Beyond Data Storage: How Cloud Technologies Can Challenge the Traditional Industries

Image Source: 3D illustration by Quince Media

Before the business world was taken over by cloud computing, traditional IT applications run the day-to-day operations of every organization. These systems were designed for on-premise hosting and operation and, often, only the IT guys knew what really goes on.

Now, the majority of organizations have adopted cloud computing. Isn’t this the reason why the “cloud” has been echoing almost every corporate corridor, uptown street and online forum?

But like any other disruption, cloud computing has been both a blessing and a challenge to many traditional industries. Many establishments are still struggling to make the much needed leap to cloud-based applications.

Here are a number of ways in which cloud technologies have challenged traditional industries:

i. Insufficient resources and expertise

Since 2016, lack of enough resources and skills to run cloud based applications efficiently and effectively has been the number one cloud challenge.

It’s agreeable that the rapidly advancing cloud technologies are much of a necessity than an optional luxury for all organizations. Traditional organizations are thus finding themselves putting more workload in their cloud-based applications. The challenge with increased use of the cloud is keeping up with the tools, which need more advanced computing skills including data science and also utilize a significant amount of the organization’s resources.

ii. Security concerns of the cloud

The debate on cloud security is still hot today. News of data breaches, broken authentication, and account hacking among others has been causing shivers among executives in traditional industries. But as cloud services become more advanced and service providers become seasoned, the security capabilities of the cloud are improving.

Used Hitachi 100 series servers from Hitachi Data Systems, for example, provide businesses with a highly integrated collection of cloud storage solutions that are coordinated with intelligent and seamless management to make the cloud environment highly efficient, secure, and reliable. Organizations can now find cloud services that ensure their privacy and absolute security for their data and applications.

iii. Shifting to new IT cost management

Most of the businesses that have successfully applied cloud computing have reported money savings. With cloud technologies, a business can significantly improve operational efficiency without making major investments in infrastructure. Pay-as-you-go models, for instance, provide scalable and on-demand computing capabilities that ultimately save the business loads of money.

However, traditional industries sometimes experience difficulties defining and projecting quantities and costs. This makes it challenging to keep check on cloud costs.

iv. Business performance dependency of network performance

The performance of a business that uses cloud technologies depends on the performance of the cloud service provider. If the provider goes low, so does the business especially if it relies on real time online presence or operation.

Competitive cloud service providers put in place proper processes to alert their customers about any issue to help avoid abrupt outages and losses whenever possible.

Adopting cloud-based computing involves not just a data storage shift but a technology change that requires strategic planning and support.

There are many reliable cloud service providers but the business needs to reorganize its resources, train its employees on the technologies it needs. Traditional organizations also need to look for more specialized and customizable cloud applications. This will help to avoid the problem of using a one-size-fits-all approach to IT management – which was the main shortcoming of native on-premise computing.

Walter Barrington hails from U.S is a foodie, traveller and an avid tech & business writer. He is a blogger on his free time who used to blog about different niche such as technology, digital marketing, business, lifestyle, health, etc,. In this post he seeks to focus and share thoughts on How Cloud Technologies Can Challenge the Traditional Industries which is beyond data storage. You can follow him on his social profiles –Facebook. & GooglePlus