Cloud technologies today have much greater business opportunities: from creating remote workplaces and virtual networks to testing and developing applications in cloud environments and using machine learning technologies.
Power of Cloud-based services
At the start, cloud technologies were used by the giants of the IT industry, but soon came in handy for “mere mortals”: IT companies, online stores, marketplaces and media resources, that really needed powerful computing resources to store and process information. Even if not all the time, but during the season of sales, promotions and other tricky marketing activities, when traffic on websites goes through the roof.
Based on their needs, cloud storage (like Dropbox) and cloud servers have appeared on the market. And also — cloud services that work smartly due to the fact that all operations in them are performed not on the user’s device, but remotely, from the “cloud”. These include Instagrams and Facebook, email services, messengers, applications for ordering food and taxis, and much more.
Cloud services represent a network of powerful computer servers that allow customers to use their resources over the Internet: store files and share them, work in online offices, perform calculations.
In a narrow sense, cloud services are online programs that help to organize remote work and solve business problems. Employees get access to a shared database from anywhere in the world and can manage projects. Each employee sees the result in real time, can make comments, edits and perform personal or joint tasks. An example of a cloud service is Google Docs.
Cloud services are replacing the classic offline programs out-of-the-box that are installed on individual computers.
Who benefits from Cloud Services
Cloud services are suitable for any business — from sole proprietors without employees and startups to government agencies and international corporations.
During the pandemic, many companies had to switch to a remote work format and use the cloud for this.
A huge and complex production worked on classic offline programs. When the pandemic started, the computers stayed in the offices. Employees did not have access to them, and work was paralyzed for several days. The rapid introduction of cloud programs with remote access helped to save the situation.
The reverse example is companies that have been using Cloud for several years. During the lockdown, their employees switched to remote in one day, and the workflow was not affected.
Due to the Cloud, companies can automate their work and get more profit. Here are examples of what cloud services can help with.
What is a CRM system and how it can help your business
Setting up business processes. Through the CRM system, the manager receives an application, requests information from the warehouse, orders an invoice from the accounting department and sends it to the client.
Internal and external reporting. The manager keeps track of time and performance indicators, lawyers keep and coordinate documents, accountants issue invoices and send tax returns.
Goods accounting. Storekeepers control the products in the warehouse and send the data to managers.
Communication in the team. Employees communicate through the project management platform, corporate mail, messengers and video communication, work together on documents, make appointments through the corporate calendar.
At Polontech, having 10+ years in ITIL / ITSM integrations and building agile teams, we often provide Jira integration service, as it fits many teams and is flexible enough to configure it according to the customers’ needs, and has both Data Center and Cloud licensing.
Why switch to Cloud systems
In comparison with “boxed” cloud services, they have many advantages:
- Flexible configuration for the client’s tasks
There are no universal cloud solutions, every business can try and compare different services and choose the ones that suit it best. You can connect the necessary services and disable unnecessary ones in a few clicks. When a company chooses its own set of tools, they can be linked into a single system and customized to suit their needs.
- Continuous improvements and expansion of functions
One of the main advantages of clouds is that professional and rather expensive teams of analysts, programmers, testers and managers work every day to improve the functions and usability of their services. Platform developers think ahead and collect feedback. Even if there is something missing in the feature set right now, it is likely to appear soon.
- Remote access
Non-cloud programs are available only from a specific device — if an employee cannot come to the office, he or she will not be able to do the work.
- Less expenses
It may seem that using cloud services is expensive — you need to constantly pay for a subscription compared to the price for a boxed solution. But if you compare the cost of buying and maintaining “boxed” programs with the total cost of a cloud subscription, the difference is often not in favor of offline solutions.
Server licenses themselves are expensive, because they seem to be bought once and for all. But in reality, they usually need to be finalized, and for this you have to attract developers and pay for their work. Often, basic programs are not adapted for the implementation of widgets and third-party updates – integrations take a lot of time, which means a lot of expenses for paying for programmers’ hours of work.
Security of Cloud Services: what if everything goes away?
Let’s talk about cloud security: on the one hand, this is the main concern of users, and on the other — another advantage of cloud.
Protecting clouds from external threats
Providers invest a lot of money in security because they can’t risk their reputation. When a business connects to a cloud service, it is guaranteed the protection and confidentiality of information.
Data centers and cloud servers are protected from unauthorized intrusion, overheating, fire and other threats. Administrators regularly test and update the equipment so that it works properly and user data is not affected.
Information security specialists constantly check the system for vulnerabilities and update protection using effective and expensive data encryption technologies.
Switch to the Cloud step by step
To relieve you from server administration, offer more flexible payment schemes, and automate updates of your Atlassian products, you can migrate to the Cloud.
Our Polontech experts provide Cloud migration service according to the following plan:
- Help you choose between Atlassian, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud platforms for your public or private cloud.
- Analyze the volume and structure of data to remove unnecessary data and simplify migration.
- Check Atlassian Server product versions – if these are not supported for the ETL migration, we update them to the latest ones.
- Backup all the data, launch test migration, install all the plugins and apps that won’t move to Cloud by default and finalize the process by user testing.
- Install Atlassian products in the cloud, redirect users, and check the integrity of transferred data.
Summing it up with Cloud services
- Cloud services are a network of servers that allow customers to use the necessary databases over the Internet.
- Cloud helps organize data storage and set up business processes, test products, make business more flexible, fast and efficient.
- Cloud services are suitable for any business — from sole proprietors and startups to government agencies and international corporations.
- Working in cloud services is no less, and often more secure, than in offline programs.
- To implement cloud services, a business needs to conduct an audit and analyze business processes, choose a provider and train employees to work in the program.
