Cloud computing isn’t a new concept, even though it does seem that the world started catching on to it over the recent years. When it was first used, there were many arguments presented to question its validity as a true method that can be embraced by businesses around the world. Believe it or not, while brands do seem to be utilizing the cloud for business operations, a majority still embrace the old ways.
It just goes to show that not everyone is able to comfortably embrace change. This will always remain true as we continue to see different types of cutting-edge technology introduced to businesses today. As time goes on, we might see them becoming more welcoming as this all boils down to one’s ability to embrace adaptation as the tech world continues to be progressive.
What is a cloud database exactly?
In order to help us gain a formal definition, we embraced the brains over at TechTarget. Since they’ve been on top of their tech game for quite some time now, it only made sense. According to them, a cloud database is a collection of content, either structured or unstructured, that resides on a private, public, or hybrid cloud computing infrastructure platform.
Now that we’ve gotten the formalities out of the way, let’s dig a little deeper into cloud computing and the impact that it can help businesses make across the globe. It was a matter of time before physical hosting would be impossible. Many industries relied upon the data they collected to carry on with normal operations, whether they could instantly notice it. With the growth of data usage in the business world comes the massive amounts of documents and files that need to be stored.
The solution has been around for as long as the internet has, but procrastination and reasons it wouldn’t be ideal for the commercial landscape industry delayed its formal introduction. Of course, it was a matter of time before the opportunity to evolve using the cloud presented itself once again. The growing demand for businesses to move from physical servers at their office to a cloud-hosted environment motivated the IT industry to help provide it with a smooth transition.
Advanced Optimization Opportunities
With performance predictions, it’s easy to tell when usage will be at a high-peak and when it will be at a low-peak. By harnessing the power of predictions, you can better optimize your systems to ensure maximal operational efficiency.
Enhanced Compliance Measures
As we move closer to a completely modernized world, regulatory authorities had to jump on the bus to make sure changing times didn’t pass them up. One of the biggest benefits with going to the cloud is the ability to stay in compliance with appropriate agencies and ensure that access is provided to those who are required to have it. While it is taking a lot of paper waste off our shoulders, it will still be some time until the processes are set in stone due to its complexities.
Overcome Any Potential Risks
A more secure infrastructure was one of the original goals of the cloud computing industry. It is simply why companies have made the switch. Being able to stay on top of security patches, define specific security setting required of your business, and around-the-clock monitoring are a few of the ways to overcome any potential risks that could arise.
See Your Map to Scalability
Before you decide to scale, you’ll want to look at the current system to ensure it’s where it needs to be in order to initiate the expansion. Have your IT administrator(s) look closely to see if anything stands out as being a potential hazard when it comes to the expansion strategy. By doing this, you’ll quickly be able to chart your path on the map to scalability.
The Bottom Line: Where It All Matters
While many may continue to downplay the power of cloud computing, it’s here to stay and grow into the best adult it could possibly be. It saves money, embraces advanced security measures, and helps distribute resource load as evenly as possible. On top of the many other things it can do, and if implemented properly it could lead to significant cost-savings as well.
The Drawbacks of Cloud Databases for Business
You’ve probably heard it a hundred or so times already, with anything good always comes the bad (more commonly referred to as disadvantages). In order to shed the light on this type of technology, here’s what’s not so great about using cloud databases for the business landscape.
Costs Increase as Your Cloud Usage Rises
The more files you host, data you transfer to end-users, and programs that are used, the more resources that are going to be used up. Since this type of hosting is priced on usage (formally known as database as a service) specifically, this could lead to significant costs when ramping up usage. Don’t jump to conclusions until you see the situation in its entirety, as this could cut down on operational expenses overall since many processes would’ve already been refined to make better use of the cloud.
Flexibility Isn’t Always the Best
The main time that this does become an issue is with complex database requirement being brought to the table. If it does come to this point, you should’ve already hired a pro who can help embrace the flexibility your company needs to continue growing.
Downtime Caused by Large-Scale Outages
Since the cloud environment is linked to itself over multiple servers in multiple geographical locations, a large-scale outage becomes inevitable. If you build on various regions, leading providers, and many different availability zones, downtime won’t be a concern.
How Businesses Use a Distributed Database System
The answer is a lot simpler than most might think. With a distributed database system, certain files and file parts are hosting on the cloud across various locations across the world. Businesses with multiple divisions, offices, and storefronts seem to be the ones getting the most use from it. If a certain branch doesn’t need access to certain information, it can be stored elsewhere, and it’ll also save bandwidth.
One thing that we are seeing today is many of the world’s leading brands have chunked their centralized database systems in exchange for distributed database systems. Not only does it let them offset some of their resource usage, but it puts all their data on lock. This cloud computing breakthrough is among some of the biggest advancements to ever surface within the world of computing.
Ready to embrace the cloud while others procrastinate?
Getting ahead of the competition gets even easier when it comes to tech advancements that could enhance the way a company does business. With tech comes a lot of naysayers, and they don’t usually have the patience to learn new technologies. Regardless of your situation, a great company like MongoDB Atlas can provide you with the ultimate cloud solutions.
