Cloud 101: What is a Cloud Solution? March 1, 2024 – Posted in: Cloud Computing, IT Support – Tags: cloud 101, ITServices, ITSupport, what is cloud

A cloud solution is simply a solution kept on someone else’s servers and accessed via the internet.

To provide an analogy: employing a cleaner directly makes you responsible for hiring, training, equipping, managing a whole person. You may only need a third of a day’s work most of the time with occasional requirements for two people for a day for an end-of-year deep clean. For many businesses it makes more sense to outsource their cleaning requirements. That way they only pay for the time they need. Gaining the flexibility to ramp up or down as needed and freedom from sourcing specialist chemicals with particular labelling and storage requirements.

In the same way buying a server makes you directly responsible for hardware and software maintenance, power, disaster recovery and security. It also locks you into either starting with more processing power than you need, or risking not having enough if your business grows over the 5 year lifespan of the device.
Cloud-based solutions are scalable, quicker to set up, and shift the hardware and software maintenance to the experts who can take advantage of economies of scale to create an environment for less that it would cost you.

To continue the metaphor, when you hire a cleaning company you may well pay more per hour than you would for someone you hired internally. You’re paying for the management, training, equipment etc. that the 3rd party is handling for you as well. But, it often works out cheaper overall due to a reduction in overheads, management time and on-the-job down time.

Similarly, cloud services often come with a subscription-based monthly cost, offset by not having to pay for the up-front costs of buying software outright and not having to buy and maintain your own hardware.

In our next Cloud 101 article we will summarise the types of cloud solution available. If you have any questions about moving the cloud, or would like to discuss any other IT Support needs you have please give us a call on 01245 265100.