Cloud computing solutions provide the ability to store data and other workloads in remote repositories over the Internet instead of on the company’s own servers and hardware. Third-party vendors offer these capabilities at a cost per month which eliminates the requirement to purchase and deploy hardware, as well as manage infrastructure on-site.
SaaS is the most popular type of cloud computing that is used in business environments. SaaS applications provide high availability, are simple to use and are accessible on any device that has a web browser. They are usually purchased per seat or per user, eliminating the need to purchase and install software for every employee and supply hardware that supports them.
PaaS is another cloud computing platform which allows the development and deployment of applications. It lets developers build tests, deploy, and manage the entire application in one place. Examples include Microsoft Azure, AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Google App Engine.
IaaS is a cloud computing model that provides basic infrastructure features like servers, data storage and hardware. This enables businesses to host large platforms and applications without the need for large onsite physical infrastructures. Notable IaaS vendors include DigitalOcean, Amazon EC2 and RackSpace.
Automatic software updates: Cloud-based applications automatically refresh and update themselves, which reduces the amount of time needed for IT departments to carry out the manual system updates for all of their organizations. PCWorld reports that this could save IT departments and budgets money by eliminating unnecessary IT consulting costs. Cost uncertainty: Pay-as-you go subscription plans and the necessity to scale resources in order to accommodate demand for workloads that fluctuate can make it difficult for companies to predict their final cloud costs.