Cloud Hosting Brought Down to Earth

So you’ve been hearing a lot of talk about this thing called “Cloud Hosting”, the next intangible, ambiguous new entity poised to “revolutionize” the Internet yet again. There has been a hum about its benefits for a few years now, and lately it has been affecting the stock prices of various players in the Web hosting game. But what’s so special about cloud hosting anyway? How is using a cloud based server better than a traditional VPS server? What are the advantages? And finally, is it safe to venture into this brave new world?

What Exactly Is this “Cloud” Hosting?

Cloud hosting is an approach to website hosting where your website exists on a network of servers or computing devices. With traditional dedicated servers, your website would exist on a single server, only having access to the resources that a single server could provide. As your website grows, picking up more traffic, you would need to buy or rent more servers to keep up with the demand.

Cloud Hosting avoids this costly issue by taking advantage of the power of its network. As the number of users for your website increases, your server will reach out into the network, or cloud, pulling resources as it needs them on demand. When it no longer needs the additional resources, it releases them back into the cloud.

What’s in This “Cloud” for Me?

The idea behind the cloud is that there is less focus on hardware, and more on whatever it is that you need to do. Instead of having to invest yourself further in hardware such as servers, the maintenance, scaling and forecasting your future needs, etc., you can dedicate that time and energy to the activities for which you are venturing online in the first place: your business. The major benefits of this are scalability and the savings on capital expenditures.

As mentioned before, as the needs of your website increase, cloud hosting, with its greater ability to scale up or down depending on your needs, just reaches into your network and pulls the resources it needs on demand. That means instead of having an IT department dedicating time to forecasting, and finding hardware and software to fit your needs, the cloud is able to do this same job on demand.

Further, cloud hosting operates on the principle of pay as you go. This means you aren’t paying for a server that is sitting around wasting money and resources 11 months of out of the year because you have a big spike during the Christmas season. There is no need to invest in as much technical infrastructure. This is great for small and medium enterprises that may not be able to afford the cost of traditional IT.

Finally, by outsourcing much of its IT needs to a third-party provider, IT departments can focus more tasks that are critical to the business, instead of maintaining hardware, additional manpower, training, bureaucracy, and host of expenses and headaches that come with setting up an online presence. In essence, they are able to do a whole lot more with a whole lot less.

What’s The Catch to This Cloud?

Many companies have been slow to embrace cloud hosting due to concerns over security. Basically, if your data is stored on a network of computers, what is there to stop another company, cyber thief, or hacker from accessing your information? Thankfully, the popularity of cloud hosting has caused the security of the platform to evolve, with many firms seeking certifications such as ISO 27001, joining the Cloud Security Alliance, and working with other hosting providers to develop standards for security. It is also important for companies to be vigilant, making sure that not only is their cloud hosting provider reliable, but that they have proper framework on their end as well.

The source of most of the problems companies have experienced with cloud hosting security is the company itself not properly protecting their own data. Often, the security they have setup isn’t efficient, or sloppily put together. As with any managed hosting plan, companies must invest in proper encryption technology and passwords, along with making sure they have competent IT professionals that will build an efficient infrastructure to control and manage their data.

Companies should also look for a cloud hosting firm that fosters a strong sense of security and transparency into their operations, not just price. Though low cost cloud hosting is enticing, many firms have found that  you get what you pay for, finding little to no support after experiencing problems maintaining their site, losing more money on the backend than if they had gone with a more responsible hosting provider. You should make sure you have done proper due diligence on the hosting provider and your companies needs before you sign on the dotted line.

So What’s the Final Forecast on Cloud Hosting?

The cloud is the future of hosting, providing a great solution for small to medium sized companies looking to make an impact online without having to invest in a large technical infrastructure that in the past has been a barrier for many. Though there are concerns over security, this is not an issue that proper due diligence into your hosting provider, and a strong infrastructure cannot solve. With a little research, you can take advantage of all the silver-lined benefits that cloud hosting has to offer, without concerns of security raining on your parade.