A reader asked me “Why are all the articles about cloud computing so positive?” Well, I thought That I would explore the realities and myths of cloud computing. There are a lot of reasons to use the cloud. It’s convenient, flexible, and scalable. However, there are also some drawbacks to cloud computing. These drawbacks are often overlooked. This article will address some of them. Read on to find out whether this technology is for you.

The Beginning of Cloud Computing

For a very long time businesses have had data centers and computing…

• First mainframe – By most measures, the first mainframe computer was the Harvard Mark I. Developed starting in the 1930s, the machine was not ready for use until 1943. It weighed five tons, filled an entire room and cost about $200,000 to build – which is something like $3,554,586.83 in 2022 dollars. (Keep that in mind the next time you complain about the cost of your iPhone.)
• ENIAC – World War II sparked the creation of the next famous mainframe computer, the ENIAC. Although the ENIAC was not actually completed until a year after the war ended, it signaled the start of heavy government investment in mainframe development. The ENIAC remained in service for a decade.
• Magnetic storage – While early mainframes were based on vacuum tubes for storing data, a major innovation came to the mainframe world with the development of what was called core memory. In place of vacuum tubes, core memory stores information magnetically. Your magnetic 5400-RPM hard disk it was not, but core memory provided a faster and more reliable way to store and retrieve data than vacuum tubes. Core memory was first used in 1953 and soon replaced vacuum tubes entirely.
• COBOL – The programming language most closely associated with mainframes, COBOL, debuted all the way back in 1959 and remains in widespread use today. That makes COBOL one of the oldest continuously used programming languages. It beats even C, which originated in the early 1970s. As a side note, I meet Admiral Grace Hopper in 1985 at a college lecture. She was the inventor of COBOL. In 1985 she was 79 years old and she was sharp, logical and stoic. She was a very impressive person and it was a pleasure to hear her speak about the invention of COBOL.

As small-medium businesses evolved with distributed networks and the growth of the Internet, most businesses had remotely accessible computing resources built into their companies. The resources were viewed as expensive, but in reality, the resources were cheaper than our modern-day “cloud”. I say “cheaper” because American businesses would spend “Cap-X” and usually did not consider leasing their computing resources. Cloud resources are paid monthly. With either capital expenditures or leasing, there was a finite life for computing resources (not considering the useful life of equipment/software) and with cloud, the expenditure potentially will never end. The Cloud is for all practical purposes a convenient way of quickly leasing remotely accessible compute resources, but not cheaper as most people will have you believe.

The Positives of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a good idea

Cloud computing is a popular way for organizations to store and manage data. This solution is a great way to reduce costs and gain flexibility. It allows users to access files and data from anywhere. All that’s needed is a secure internet connection. The benefits of cloud computing go far beyond cost savings.

One of the most compelling reasons to switch to cloud computing is the increased speed and convenience. Companies that need to access the same programs across multiple locations will appreciate this convenience. In contrast, doing things the old way would take far longer and would often prevent employees from having access to certain programs. Additionally, cloud computing makes it easy to access and retrieve files from anywhere in the world. Data is stored and maintained on a shared server, which means that there are no physical hard drives or servers to maintain.

Another benefit of cloud computing is that it is relatively inexpensive for small businesses. This makes it an attractive option for many organizations, especially startups. Furthermore, it offers a lot of flexibility, allowing companies to scale up or down as needed. Another benefit of cloud computing is that it is safer than using local hardware and software. Businesses can easily recover from a data breach, and cloud vendors offer advanced security features.

Cloud computing allows small businesses to reduce their IT costs and maximize their productivity. Instead of maintaining costly hardware and software on-site, they can now store and process information on a central server and use the resources that are available. Using cloud services allows businesses to use a wide range of computing resources, ranging from databases and servers to complex programs.

It’s flexible

Cloud computing is highly flexible and adaptable. It allows you to change the size of your computing resources as needed. Instead of manually provisioning and configuring additional servers, you can just buy more as needed. Most Cloud Computing vendors provide easy-to-use interfaces for server configuration. As your workload grows, you can scale up by adding additional virtual machines or scale down by removing virtual machines that are no longer needed.

Using cloud computing also means you can control the cost of IT resources. Instead of installing and maintaining applications on every computer in your office, you can use the resources that you need as you need them. Using the pay-as-you-go model, you’ll only have to pay for the resources you use. In this way, you can save money.

When you choose a cloud service, you can pick from three service models: infrastructure, platform, and software as a service. The latter offers fully developed software solutions on subscription. It also provides a broader array of cloud service models. For example, platform as a service enables you to use the same applications hosted by different providers.

With traditional on-premises infrastructure, companies had to invest a lot of money upfront to install and maintain software systems. Additionally, they had to hire a team of specialists to keep their systems running. Furthermore, they had to make sure that their work was successful in order to get a return on their investment.

Another benefit of cloud computing is its flexibility. Cloud computing allows companies to scale up or down as needed and adapt to changing business needs. The software can be tailored to fit the needs of any company. By outsourcing the maintenance of servers and software, companies can reduce the number of resources they use.

It’s scalable

A core benefit of Cloud computing is its scalability. With scalability, businesses can add more resources without worrying about requiring more hardware or software. Because of this, businesses can expand their IT resources as quickly as they need them. Moreover, scalability makes disaster recovery much easier. Disaster recovery can often be accomplished within hours, whereas rebuilding IT on-premises can take weeks.

Fortunately, scalability is one of the primary objectives of cloud service providers. Cloud services are designed to be easily scaled as business needs change. This means that companies can sign up and start using cloud solutions within minutes. This scalability is also the key to the ability to customize cloud solutions.

Cloud computing also provides scalability, as its architecture is designed to be flexible, allowing businesses to easily add and remove resources as needed. As a result, scaling is much easier than attempting to do it on-premises, which can lead to performance issues, application lockouts, and ballooning IT costs. Fortunately, cloud computing makes scaling simple and affordable, and it allows businesses to scale up, down, and vertically.

The main benefit of cloud computing is that it is scalable, which means that as the needs of the business grow, the computing power can increase. In addition to being scalable, cloud computing also helps companies reduce costs by letting users dynamically increase or decrease the amount of computing power they lease. In this way, the cost of cloud services is lower than that of traditional on-premises solutions, and businesses can enjoy the benefits of cloud computing for less than a dollar a month.

While cloud services have various advantages, a major advantage of using a cloud service is its ability to be responsive to short-term bursts of load. For example, if a virtual draft takes place, cloud services are able to keep up with the demand.

It’s convenient

Cloud computing is a convenient and flexible way to access any type of computing resource. Businesses can scale up and down as necessary, and they only pay for the resources they use. Unlike traditional infrastructure, cloud computing eliminates the need for an in-house IT department. The only thing a company needs to set up its own cloud is a reliable internet connection.

One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is its cost-effectiveness. Businesses no longer need to buy and maintain their own servers, which means they can save money. In addition, cloud computing allows them to access their data from anywhere with an internet connection, regardless of location or device. Cloud-hosted files are updated automatically, ensuring consistency across all devices.

Cloud computing is convenient for small businesses, which need access to their data and applications anywhere they are. These services are available on demand, allowing small businesses to cut their costs and scale up as their business needs change. Since cloud computing is based on the Internet, users don’t need to purchase hardware or software.

It’s possible secure

The main question that arises when people consider whether Cloud Computing is secure is whether their data is safe from hackers. The answer depends on the type of cloud service you use and the security of your on-premises infrastructure. Unlike a conventional PC, a cloud service is as secure as the security of the company that runs it. Despite the fact that cloud services are not 100% secure, they are still more secure than the methods most people are used to.

Encryption of data is essential to secure cloud computing. Not encrypting data is a major security risk for your business and your customers. You must ensure that the cloud provider encrypts your data and can decrypt it once you remove it. The cloud provider should also store the encryption keys in a secure location and not store them with your data. The encryption process used for cloud services can vary, and if the encryption process is not the same as yours, the data may be vulnerable to unauthorized access.

Security is a big concern for businesses considering cloud computing as an option. However, cloud services provide numerous benefits, including enhanced uptime, reduced hardware and software costs, and increased uptime. However, one of the biggest drawbacks of cloud computing is that it can be vulnerable to hacking. In fact, most cloud security breaches involve user error and are unrelated to the cloud service. In addition, cloud providers usually offer multiple disaster recovery data centers, with complete failover plans. Additionally, all data is encrypted during hosting and upload.

Cloud security can be improved by training employees on cloud security. The right personnel are crucial to protecting your data. As a result, a cloud security consultant can help you ensure that your business data is protected from threats.

Then Negatives of Cloud Computing

There are many advantages to cloud computing, but there are also some drawbacks to this model. Some of these drawbacks are: Costs, Security, Overprovisioning, and Downtime. Let’s look at each of these in turn. Then, you can decide whether this model is right for your organization.

Downtime

One of the most common reasons for downtime in cloud services is power outage. In order to keep running, data centers require massive amounts of power. This power can come from third-party power plants or national grids. As a result, power outages can happen at any time. To avoid this, energy suppliers are required to supply power to all of their data centers. If power is interrupted for any reason, the whole cloud service could go down.

While it may seem inconvenient, downtime is a normal part of cloud computing. Every cloud solution experiences downtime from time to time. This downtime is called a “planned outage,” and it happens when cloud providers are performing maintenance on their cloud infrastructure. When this happens, your cloud service will be unavailable for a short period of time, usually at night.

Regardless of your cloud provider, you should always make sure that your data and applications are safe. It’s important to consider the risks involved in cloud computing before making the switch. Some cloud providers have limited features and don’t allow you to modify their infrastructure. Ensure that you’re working with a legitimate cloud provider that has a service level agreement in place. The service level agreement should spell out what your provider is responsible for if there’s a problem.

As the cloud is entirely internet-based, downtime is inevitable. It can happen due to power outages, low Internet connections, or even data center maintenance. Downtime is not only inconvenient for users, but it can also impact a company’s ability to perform important business processes.

Costs

When buying cloud services, companies need to consider the costs involved. Not only do they have to pay for the servers and storage, but they also need to consider ancillary costs such as IP addresses, data transfers between servers, and domain resilience. The costs of cloud services will vary depending on how many users will be accessing the cloud.

Moving to the cloud has many benefits, including cost savings and increased efficiency. However, there are also risks. Although cloud services are a highly reliable and flexible way to deploy IT infrastructure, companies must bear in mind the financial risks associated with moving to the cloud. Because the costs are variable, businesses often wonder whether they can afford the move.

A good cost-management strategy includes monitoring cloud costs to identify problems before they escalate. Most cloud providers offer policy-driven automation, which lets customers set rules and create alerts when certain conditions are met. These tools can help businesses monitor their cloud expenses and optimize their overall operations. Further, they can help companies avoid overspending in the cloud.

Cloud computing offers on-demand capacity and scalability. Its computing capacity can be expanded or reduced as required without increasing the number of machines in-house. This flexibility means that cloud costs don’t necessarily increase with the size of a company. The billing models for cloud services vary widely from provider to provider.

A cloud service invoice is the best tool for tracking cloud costs. It provides the cost data and exact usage. However, cloud invoices are not easy to understand. They typically come in a PDF or CSV format and contain blocks of text and numbers. Using an application like Lucidchart can make it much easier to visualize cloud costs.

The cost argument made by cloud providers is that they are cheaper than purchasing. That statement is not necessarily true. To use an analogy, buying a house is more expensive than renting a house; the statement is usually true if your view is short term. But owning a house has more advantages than renting a house because at some point paying for the house is over and rent is forever. My view is that cloud providers are making lots of money and managers are, once again, following the herd without thinking.

Security

There are a number of factors to consider when evaluating the security of your cloud computing infrastructure. First, consider the security level of your application. If it’s sensitive, you should consider the risk of a breach. Even if your cloud vendor offers strong security, the security of your data is still a primary concern. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to reduce your risk.

The most obvious threat is a denial of service attack, which affects all public cloud services, no matter the model. Attackers inject components that cause the service to go offline. While large clouds tend to be more vulnerable than smaller cloud providers, all types are susceptible to external attackers. As a result, you should choose a cloud provider that has a high level of expertise in security. Also, make sure the company has good disaster recovery processes.

Another key factor is the user. Cloud users should consider balancing security with performance. Using a hybrid deployment model or a multi-cloud strategy is recommended because the risk of security breaches is minimized while maintaining high performance. As with other types of information space, the weakest point of cloud computing is people. Security measures should be applied to ensure that no one else has access to sensitive data or private information.

Another important aspect to consider when evaluating the security of a cloud platform is the data stored on the platform. While this information may not be as sensitive as that on a physical server, it is still a critical element for the overall system reliability. Having a master-slave backup system in place ensures that the system data is secure.

Overprovisioning

Overprovisioning is a term used to describe buying more capacity than is actually necessary. This practice is common in resource-hungry applications, and can end up costing the client more than they really need. Oftentimes, it can mean paying for 100% of the resources that are actually turned on.

One way to avoid overprovisioning in the cloud is to only run as many resources as you need. Then, you can turn off resources when you are not using them. You can also use cloud-based tools such as Spiceworks Cost Monitor to monitor your cloud usage. This will help you spot unusual or costly activity. Another way to avoid overprovisioning in the cloud is to run lean applications. This means that you must be able to properly size your applications and services.

Overprovisioning is often due to a mindset that businesses have carried over from the on-premises era. IT teams continue to view cloud expenses as capital expenditures, despite the fact that they fall under operations. This mindset can cause problems in the modern environment, where it is crucial to rethink the resources that are needed for an app to function.

Another way to avoid overprovisioning in the cloud is to ensure that the resources available are appropriate for the current demand. This will prevent the risk of overprovisioning, which may be detrimental to the performance of a service. Also, it will minimize risks, increase service quality, and reduce costs.

Overprovisioning in cloud computing is the process of purchasing more resources than you need. Overprovisioning is a mistake many organizations make. It can be costly and inefficient.

Lack of visibility

Lack of visibility in cloud computing is a major concern for businesses. This problem impacts network performance, user experience, and security. It is a critical issue that organizations must address, and a cloud usage policy is essential. Without visibility, organizations are unable to effectively enact incident response plans and assess the security of their information.

To solve this problem, admins must understand what data is available in their cloud environments and correlate them with the monitoring data. This comparison will determine whether a problem is causing a change in conditions and resource state. The most common problem with cloud visibility is the presence of opaque zones and insufficient data. Fortunately, administrators can address these problems with automation and advanced data analytics.

While lack of visibility is a major challenge, it isn’t the only challenge facing organizations. Over 70% of respondents report increased complexity in their environments in the last year, while only 3% reported a moderate decrease. Some companies have even increased their cloud usage significantly. This means that organizations can’t afford to lose visibility in their cloud environments. It’s critical to ensuring superior application performance, and lack of visibility can make security incidents harder to detect.

Lack of visibility is one of the most significant problems in cloud computing. Often, customers aren’t able to see where their data is stored, or when service providers upgrade their services. Although this is perfectly acceptable in the consumer world, it’s a major concern for the enterprise.

Lack of visibility in cloud computing is an important issue, and it can affect your bottom line. A recent survey of 100 senior IT and finance executives reveals that many organizations have little or no visibility of their cloud costs. In fact, more than half of those surveyed said they were surprised by the true costs of cloud computing, and only 20% of companies were able to detect spikes in cloud usage right away.

Removing Data

Removing data from the cloud is very very expensive. The cloud providers do not with one to leave their grip on one’s wallet.

 

As always if you have questions do not hesitate to call us at 704-831-2500 to discuss this article.

 

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created by Jeff King (Linkedin – Jeff King)