While adoption rates are high, the cloud still suffers from certain myths and half truths.This article, re-posted from mspmentor.net, discusses 3 that everyone considering the cloud should be aware of.
While there have been plenty of discussions about the increased usage of cloud technology among businesses, there are probably a few things that many people haven’t considered just yet. While I wouldn’t quite call them “myths”, there are some common perceptions of the cloud movement that may not be as entirely accurate as previously thought. Tim Clark explains “3 Cloud Computing Trends You Didn’t See Coming” here at Forbes, so let’s take a look at how these are really the explanations to some myth-like concepts, or “half-truths.
Half-Truth #1: Everyone and everything is, or should be, moving to the cloud
While it is likely very true that cloud-based computing and file sharing will play an essential role to businesses everywhere moving forward, it doesn’t mean that everything should or needs to be placed in that magical space up in the sky.Clark explains, “As companies accelerate cloud adoption in 2014 and beyond, they aren’t getting rid of everything”. Most companies will be largely successful in adopting methods that are a hybrid cloud-local model. The cloud will allow companies to expand on the IT they currently use and offer a wider array of services than possible with just localized technology.
Half-Truth #2: The Cloud is simply a cost saving tool
The cloud IS a cost saving tool and a very good one at that. Reduced spending on hardware and servers, improved computing efficiency, decreased utilities costs are all fantastic cost saving benefits of the cloud. However it isn’t solely a cost saving utility.As Clark points out in his article, “Innovation trumps total cost of ownership” is the new mantra of the transition to the cloud. Companies are exploring cloud computing and file sharing because of what it can allow their technology to do, not because it and help their total cost of ownership. The cloud offers innovative and new ways for companies to not only supplement but also improve their existing methods. Of course the cost saving benefits are a nice bonus.
Half-Truth #3: Cloud services are similar, and offer the same opportunities
Currently many companies are still educating themselves about the cloud service models available. To an untrained eye, many probably look very similar, offering remote computing, data storage, file sharing and the typical array of cloud services. While this is somewhat true, it will diminish over time.Cloud providers will begin to differentiate themselves by becoming more similar. It sounds quite counterintuitive, but companies will begin to choose the cloud providers that are able to most efficiently simplify usage. They will “expect these applications to look, perform and interact with each other seamlessly on a common cloud platform that unifies all their applications, data and business processes in a similar user experience”. Applications that are best able to accomplish this will win out the cloud services race.