5 Myths About Cloud Computing Debunked
We’re going to be talking a little bit about the cloud today, and specifically, we’re going to debunk some cloud myths. So many people don’t really know what the cloud is, or if they actually have stuff in the cloud or not. The cloud is just your applications in a location that isn’t within the physical location that you’re at right now. In a more complicated way, it can mean having your files in multiple other locations that are not at the location that you’re at now. Most likely you’ve had things in the cloud for years and it’s quite a buzz term right now.
You Probably Don’t Really Have Everything in the Cloud
How do you answer the phone at the moment? If it is through a corded phone, that’s going through the wall and a traditional PBX system, then you’re not in the cloud still. Your emails are another big one that can be cloud-based, but for a lot of businesses, they still aren’t. If you’re running a business that still has physical hardware, that if I came in with a hammer, or a big water gun and sprayed it, and it meant downtime for you, then your business isn’t in the cloud. Stop fooling yourself, you’ve got bits and pieces just stored everywhere.
Using the Cloud Isn’t Cheaper
A big reason why people choose to store information in the cloud is to remove capital costs and to create flexibility. Ongoing, the cloud is more expensive, don’t fool yourself. A cloud desktop for a one computer business would be costing you hundreds of dollars a month. That’s right, a month. That’s without support, that’s without anything else, that’s just the costs of what it is. If you are trying to run more than one computer, it’s going to be costing you exponentially more than hundreds of dollars every month. If you need a server, and that means that needs to be in the cloud as well. That means any of your security policies need to be in the cloud, and you have to have tunnels coming through, so you can actually print from the cloud securely. It becomes quite an expensive activity, especially on the internet connections we have in Australia.
Security Is Not Better
The cloud brings about more security problems than having it all on premise. If something goes wrong on the premise, you can unplug your internet connection, and no one is getting in or out. In the cloud, you don’t have that privilege. Hardware prices stay the same, roughly speaking. They increase, as per Moore’s law, in the size and speed specifications, but if you go and buy hardware, and your cloud provider goes and buys hardware, it’s going to be about the same price. The only way they’re making money is by overselling and under-delivering with what they’re offering you, or they’re charging you more than what it would have been to have it on premise.
It Isn’t As Reliable
A great example of how the cloud isn’t as reliable as what most people think is the recent drama with Office 365. It recently went down for six hours for everyone in Australia. When our distressed clients called in shock we couldn’t do anything about it, except tell them, “Hold tight, they’re onto it. We can see that it’s down when we go to AussieOutages, we can’t do anything about it just at the moment.”
You Don’t Have More Control With the Cloud
The cloud brings about removed responsibilities and less control. If your cloud provider’s overselling, you’re going to have slow performance, and this goes for websites as well. If your website’s running slowly, it could be your host, or your cloud hosting provider, or whatever they’re calling themselves nowadays. Which brings this back to the start of the conversation.
So, Why Set Up Your Business in the Cloud?
If you’re trying to run a business that’s in the cloud, the only reasons you’d really do that is to have a flexible office workspace and to be able to go travelling. This will also give you a collaborative environment where everyone else can talk and work together, but not necessarily be working in the same physical location together.
The Final Word
Yep. It’s expensive to be in the cloud. A lot of security needs to be put in place and more often than not it won’t be the right move for you and your business to completely transfer to using the cloud for everything. Sure, for some things it can be great, but for your whole business? Nah, hard pass. Stay good!
Contact a CHB Leader in Managed IT Support to learn more about IT outsourcing and other IT security solutions for your business.
Do you want to receive quality content about technology, business growth, life and mental health every week?
[module-377]
