How should enterprises adjust themselves to meet the challenges of cloud computing era

Cloud computing represents a fundamental shift in the way that it companies no longer need to invest their money to buy http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/13695.html ">it infrastructure and related complex technologies, And the consequent cost of subsequent expenditures, instead of sourcing it services themselves from outside.

Advances in technology, especially the ubiquity of high-speed Internet connectivity and the decreasing cost of storage, ultimately make it easier for developers to provide services to users simply, cheaply and flexibly.

Using cloud computing to develop and seize opportunities has now become a new way to meet the needs of buyers through technology.

What's good for entrepreneurs

Small and medium enterprises migrate to the cloud faster than large enterprises, and almost all start-ups are cloud users.

Cloud computing provides entrepreneurs with a unique advantage not only to release capital but also to save staff time, which will enable them to focus more on achieving business growth.

Cloud computing has reduced the barriers to entry into the IT market, making it possible for more start-ups to enter the market with lower hardware costs.

Small and medium enterprises can now enjoy complex and powerful application services that only large enterprises can enjoy before.

The "on-demand" model replaces the "install its own" model, with upfront capital input from it users into IT service providers, which gives companies more capital support in the context of today's economic uncertainty.

Stronger agility and flexibility

Cloud computing makes businesses more agile and flexible in a variety of ways.

1, enterprise organizations can now more effective implementation of risk management, before the implementation of long-term projects can quickly test the effectiveness of the new solution.

2, the flexibility provided by cloud computing enables enterprises to increase and reduce the investment of IT facilities according to the demand freedom. So that enterprises can buy more additional services to rapidly expand their business and customers, expand the market size.

3, new technology to achieve faster speed, the use of these advanced tools armed enterprises, greatly improve the efficiency.

Some experts believe that cloud computing is "next-generation outsourcing."

Risks to be considered by SMEs

Migrating to the cloud is not without risk, and business leaders need to take into account a variety of factors to ensure that their solutions are correct and effective:

1. Lose control and change of role. In the past, everything was done by you personally, and now you will lose control of many links, your business organization can adapt? The data and infrastructure are hosted elsewhere, you will be out of control and your role will be transformed-from the past running the infrastructure to the present with your suppliers.

2. Information security. What are your organizational risk tolerance and security requirements? What security metrics would you use to select a supplier?

The transfer of data from a closed internal network into a shared network clearly makes the data vulnerable. Multiple users share the infrastructure, and the security of the data is all in the hands of the supplier. Enterprises should therefore consider the sensitivity of their information and the appropriateness of the location of service providers to ensure data security.

3. Privacy. In terms of privacy, important private information is stored in the cloud, rather than local storage, and may leak.

You need to consider the potential consequences of placing sensitive data on the public cloud, such as the possibility of being subject to unknown regulations, especially if the provider you want to trade with is not informing the location of its data center.

4, reliability and business continuity. Business continuity is critical, so it is important to understand the geographic footprint of a cloud service provider and the impact it may have on your business. In addition, the cloud service provider's business continuity plan, disaster recovery capabilities, and operational capabilities will all affect you, so consider carefully.

The future of cloud computing

The big trend of migrating to the cloud has brought great opportunities for enterprises.

A more flexible evolution of it capabilities will ultimately enhance business agility, making it more flexible to respond to changing market changes than ever before. This could lead to an accelerating pace in all sectors of the world.

More optimized use of shared infrastructure will lead to lower energy consumption, further cost savings, and help drive the "green" agenda.

However, the real power and flexibility of cloud computing, Pay-as-you-go business models, allow companies to manage their technology costs more effectively, making it easier to deploy new technologies faster than other models, and to focus more on improving business value.

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)