides its customers with a lot of choices to select from as well as lets users know what features they need and require due to its scalability.

Accessibility:-

SaaS allows its users to access its application from anywhere, even Antarctica, with the help of ‘good internet, which makes it flexible.

Low Cost:-

One of the best advantages SaaS provides its customer is the low budget rate that a user can spend. The pay-as-you-go deal in the SaaS allows users to spend less on subscriptions and more on improving their infrastructure and different things.

If the cost coming is more and a user can not pay, then they can easily stop using the services that are not needed, thus reducing the cost.

Disadvantages of SaaS:-

The service provider can not give all the features in the application, which may hinder users’ work also security problems can also come if proper measures are not taken.

2. Infrastructure-as-a-service(IaaS)

Alongside the other three cloud services, Infrastructure is one of the cloud computing services. Infrastructure is a service that provides users with a cloud computing infrastructure that involves servers, operating systems, storage, and networks. IaaS is available as public and private as well as hybrid cloud.

In Infrastructure as a service, computer technicians are not needed to buy the server or storage, but they can purchase these resources as a fully outsourced on-demand service. It lets the users to spent only on the things they purchase.

Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud are two of the most famous Cloud Infrastructure as a service that provides pre-managed infrastructure, letting the user handle the operating system, middleware, and applications. 

If you are looking for something economical, then choosing Infrastructure as a service is the best option as it can scale dev-test environments quicker and deal pretty well with storage problems. IaaS allows its users to recover their backup easily and simply. 

The best advantage of Cloud computing IaaS is its web hosting option in less amount than any other web hosting provider can provide to its customers.

Advantages of Infrastructure as a service (IaaS):-

Some of the advantages may help you to select the best option between 3 different stacks of cloud computing:

Flexible in any business conditions:-

It lets the user sum up all the resources quickly, thus making it flexible for any demand. These resources will back down once resources are not in use, thus saving the customer’s money. Infrastructure as a service allows the users to complete the computing system in a minute or two rather than making the customer wait for a day or two in case of launching new applications.

Cost-Effective:-

Another perk of using the Infrastructure as a Service stack is that it won’t be a burden on your pocket.

Easy-to-use:-

The IaaS is very easy to use because of the automated development of hardware that it provides.

Disadvantages of Infrastructure as a service (IaaS):-

Apart from the advantages that we have talked about earlier, there are some disadvantages that you need to be aware of. The following are the disadvantages of IaaS:-

Data Security:-

The Infrastructure as a Service stack yields the data security issue because of its multitenant architecture.

Technical Issues:-

According to many organizations, Iaas is not very technically reliable. They have to face many problems just to access the applications and the data.

3. Platform as a service (PaaS)

Yet PaaS is one of the cloud services that come under cloud computing stacks. The third level of cloud computing services is known for its complexity and, due to its similarity with the first level is SaaS (Software as a service)

The most prominent difference between PaaS and SaaS is the availability of making our software through the platform provided by PaaS; it can be accessed through the web via the internet.

It is one of the cloud computing services that provides on-demand services for creating, testing, and managing the developed applications of the software and some additional tools like DBMS and BI service.

In PaaS, users do not get the software but a platform that allows them to develop the software by the provided platform. Salesforce.com and Heroku are some of the platforms available in the model.

PaaS supplier provides Workflow, directory, scheduling, and security for improving the software applications. Red Hat OpenShift and Apprenda come under the 2 PaaS companies that allow the users to access cloud services.

Advantages of PaaS:-

Well, here are some of the benefits provided by PaaS:

Saving Time:-

PaaS lets the users save time by not sending it too much on coding.

Development capabilities:-

Platform as a service (PaaS) will enhance productivity as all the resources would be spent on increasing the enterprise rather than finding suitable, specified computer technicians to do the development work. 

Platform as a service also reduces the finances that a user would have to spend for hiring skilled labor.

Reasonable Price:-

In PaaS, users can pay when using their services as it provides a pay-as-you-go service. In this way, companies and enterprises can take advantage of an economical package that includes business intelligence and analytics tools, which may not be affordable in any other services.

Platform as a service reduces the cost of purchasing different software and its management as companies can themselves make such software in the platform provided by them.

Disadvantages of PaaS:-

Often, the companies’ infrastructure does not cooperate well with the cloud, thus creating major problems that may cause havoc in the enterprise.

In the case of tools not cooperating with Cloud, then The department has to use different apps and programs instead of the tools that didn’t end well with Cloud. Sometimes, many things are left out because of such reasons.

One of the biggest disadvantages any enterprise can face is the switch to any other provider, which does not happen; thus, vendor lock-in happens. It can happen because providers use different platforms in their services. 

Before switching between vendors, companies and enterprises should make sure that both vendors are using the same platforms.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing 👌👌

Advantages of Cloud Computing:-

Cloud Computing provides many reasonable advantages a technician would most likely want to grab the deal. And we can’t just leave our normal style like woosh as well all need time to adapt the changes so here are some of the profits that can convince people to leave their ‘normal’ behind and choose ‘refreshing and new’ computing style. 

Cloud Computing is one such storing style that both large and small businesses, as well as a new start-ups, can adopt for storage as they are economically friendly.

Accessibility:-

Cloud computing allows the user to connect to their files and apps pretty much anywhere and everywhere at any time from dusk to dawn. The ‘Cloud’ has such an infrastructure that makes accessibility of applications certain all the time thus boosting the competency and productivity f the enterprise.

The below-mentioned reason let users easily share and collaborate in different areas as all the information is stored in one place. 

Retreating and backup:-

The simplest and easiest way to back up the data and then restore it can only be found in the cloud, as once the file and apps, and data are stored in the cloud, the user can easily back it up and then can recover that data in no time. 

This simple task may take a maximum of an hour in cloud computing which in any other may take 2-3 days, thus taking a lot of user’s time. The Cloud saves all the data in offsite cloud storage in one location; therefore, it’s easy to access.

Hence, Cloud Computing allows its users to retrieve applications and data faster with less downtime, therefore, making itself a better recovery plan and adding one of the best advantages of Cloud Computing.

Hardware Requirement:-

Previously, in the technological world, all the computer’s data was saved in a physical storage unit called hardware. Still, by men’s grace, it is not needed anymore as our data is stored in the cloud, easily accessible through the internet anywhere at any time of the day. 

We can conclude that using Cloud computing reduces the use of old hardware computing; thus no requirement for hardware.No one can ever be sure, so backing up the data to minimize any future disaster that may let the enterprise be vulnerable would be helpful. Users do not have to spend even a dime hiring a computer technician to maintain the hardware and software.

Low sustenance:-

When there is no use of hardware, there is no requirement for maintenance which automatically reduces the total cost spent on storing the data and the whole procedure. Cloud computing lets users save some expedition on the maintenance of both hardware and software.

Computer technician does not have to spend even a penny on upfront things as they only need to pay for what they are using.

Cost per person:-

Cloud computing lets the enterprise focus on increasing its infrastructure by giving all the time and resources to it rather than fretting about overhead technologies by maximizing their cost. It also allows users to share easily with comparison to local servers.

Unlimited Storage Capacity:-

The best advantage of Cloud computing is its storage capacity that no other local server can provide. It lets us store as much as we want, whether its files, application, messages, video, and audios that are accessible in just a click (not possible in any other way, just the internet needed)

Users do not have to worry about space running out in Cloud computing as one of the advantages of Cloud Computing involves large space capacity at an economical cost; it does not make businessmen bankrupt in using it or maintaining it.

Growth Affability:-

Development of the Cloud can be easily scaled; thus, the requirement of any resources can be detected without any issues. To grow the company, the requirement should be easily detected and thus added or subtracted to reach the company’s growth.

Hence the cloud ensures the growth of the enterprise along with a spurt of its systems.

Data Security:-

Nowadays, every single person is looking out for their security, and secured data is one the important aspect that ITian search for in everything, whether it’s in mobiles, hosting plans, desktop safety, etc.’

Cloud computing is an advanced style having multiple modern security features ensuring the safety and security of the saved data, and this is yet one of the advantages of Cloud computing given to its users. Users can also set their password, audition, and encryption.

Major Advantages of Cloud Computing:-

One of the coolest advantages of Cloud computing is its ‘Cloud-native’ technologies that include containers, microservices architecture, DevOps, Kubernetes, and API-Driven communication.

Cloud Computing is a modern storage style and is changing the aspect of ‘Old is Gold’ to add more charm to it; we can also say it comes with embedded intelligence and models to give an important view abstracting from the stored data.

Most of the services we are using and seeing in daily life are working on Cloud computing, from music to games, to picture storing, to saving documents, to binge-watch movies, to sending emails, to using any online services, so it is one of the modern technology which is welcomed with open arms. 

Even though they are not even a decade old, somehow they are part of every organization, whether it’s a small startup or large enterprise like a global corporation or for personal use like Google Photos to governmental agencies.

It also allows its users to only spent what they are using and not the whole thing.

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing:-

We can preach every single bit of Cloud Computing, but there is always some downside, and so do Cloud Computing; so let’s see what some cons of Cloud Computing are and whether bad can overpower the good or the good wins in the end(just kidding or not).

Here are some of the disadvantages we can see in Cloud computing:

Cloud Outage:-

One of the biggest disadvantages of cloud computing that we can see is the downtime that can happen because of any reason. A cloud outage is a period during which the cloud’s server is down due to any reason, such as power loss, network issues, or some other reasons.

Cloud Computing works on the availability of the internet, so there are more chances of service outages. Many large enterprises like Google, Shopify, Cloudflare, Verizon, Spectrum, and Reddit faced Cloud outages in 2016.

Handing over power:-

When leaving the usual hard disk for storing data and instead selecting the modern technology, we as a customer are handing our data and important information over to the host to keep it safe, thus handing our power into the host’s hands.

Even with companies having their on-the-spot backup called IT Staff can not solve these issues themselves but to rescue them, Stratosphere Network is always available to solve for them like a superhero as fast as they can.

Best Deals:-

Many users do not get what they are looking for as not all cloud computing providers have all the services and features. Often, new important features are not provided by the cloud-giving services, which may be what you want.

Let’s suggest ‘investigating the plans provided by the cloud computing provider’ on the not-to-do list.

Security:-

We can not fully give control to some, so even though cloud computing ensures security, there is no crime in being safe, so backing up the data is very necessary. Hacking and malware attacks are very common these days, so customers should make sure their information will be kept safe before giving full control.

Customer lock-in:-

One of the biggest disadvantages that can be found in Cloud computing is the transferring of services with different cloud computing providers. The transferring problem is caused by different providers using different platforms, which may act as a barrier during the transfer of services from one provider to another hence leading to customer lock-in.

✅FAQ

Wrap-up:-

In this article, we have seen the Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing. We have also seen the 3 cloud services providing stacks, which are Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Performance as a Service, and Infrastructure as Service. We have also discussed their advantages and disadvantages.

Ultimately, the final verdict would be that cloud computing is the future, and with some minute precaution, it can be very efficient.