The Pros And Cons Of Cloud Computing

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Cloud computing may be one of the hottest IT buzzwords around, but is it a benefit or a hindrance? Like most things it depends on your point of view and what you’re looking for from the technology. With that in mind, here are some of the pros and cons of the cloud.

Pro: Free stuff

Everyone likes free stuff, and the rise of the cloud means there are now no-cost alternatives to many paid-for software packages. Google Drive is at the forefront of this, offering word processing and spreadsheet software for free, directly competing with the Microsoft Office package.

Con: Online access required

If you’re using Google Drive and you want to access your documents, then you need to have an internet connection. This isn’t as much of a problem as it would have been ten years ago, but can still be a huge issue should you unexpectedly be left without a connection. It also makes the cloud difficult to use for anyone living in a remote area.

Pro: Cheaper enterprise packages

Aside from free stuff, the cloud has also cut the cost of high-level business applications meaning that small businesses can now access tools which would previously been out of their reach. This allows them to cut costs and boost productivity.

Con: More expensive in the long term?

Although the cloud is fostering software innovation, allowing new applications to be released, traditional software providers are starting to embrace virtualisation and this could lead to greater outlay in the long run.

Adobe is blazing a trail here, having announced it is moving future releases to the cloud. This means rather than paying a one of lump sum for the software, consumers will need to pay a monthly subscription. Although this will be cheaper initially, companies will no longer be able to buy a package and use it for a number of years so overall costs may increase.

The company will provide updates as part of the monthly package, but firms will no longer have the option of sticking with what they have and saving a bit of cash.

Pro: Access everything, everywhere

If you work across a number of devices, the cloud allows you to sync everything so you can access your documents wherever you are, whatever device you’re using. Google Drive or DropBox are two of the best know applications on this front.

Of course, you will need access to the net to take advantage of this capability.

Con: Lack of control over your data

Although the biggest cloud computing platforms offer extremely high levels of security and reliability, you are still putting your data in someone else’s hands. This means there’s always a risk of it being compromised by hackers, or lost because of technical problems.

The risk of losing data means it’s always sensible to make regular backups of your information to a physical drive to which you have access.

When it comes to security, it’s important to do your homework before hand to see what measures a provider has in place. A complex password is a must and you should also use any additional processes available, such as two-factor authentication. The bottom line is, if you don’t trust a service, then don’t upload your data.

Pro: Scalability

Scalability is another buzzword, but it’s a fairly simple concept. It’s the ability to handle a growing amount of work in an efficient manner. In the world of cloud computing, it is most often used to refer to one of the benefits of cloud hosting.

Traditional web hosting packages are designed to handle a set amount of traffic, so if there’s a spike in visitors to a web page it’s possible the entire site could be forced offline.

The cloud offers a solution to this problem. A cloud server is capable of reacting to the amount of traffic a site is receiving and can make extra resources available when needed. This is more expensive than a traditional web hosting package, but for many the benefits outweigh the costs.

Conclusion

Like any product, it’s up to an individual to decide if a cloud-based application is right for them. As we’ve seen there are downsides to virtualisation, but that doesn’t mean people should steer clear of the cloud.

It just means they need to take the time to fully understand what they’re getting into.

Article by Will Stevens, tech writer for cloud server provider 123-reg.co.uk.