Pros and Cons of Cloud Hosting

Posted by Madhurima
Keeping in mind the tough competition that the companies today are forced
to face in the market, businesses are banking upon IT services to impel
innovation and accelerate the growth of the organization.
Progressively, cloud computing is seizing the market and several IT
professionals are of the opinion of using clustered servers. As a result, more
and more businesses are moving their business operations to cloud.
But, there are some concerns related to cloud hosting that can impact your
business.
So, before moving in "the cloud" one should weigh the pros and cons of this
futuristic technology.
Pros of cloud computing:
-Cost reduction: Advanced approach of cloud hosting solution reduces
paperwork, lowers costs, and minimizes the investment in resources. Moving
your business to 'the cloud' also reduces the need for maintaining a full-
fledged IT team.
-Highly scalable: Like other utility bills of electricity or water, cloud server
allows you to pay only for the used resources. And, you can easily
accommodate the increasing server space requirements as per your growing
business needs.
-Levels the playing field: Cloud Service Provider assists the various
businesses by providing them the access to more sophisticated technologies
available in the market at lower prices.
-Easier collaboration: Services in the cloud can be accessed anytime and
from any computer, it\'s quite easy to collaborate with employees located in
distant locations.
Cons of cloud computing:
-Availability: Your business in such a scenario will rely on your internet
connection, which may or may not work properly.
-Privacy: There are some security issues that one should bear in mind.
Moving your business to cloud can prove devastating without any appropriate
technical assistance. As the resources are shared, one might have to
compromise with the security of data.
-Inflexibility: You need to be careful at the time of choosing cloud hosting
services. Since, the cloud is fairly new, its advanced solutions might not be
that flexible as you expect them to be and that can also result into data loss.
Despite its disadvantages and the fact that it is still in an infant age, cloud
computing is a resilient advanced solution for a business and has great
potential to grow in future. One has to do a little bit of homework before
making hasty decisions that can impact their business adversely.
Pros and Cons of Cloud
Hosting vs. Internal
Hosting
Posted by Sam McKinney on 12/17/15 9:30 AM

inShare8

There's no longer any real question as to whether cloud computing

and hosting has found a place in the enterprise. According to
virtually any recent study, like Verizon's 2016 State of the Market:
Enterprise Cloud report, cloud computing is moving into the
mainstream of most enterprises, with over 80% expecting
significant workload migration to the cloud by 2018.
Having said that, there may be needs that don't work well within
cloud environments, and operational requirements that aren't well
suited to a hosted model. Those environments, some will argue, are
best left within the enterprise. And they may have a point.

Pros and Cons

When evaluating whether a given application or workload is right for
migration to a cloud environment, it's important to remember that
there isn't any one right answer for all cases. Rather, at a high level,
there are pros and cons commonly associated with both the cloud
hosting and internal hosting models. Let's take a look at some of
the major pros and cons of each.
Internal Hosting
Internal hosting refers to the model where the assets and
applications used by an organization are managed and hosted by
the organization itself. Management is typically provided by the
internal IT department, on servers and hardware owned by the
enterprise.

Pros

No hosting or management fees - In an internal-hosting

model, there are no external fees for hosting or managing the
environment.

Management Control - Internal hosting allows enterprises to

decide everything within the hosted environment, retaining
complete control.

Change Control - Internal hosting allows organizations to

have complete say over all changes, criteria and timetables for
any change.

Performance - Internally hosted environments often enjoy

greater performance that cloud-hosted environments.
Cons

Management Responsibility - Internally hosted

environments need to be monitored and managed 24x7 - and
guess who gets to do that?

CAPEX/Maintenance Costs - All of the hardware, software,

and maintenance costs are yours, and you receive no
economies of scale.

Power/cooling/hosting costs - All of the supporting power,

cooling and space costs related to internally hosted
environments are charged to your organization. And again,
there are no economies of scale.

Resource utilization - Your staff, and your payroll dollars,

must be at least partially focused on managing and
maintaining infrastructure.

Cloud Hosting
In the cloud hosting model, the assets and/or applications utilized
by a given enterprise don't reside within the enterprise, and are
typically not directly controlled by the enterprise, at least at the
infrastructure layer. Depending on the hosting model, the enterprise
may have control of the application, but not the underlying
infrastructure.

Pros

Streamlined costs - All of the CAPEX, maintenance, and

utility costs are rolled into a single monthly charge, and
economies of scale are often realized.

Improved resource utilization - Your internal staff can focus

on strategic initiatives, rather than day-to-day activities.

Flexibility & Scalability - Cloud environments have the ability

to rapidly scale up and down as needed.

Cons

Recurring Costs - Cloud hosting comes with a monthly bill,

that never goes away.

Loss of configuration control - Cloud hosting models

typically utilize change and management controls that result in
slower changes, and possibly disallowed changes.
 Performance - Latency can sometimes be a factor in cloud
hosting models.

In the final analysis, there is no way to say whether or not cloud

hosting or internal hosting is the right solution for all environments
in all cases. Rather, the better approach is to evaluate a given
application against a range of criteria such as financial and budget
considerations, maturity of the application and your infrastructure.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

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Cloud computing is now evolving like never before, with companies of all shapes and
sizes adapting to this new technology. Industry experts believe that this trend will
only continue to grow and develop even further in the coming few years. While cloud
computing is undoubtedly beneficial for mid-size to large companies, it is not without
its downsides, especially for smaller businesses. We now bring you a list of
advantages of disadvantages of cloud computing, with a view to helping such
establishments fully understand the concept of cloud computing.

Saas, Paas and IaaS in the Mobile Industry

Advantages of Cloud Computing

If used properly and to the extent necessary, working with data in the cloud can
vastly benefit all types of businesses. Mentioned below are some of the advantages
of this technology:

Cost Efficient
Cloud computing is probably the most cost efficient method to use, maintain and
upgrade. Traditional desktop software costs companies a lot in terms of finance.
Adding up the licensing fees for multiple users can prove to be very expensive for the
establishment concerned. The cloud, on the other hand, is available at much
cheaper rates and hence, can significantly lower the companys IT expenses.
Besides, there are many one-time-payment, pay-as-you-go and other scalable
options available, which makes it very reasonable for the company in question.

Almost Unlimited Storage

Storing information in the cloud gives you almost unlimited storage capacity.

Hence, you no more need to worry about running out of storage space or increasing
your current storage space availability.

Backup and Recovery

Since all your data is stored in the cloud, backing it up and restoring the same is
relatively much easier than storing the same on a physical device. Furthermore,
mostcloud service providers are usually competent enough to handle recovery of
information.

Hence, this makes the entire process of backup and recovery much simpler than
other traditional methods of data storage.

7 Best Cloud Service Providers of 2013

Automatic Software Integration
In the cloud, software integration is usually something that occurs automatically. This
means that you do not need to take additional efforts to customize and integrate your
applications as per your preferences. This aspect usually takes care of itself. Not
only that, cloud computing allows you to customize your options with great ease.
Hence, you can handpick just those services and software applications that you think
will best suit your particular enterprise.

Easy Access to Information

Once you register yourself in the cloud, you can access the information from
anywhere, where there is an Internet connection. This convenient feature lets you
move beyond time zone and geographic location issues.

Cloud Computing Is it Possible to Assign a Standard?

Quick Deployment
Lastly and most importantly, cloud computing gives you the advantage of quick
deployment. Once you opt for this method of functioning, your entire system can be
fully functional in a matter of a few minutes. Of course, the amount of time taken here
will depend on the exact kind of technology that you need for your business.

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

In spite of its many benefits, as mentioned above, cloud computing also has its
disadvantages. Businesses, especially smaller ones, need to be aware of these cons
before going in for this technology.

The Risks Involved in Cloud Computing

Technical Issues
Though it is true that information and data on the cloud can be accessed anytime
and from anywhere at all, there are times when this system can have some serious
dysfunction. You should be aware of the fact that this technology is always prone to
outages and other technical issues. Even the best cloud service providers run into
this kind of trouble, in spite of keeping up high standards of maintenance.

Besides, you will need a very good Internet connection to be logged onto the server
at all times. You will invariably be stuck in case of network and connectivity problems.
Security in the Cloud
The other major issue while in the cloud is that of security issues. Before adopting
this technology, you should know that you will be surrendering all your companys
sensitive information to a third-party cloud service provider. This could potentially put
your company to great risk. Hence, you need to make absolutely sure that you
choose the most reliable service provider, who will keep your information totally
secure.

What Strategies Should an Enterprise Adopt in Order to Ensure Data Protection?

Prone to Attack
Storing information in the cloud could make your company vulnerable to externalhack
attacks and threats. As you are well aware, nothing on the Internet is completely
secure and hence, there is always the lurking possibility of stealth of sensitive data.

In Conclusion
Like everything else, cloud computing too has its pros and cons. While the
technology can prove to be a great asset to your company, it could also cause harm
if not understood and used properly.

IT INFRASTRUCTURE

Five Pros and Cons of Cloud

Computing
Many companies are moving to the cloud, and it's true that the pros
outweigh the cons. But there are still problems to consider.

April 14, 2016 TechDecisions Staff Leave a Comment

Listen to the hype, and youd be given a pass for thinking cloud computing is all benefit and
no drawback. Thanks to the markets maturity and rising diversity, however, youre not far off
the mark. Pros now significantly outweigh cons, but companies still need to know where
theyre headed and what to expect when they arrive. Heres a quick breakdown:

Pro: Accessibility
The biggest benefit of cloud computing? Accessibility. When software, platforms and even
infrastructure are no longer tied to your physical network, users can easily tap in anywhere,
anytime. Whats more, the cloud supports all device types from desktop PCs to tablets,
smartphones and the growing market of IoT machines. As noted by My Tech Bits, for
example, cloud offerings are a big plus for medical companies that may need access to patient
data day or night, weekend or even holiday. By removing local stacks as the limiting
factor, companies can effectively bring needed corporate data with them wherever they go
and scale up storage and speed on demand to meet emerging needs.

Con: Security
Wondering about cloud cons? Security always makes an appearance. Small Business
Computing raises good points: Not all data belongs in the cloud, since provider-side breaches
or government requests could put company information at risk. In addition, businesses are
now held accountable for meeting strict compliance standards when it comes to financial,
health and legal data and this accountability does not transfer to cloud providers.

In practice, however, the con of cloud security is more myth exaggeration than actuality.
Web-based, real-time security tools have emerged to take on zero-day threats and existing
network compromise. As long as companies take the time to decide which data should move
off local servers and which needs to be kept close to the chest, security in the cloud is no
longer a significant obstacle.
Bob Hightower, Business Analyst and vCIO atGordon Flesch Company, is a 20-year veteran of the IT
industry. Bob is Microsoft certified and a graduate of the United States Air Force Institute of
Technology. Bobs experience has allowed him to gain valuable technical knowledge, as well as a
unique insight into the mind of the customer.

Pro: Cost Management

How much does your IT cost every month? For many companies IT spend is simply the cost
of doing business moving to the cloud, however, can change this paradigm. Instead of
spending on hardware, spending to expand capacity, and then spending to replace machines
when they fail or their life cycle ends, choosing the cloud means youre only on the hook for
the monthly cost of service, since all upgrades and hardware replacements are handled by
your provider. Cloud computing can also change the IT dynamic by giving employees more
time to focus on line-of-business objectives rather than troubleshooting, in turn generating a
kind of productivity-based ROI.

Con: Internal Infrastructure

This con isnt so much about the cloud but about how internal systems handle the cloud.
Before deploying any cloud solution, its critical to take a hard look at your in-house
infrastructure: Can existing network connections handle the needed bandwidth of cloud
services, and is your Internet service provider (ISP) up to the challenge of supplying
consistently high-speed downloads and uploads? If the answer is no in either case, its a good
idea to delay cloud adoption until youve got the basics covered.

Pro: Better DR
Want better disaster recovery? The cloud has it in spades. Since your data is distributed across
multiple failover points, even a large-scale disaster wont affect your bottom line. With cloud-
based DR youre ready to work via mobile in the interim and resume once local systems are
up and running again.
 Moving to the cloud isnt all wine and roses, but pros far outnumber cons. The more you
know about both, the better prepared youll be to make the transition.

The Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing

Posted April 24, 2015

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Frequently touted as the future of business technology, cloud computing's biggest benefit is that it
makes enterprise-quality technology affordable for small businesses. It lets them compete at
previously unattainable levels. In fact, it's now possible to completely run your small business in the
cloud.

However, not everyone is on board with this idea. For every person extolling the benefits of cloud
computing, there's an opponent with an equally powerful risk or disadvantage. With so many differing
opinions, how can you possibly decide what to do? Let's take a look at the major pros and cons of
cloud computing.

Cloud Computing: 3 Pros

1. Improved Disaster Recovery

Moving your business data to the cloud can make disaster recovery (DR)i.e., retrieving data in the
event of a hardware compromiseeasier and less expensive. You can even set up your system to
back up data automatically to ensure you'll be able to recover the most up-to-date information in case
of emergency.

As reported in Small Business Disaster Recovery in the Cloud:

According to a study by SpiceWorks, and sponsored by Carbonite, 45 percent of SMBs have

experienced data loss and, on average, it cost $9,000 to recover the data. You can minimize this cost
by having a good DR plan in place before disaster strikes.

"Most SMBs aren't storing petabytes of data, and they need only a reasonable amount of reliability,"
says Brian Geisel, CEO of Geisel Software. "The [high] cost really comes in around how quickly your
data can be recovered. For most situations, you can setup DR that will recover within a couple of
hours for less than $1,000."

No matter how you do the math, $1,000 in disaster preparation is a lot cheaper than $9,000 to recover
after an event.

2. Increased Collaboration and Flexibility

For many businesses, moving to the cloud increases opportunities for collaboration between
employees. Colleagues can sync and work on documents or shared apps with ease, often
simultaneously, receiving updates in real time.

Additionally, cloud computing allows each team member to work from anywhere. The cloud
centralizes your data, which means that you, your employees, and even your clients can access your
company data from any location with Internet access.

3. Environmentally Friendly

Cloud computing decreases a business' carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption and carbon
emissions by more than 30 percent. For small companies, the decreased energy usage can reach 90
percenta huge money saver. It can also help a business project an environmentally sound image.

Cloud Computing: 3 Cons

1. Internet Connectivity

Running all or some of your business applications in the cloud is great, as long as you can maintain a
consistent Internet connection. If any one of your cloud-based service providers loses connectivity, or
if your ISP experiences an outage, you're out of business until that Internet connection returns. Even
the best servers go down occasionally, so if you decide to use this method, it's important to implement
a backup plan.

2. Ongoing Costs

While cloud computing is relatively inexpensive to start up, depending on your needs, an in-house
solution may cost less in the long run. Buying an in-house server and installing a network system is
definitely a large, up-front capital investment, and you also need to consider ongoing IT maintenance
costs.

With cloud computing, you pay the same amount each month to maintain not only your server, but
also all your data. The choice you make may depend on whether you have a lot of startup capital to
invest in a private network. Be sure to compare all the costs for supporting both an in-house server
and cloud-based server to see which option works best for your situation.

3. Security

It boils down to whom do you trust with your business data? Not every business should place its data
in the cloud. Companies with highly sensitive dataor that must meet stringent compliance
regulationsmay well need their own IT department to keep data secure. When you store data in the
cloud, you're trusting a third party to keep it safe.
Does your small business have an IT department that's security savvy enoughwith enough
resourcesto lock down your data? If so, you're set. If not, the cloud may well offer you more security
than you could provide on your own.

One former Scotland Yard detective believes that you are ultimately the only entity that can fully
control your data. Additionally, because the purported safety of cloud computing isn't standardized,
you may have a difficult time determining how well third-parties protect your data.

Should you choose cloud computing or should you set up an in-house network? Both options have
their pros and cons. Research your options both in and outside the cloud, and weigh them against the
specific needs of your business.

11 Pros and Cons of Cloud

Computing Everyone Should
Know
Published on April 27, 2015
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Umesh Singh
FollowUmesh Singh
Asst. Manager Digital Marketing at Servotech Power Systems Pvt.Ltd.

T
oday, we have afforded to move ahead of the Iron Age and the
Industrial Age to the Age of participation. Yes, we participate on the
biggest platform - the Internet. We get there, do chat, post blogs,
upload pictures, make transactions, perform learning or even provide
telemedicine and so on. The cloud is not something floating above our
heads; it is a real infrastructure that centralizes data to open the doors
for our participation.

Cloud computing technology today has become something

every business uses or plans to move to. The types of cloud have
catered to every organizations needs. Be it a public cloud, a private
cloud or a hybrid cloud, all the three categories are enough to rock the
world. Cloud computing is that one business solution that every
enterprise uses. With a number of pros of cloud computing, there
come corresponding cons as well.
Today, we will understand the pros and cons of cloud
computing in business.
Come; lets acknowledge the benefits of cloud computing first:

1. Say Goodbye to costly systems: Cloud hosting

enables the businesses to enjoy minimal expenditure. As everything
can be done in the cloud, the local systems of the employees have
very less to do with. It saves the dollars that are spent on costly
devices.
2. Access from innumerable options: Another
advantage of cloud computing is accessing the environment of cloud
not only from the system but through other amazing options. These
options are tablets, IPad, netbooks and even mobile phones. It not
only increases efficiency but enhances the services provided to the
consumers. The requested orders, documents, and valuable files are
available via a single touch.
3. Software Expense: Cloud infrastructure eliminates the high
software costs of the businesses. The numbers of software are already
stored on the cloud servers. It removes the need for buying expensive
software and paying for their licensing costs. The feature of time to
time software upgrading retains your companys time and money.
4. The cooked food: The expense of adding new employees is
not affected by the applications setup, installation and arrangement of
a new device. Cloud applications are right at the desk of employees
that are ready to let them perform all the work. The cloud devices are
like cooked food.
5. Lowers traditional servers cost: Cloud for business
removes the huge costs at the front for the servers of the enterprise.
The extra costs associated with increasing memory, hard drive space
and processing power are all abolished.
6. Data Centralization: Another key benefit of cloud services
is the centralized data. The information for multiple projects and
different branch offices are stored in one location that can be accessed
from remote places.
7. Data Recovery: Cloud computing providers enables
automatic data backup on the cloud system. The recovery of data
when a hard drive crash is either not possible or may cost a huge
amount of dollars or wastage of valuable time.
8. Sharing Capabilities: We talked about documents
accessibility, lets hit sharing too. All your precious documents and
files can be emailed, and shared whenever required. So, you can be
present wherever you are not!
9. Cloud Security: Cloud service vendor chooses only the
highest secure data centers for your information. Moreover, for
sensitive information in the cloud there are proper auditing,
passwords, and encryptions.
10. Free Cloud Storage: Cloud is the best platform to store
all your valuable information. The storage is free, limitless and
forever secure, unlike your system.
11. Instantly Test: Various tools employed in cloud computing
permits you to test a new product, application, feature, upgrade or
load instantly. The infrastructure is quickly available with flexibility
and scalability of distributed testing environment.
So, these were the advantages, now lets check out the disadvantages
of cloud computing as well:

1. Net Connection: For cloud computing, an internet

connection is a must to access your precious data.
2. Low Bandwidth: With a low bandwidth net, the benefits of
Cloud computing cannot be utilized. Sometimes even a high
bandwidth satellite connection can lead to poor quality performance
due to high latency.
3. Affected Quality: The internet is used for various reasons
such as listening to audios, watching videos online, downloading and
uploading heavy files, printing from the cloud and the list goes on.
The quality of Cloud computing connection can get affected when a
lot of people utilize the net at the same time.
4. Security Issues: Of course, cloud computing keeps your
data secure. But for maintaining complete security, an IT consulting
firms assistance and advice is important. Else, the business can
become vulnerable to hackers and threats.
5. Non-negotiable Agreements: Some cloud computing
vendors have non-negotiable contracts for the companies. It can be
disadvantageous for a lot of businesses.
6. Cost Comparison: Cloud software may look like an
affordable option when compared to an in-house installation of
software. But it is important to compare the features of the installed
software and the cloud software. As some specific features in the
cloud software can be missing that might be essential for your
business. Sometimes you are charged extra for unrequired additional
features.
7. No Hard Drive: As Steve Jobs, the late chairman
of Apple had exclaimed I dont need a hard disk on my computer if
I can get to the server faster carrying around these non-connected
computers is byzantine by comparison. But some people who use
programs cannot do without an attached hard drive.
8. Lack of full support: Cloud-based services do not always
provide proper support to the customers. The vendors are not
available on e-mail or phones and want the consumers to depend on
FAQ and online community for support. Due to this, complete
transparency is never offered.
9. Incompatibility: Sometimes, there are problems of software
incompatibility. As some applications, tools, and software connect
particularly to a personal computer.
10. Lack of insight into your network: Its true cloud
computing companies provide you access to data like CPU, RAM,
and disk utilization. But just think once how minimal your insight
becomes into your network. So, if its a bug in your code, a hardware
problem or anything, without recognizing the issue it is impossible to
fix it.
11. Minimal flexibility: The application and services run on a
remote server. Due to this, enterprises using cloud computing have
minimal control over the functions of the software as well as
hardware. The applications can never be run locally due to the remote
software.
SaaS cloud computing applications offer lower total cost of
ownership. SaaS applications do not need large capital investments
for support infrastructure or licenses. The costs of cloud computing
keep on varying, and it becomes important to check ongoing prices.

To conclude, there are pros and cons of cloud but cloud has become a
mandatory part of every business venture. Today, one cannot think
without enjoying the benefits of cloud computing. With careful
precautions and efforts the disadvantages of cloud computing can be
minimized. Its true that cloud computing has rocked the business
world. The pros outweighs the cons of cloud computing. The
minimized costs, easy access, data backup, data centralization, sharing
capabilities, security, free storage and quick testing speaks for itself.
The argument becomes even stronger with the enhanced flexibility
and dependability.
THE PROS AND CONS OF CLOUD VS IN HOUSE SERVERS

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If you read our last post on business continuity planning, you know that a failed server
can have catastrophic effects on your business. But lets assume you already have a
sound business continuity plan in place, and you know what youre going to do if that
server fails. What should you consider when it comes to choosing the right server for
your business in the first place?

The biggest decision is whether to have a cloud based or in house server infrastructure.
While it may sound like a black-or-white selection, there are many things to consider.
The first factor is how important uptime is to your business. Cloud solutions are usually
more expensive than in house, but the benefits of being in the cloud can far outweigh the
costs for some businesses. For example, an online business that is reliant on web-based
transactions will consider uptime an extremely important factor; therefore, they will likely
be willing to pay more for a cloud based solution that can guarantee a certain level of
uptime. Other businesses not as dependent on uptime may be more suited to an in
house set up.

Here are some pros and cons of cloud vs in house servers.

PROS AND CONS OF CLOUD SERVERS

Pros Cons

No need for onsite hardware or capital The user experience is limited by

expenses. Well suited to rapidly growing the speed of the Internet
companies that may outgrow their connection.
infrastructure too quickly.

Easily scalable; can be added to as Third party cloud services could

needed. Solutions are often on-demand, so have direct access to your data.
you only pay for the options you want.

Workers can connect from anywhere, using If the Internet goes down on your
any computer, tablet, or smartphone. side or on your cloud providers
Companies can implement BYOD (bring side, you wont have access to any
your own device) policies. of your information.

Data can be backed up in the cloud as The costs can outweigh the benefits
regularly as 15-minute intervals, for companies not as dependent on
minimizing data losses in disaster uptime.
situations.
PROS AND CONS OF IN HOUSE SERVERS

Pros Cons

Gives you physical control Requires a capital investment in hardware and

over your server. infrastructure.

Keeps critical data in- Requires space in your office for rack space or a
house; no third party has server room/closet, as well as dedicated IT support.
access to your information.

No need to rely on an May be more susceptible to data loss during

Internet connection for disaster situations due to in-house location. How
access to data. often you take the data offsite will reflect how much
data youll lose in an emergency.

Can be more cost-effective No uptime guarantees.

for companies that are not
as concerned about
uptime.

As you can see, there are many pros and cons under each setup. For this reason,
SysGen often recommends a hybrid model to clients meaning a combination of both in
house and cloud based solutions. Going hybrid gives clients the best of both worlds.
Having some in house server hardware can be suitable for companies that do not want
to rely on the Internet. And at the same time, businesses can reap the benefits of a cloud
solution, such as Microsoft Exchange email, to allow users to connect from anywhere
with a high degree of uptime. SysGen actually guarantees 99.99% uptime to its clients
with cloud based email.

A hybrid server model also gives companies greater data security. For example, with a
SysGen hybrid model, clients can back up their data to an onsite server as well as a
cloud solution. SysGens backup solution partner, Datto, introduces next-gen backup,
disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions. Read more about backup solutions
in our blog post, Five key questions to ask about your backup solution.

Heres an example of a SysGen hybrid model. As you can see, the client has an onsite
server with local backup storage. Employees access their desktops, applications, files,
printers, and email from the office using the local network. At the same time, data is
backed up for redundancy to a cloud based solution, and email is entirely in the cloud
with Hosted Microsoft Exchange. The cloud configuration also gives employees
anywhere access to their desktops, applications, files, printers, and email. (Click the
photo to enlarge it).
The hybrid model seems to be on trend with whats happening in the IT industry in
general. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, techs future may lie in the
fog rather than the cloud. In other words, cloud solutions are great, but businesses may
not want to have everything out there in the cloud. Some solutions will still need to be
kept in house or on device, closer to the ground. For many companies, the best
configuration will be somewhere in between, which the article refers to as the fog.

Either way cloud, ground, or fog, SysGen can help you determine the right set up to
meet your specific business needs. Contact us to support your Calgary, Edmonton, Red
Deer or Vancouver-based business anytime!
The Environmental Impact of Cloud Computing

In todays global economy, the decisions of business owners are made not just based on how they will affect the

business, but also on how they will affect the world as a whole. This is seen quite well in how dedicated todays

businesses are to going green. Energy consumption is a real concern for most business owners, both for

environmental reasons and also for economic reasons as costs continue to escalate. One way to go green while

not cutting into services is through cloud computing.

What Is Cloud Computing

Cloud computing or cloud services refer to using an information and communications technology network to store

information and perform some computing tasks. Does this sound like the Internet? Well, in reality it is. Cloud

computing allows businesses to do many of their tasks via a Web-based service, rather than purchasing and

installing their own software and hardware. All tasks, from basic email to complex slideshow creation, are

handled through a remote computer via the cloud technology.

VMwares vCloud is an example of this type of setup. With vCloud, a business can maintain its own existing IT

infrastructure, while still utilizing the cloud technology to store and access data. Applications can be accessed,

managed and secured while in the cloud. This allows the company to avoid the purchase of its own internal

servers and computers to handle this task, while still giving them full control over the way in which their

technology works. For those who do not have an existing IT infrastructure, vCloud allows for use of its internal

software applications.

How This Saves Energy

When a company stores its own data on site using its own computers, a surprising amount of energy is wasted.

The computer is constantly running, yet it does not use its full potential for storage and software use. Thus,

energy is consumed that is not beneficial to the company.

With cloud computing, various companies can share the hardware, thus allowing more energy efficient use of the
machines. This reduces energy consumption by up to 95 percent and also cuts the companys utility costs by up

to 90 percent.

Companies that use cloud services instead of purchasing multiple copies of their software also help the

environment by limiting waste. Sometimes, cloud computing allows a company to avoid purchasing a machine or

two, and this also limits waste.

Saving Money While Saving Energy

Energy is not the only way that companies save when they utilize cloud computing. They also save money. With

this technology, companies buy what they use, rather than paying for all of the costs of running the machines that

provide the services they need. Lowered energy bills and the elimination of the need to buy expensive machines

and software increase a companys bottom line.

Saving energy can also bring in more business. Going green is hugely popular with the general public, and

companies can maximize on this as a marketing ploy. Through cloud computing, they can brand themselves as

being energy efficient. Maximizing on this through public relations can bring in more business.

Unlike other green solutions for business, this one does not end up costing more, yet it still appeals to the

customers and helps drum up more business. This makes it a winning solution for savvy business owners who

want to turn their corporation into an eco-friendly company, without breaking their budgets.

Cloud Computing: Understanding the Environmental Benefits

of Modern Technology
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Posted September 28, 2015

Keywords: Alternative Energy, Best Practices, Future Technologies, Green Business, Conservation & Recreation

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Environmental sustainability is an essential aspect that many businesses are taking advantage of. As
the world becomes more conscious of their contribution to the demise of natural resources, many
have begun to look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint by going green. Businesses, realizing the
importance to their consumers have also begun to look for methods to reduce their companys
environmental impact. A popular method for accomplishing this has been to go paperless.

Cloud Computing: The Paperless Option for Businesses

Going paperless essentially means eliminating the need for hard copy materials and essentially
setting up digital forms and files for corporate use. While there are several avenues in which
businesses can take to go paperless, many have invested in cloud computing services which allow
them to store all files electronically.

While it may not seem as if cloud computing is an eco-friendly option at first glance, a closer
understanding of this technology may make you think twice. While sustainability is certainly important,
you also want to know what methods they use as it pertains to a secure server. How is your
companys data protected? How is it backed up, should something go wrong?

According to the Guardian, companies who switch their data to the cloud could cut their carbon
emissions in half. Here are a few more ways cloud computing technologies help improve sustainability
within an organization.

Saves on Energy

Deciding to move to the cloud could potentially generate a large amount of energy savings for
businesses. Heres how:

Fewer Machines In a typical business environment (without cloud technologies), server utilization
can be extremely high. Essentially staff requires several computers and technological equipment to
get the work done in the course of a day. However, by incorporating cloud technology, which allows
users to utilize shared data on fewer servers, can decrease the server utilization rates. Shared data
centers essentially mean fewer machines to get the same amount of work done in a day.

Efficient Equipment By transferring business data sources to the cloud, the data is monitored
and stored through cloud providers with larger data centers. Larger data centers of course utilize
energy saving equipment and systems that work just as efficiently.

Better Allocated Resources Storing data in house requires several servers, particularly when
handling large loads of data. However, companies who have switched to the cloud eliminate the need
for extra servers and long idle times. Cloud providers can essentially designate resources whenever
necessary resulting in fewer machines sitting idle when data times are not as high.

Finding A Cloud Provider

Essentially, cloud computing technologies provide more than just a platform for businesses to go
paperless. It cuts back on the need for multiple servers, employs the use for more efficient equipment,
and eliminates the need for underused equipment, while still allowing businesses to utilize their data
whenever they need it most. Be that as it may, it is important to point out that not all cloud service
providers are created equally. As such, you must do a little research so that youre selecting a cloud
service provider that employs all of the above benefits for your organization. Below are a few
questions you should consider asking:

What Renewable Resources Do You Use? What sources does the cloud service provider use
for powering their data centers? Do they partly or wholly utilize solar energy, or other renewable
alternatives? If not, do they intend to in the near future?

Are Their Data Centers Efficient? What sustainability standards or achievements has the data
center accomplished? Do they have an LEED certification, or Energy Star recognition? Is their data
center designed using the most efficient equipment and technologies?

What Are Their Server Utilization Statistics? Is the company consistently seeking ways to
minimize the number of servers they must use?

Cloud computing technologies are certainly beneficial in terms of sustainability for businesses of all
sizes. Some of the largest gaming tech companies have taken notice and built their technology
infrastructure in the cloud. If you have considered investing in such services, be sure that youve done
your research to locate a service provider that encompasses all of the above mentioned benefits.
Essentially, the cloud service provider that you choose should help you to minimize your carbon
footprint, the need for loads of equipment, and provide efficient means to store and secure your
companys data. Of course, it also helps that it could essentially save you money in the long run.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF
CLOUD COMPUTING
Technology going green

Cloud computing is a concept of sharing services over a network to maximize the

effectiveness of the resources. These resources are shared by multiple users all over
the world, thus maximizing the computing power and reducing environmental
damage. For example, a cloud computer facility that serves European users during
European business hours with a specific application (e.g., email) may reallocate the
same resources to serve North American users during North Americas business
hours with a different application (e.g., a web server).

Some of the reasons why more and more people every day are opting for cloud
computing is that it is cost efficient specially for startups since there is no need for
them to buy new hardware, software or license. They can get all this on cloud and
just start working on their ideas. Project management can also be done effectively
from anywhere in the world by a team which might not be located at the same place.

Apart from this cloud computing is environmentally a better choice. More and more
organizations are emphasizing on lowering their carbon footprint to develop a long
term strategy of a sustainable growth without harming the environment. Cloud
presents a lot of benefits to this effect. Instead of every company using their own
hardware, company shares same hardware to increase utilization. Further, Servers
are kept in climate controlled room where temperature and humidity level are
carefully maintained, and cloud providers can use high-density efficient layouts that
are hard for in-house centers to replicate. Smaller companies where money is a
major deciding factor are likely to overlook an energy-saving equipment for a
cheaper one. Cloud eliminates this problem by providing same equipment to all
companies.

A 2010 study from Microsoft, Accenture and WSP Environment and Energy found
that moving business applications to the cloud could cut the per-user carbon
footprint by 30 percent for large, already-efficient companies and as much as 90
percent for the smallest and least efficient businesses.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Northwestern University conducted a

six-month study, funded by Google, in which they found that moving common
software applications used by 86 million U.S. workers to the cloud would amount to
cutting the energy use by 87% which can power Los Angeles for a year, the report
said. Data center energy consumption is expected to drop by 31 percent from 2010 to
2020 due to the continued adoption of cloud computing.

Even though these reports seem very promising an important thing to remember is
that these centers must draw their power from renewable sources of energy. Two
fast-growing companies in Iceland, Green Earth Data and GreenQloud, for example,
both claim to offer 100 percent renewable energy, powered by the countrys
abundant geothermal and hydropower resources.

According to this report, titled: How dirty is your data? A look at the energy choices
that power cloud computing, the data centers that power cloud computing account
for about 2 percent of global energy demand and are growing their energy
consumption at a rate of about 12 percent per year. According to Greenpeace, most of
the energy consumed (50-80 percent) comes from coal and nuclear energy rather
than renewable sources.

Greenpeace analyzed the cloud performance of 10 leading tech companies: Apple,

Facebook, IBM, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo!, HP and Akamai. Of
these, Apple scored the lowest while Akamai and Yahoo! were ranked as the most
environment-friendly, or, rather, the least environment-damaging.

Google is encouraging wind and solar projects by creating the subsidiary Google
Energy that can buy electricity directly from independent renewable power
producers (IPPs). Its building data centers around the world to help support its
growth and tries to use renewable to reduce its energy consumption.

If the cloud is located in areas that source renewable power, cloud computing can not
only save billions of dollars in energy costs it can also reduce carbon emissions by
millions of metric tons. If you are thinking of shifting your business to cloud, spare 2
minutes to find out the greener choice. One small stone thrown in water can create
many ripples.

Cloud Computing

Environmental benefits of cloud computing

NOV 13, 2013

BY RICK BLAISDELL

2 COMMENTS
 Both cloud computing and sustainability are
emerging as trends in business and society. Most consumers, whether they are aware of it or not, are
already heavy users of cloud-enabled services like email, social media, online gaming, and many mobile
applications.

At the same time, sustainability continues to gain importance as a performance indicator for organizations
and their IT departments. Corporate sustainability officers, regulators and other stakeholders have become
increasingly focused on ITs carbon footprint, and companies of all sizes are also placing more emphasis
on developing long-term strategies to reduce their carbon footprint through more sustainable operations
and products.

Is the cloud a greener computing alternative?

While cloud computing may not seem all that eco-friendly at first glance, a closer look reveals a number of
benefits. A six-month study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Northwestern
University with funding from Google has found that moving common software applications used by 86
million U.S. workers to the cloud could save enough electricity annually to power Los Angeles for a
year.

The report looks at 3 common business applications: email, CRM software and bundled productivity
software (spreadsheets, file sharing, word processing, etc.). Moving these software applications from local
computer systems to centralized cloud services could cut IT energy consumption by up to 87 percent. This
is the amount of electricity used each year by all the homes, businesses and industry in Los Angeles.

Energy savings in the cloud

Moving to the cloud can mean big energy savings for an organization, both in direct power costs and
indirect measures, such as the reduced need for shipping and manufacturing. Here are some of the ways
that the cloud can help a company cut its carbon footprint down to size:
 Fewer machines With the cloud, server utilization rates are typically 60-
70%, while in many small business and corporate environments, utilization rates
hover around 5 or 10%. As a result, shared data centers can employ fewer machines
to get the same capacity.
Equipment efficiency Larger data centers often have the resources to
allow them to upgrade to energy-saving equipment and building systems. Usually,
this is not an option in smaller organizations where this efficiency is not the focus.
Consolidated climate control costs In order for a server to run at its
peak performance, its temperature and humidity level must be carefully controlled,
and cloud providers can use high density efficient layouts that are hard for in-house
centers to replicate.
Dynamically allocated resources In-house data centers need extra
servers to handle peak data loads, and cloud providers can dynamically allocate
resources where necessary in order for fewer machines to sit idle.

Cloud computing has enormous potential to transform the world of IT: reducing costs, improving
efficiency and business agility, and contributing to a more sustainable world. Do you use the cloud or other
green technologies in your business?

Use of cloud services by public

and private enterprise could
increase GHG efficiency by 95%
Green IT 2 Staff Writer

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 image: ddpavumba / freedigitalphotos.net

A lot has been said about the migration of enterprises to the cloud, and a large proportion of this
vocalisation has been highly opinionated one way or the other. To name but a few areas of
contention: articles and studies regarding security, control and reliability appear on a near daily
basis. However, there is a more fundamental and arguably more pressing variable in the cloud
debate the environmental impact it could have if it were adopted in the majority.

Seeking to abstract out the emotive and opinionated elements of the debate, a recent study
conducted by the Global E-sustainability Initiative (GEI) examines the impact that the migration
could have on the environment. The report written and led by Peter Thomond Phd,
commissioned by Microsoft and directed by Alice Valvadova (of GEI) found that if 80% of world
enterprise adopted cloud computing and powered down local servers we would see around a 4.5
megaton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions based on conservative estimates in the IT
sector. Given the current carbon footprint that the IT sector possesses globally, this reduction
translates to a 2% decrease in that contribution; a small figure, but it equates to 1.7 million cars
disappearing from our roads!

So, how exactly have GEI and Microsoft come up with this figure? Although it has to be based on
estimated usage and emissions the methodology of the study is theoretically sound. First of all
the study limited its scope to just examining business computing and concerned itself with Email,
CRM and Groupware when talking about cloud computing (although cloud computing can
consist of far more than this, this selection is realistically actionable). Then based on the size and
online presence of a country, along with the average power consumption of local and public
servers, a net emission reduction can be calculated arriving at our rough estimate of 4.5 Mt.
For a more in depth explanation of how figures were estimated and analysed you can find the full
report here.

Thomonds study is commendable because it illustrates that unbiased research into the potential
benefits of cloud computing is necessary if businesses are to move forward both technologically
and environmentally. Through open and collaborative investigation, the next generation of
entrepreneurs can save themselves the logistical nightmare of switching from conventional,
locally run solutions to cloud computing a luxury that the current entrepreneurial generation
was not privy to.

Thomond and his team deserve praise for ushering the industry forward by building on previous
research and actively encouraging critical analysis of their figures and research methods; as in
any field of study, the only way to move forward is to hypothesise, synthesise and critique
constantly improving the information we have available to us.
Moreover, this is incredibly relevant to SMEs and new start-ups due to the fact that, counter
intuitively, they are the most inefficient when it comes to on-site service yields. Although it might
seem strange to think that a sole trader or a SME of 5-10 employees could be contributing more
to the industrys carbon footprint than a large corporation, it does make sense: one large
corporation is running one IT infrastructure that its systems are then built on, whereas an
equivalent sized group of SMEs are all running their own servers, NAS systems, databases and
so on and this base infrastructure is then being unnecessarily duplicated for each business again
and again. This could be avoided if SMEs utilised cloud platform architecture and built their
systems on this shared infrastructure instead.

To conclude, what are the reasons why SMEs, start-ups and even larger corporations might not
adopt this technology going forward? The report identifies four main areas of concern that could
inhibit adoption.

1. Businesses are concerned about data security and loss of control. Although there is little
reliable evidence for security and privacy issues, and control is still in the hands of the client
business, this behavioural challenge is something vendors must recognise and respond to.

2. Poor marketing and benefit exemplification; although this is beginning to change, there has
been a long standing culture of one size fits all which simply does not benefit modern SMEs.
The service offered needs to be responsive and identify the benefits to the clients business.

3. A lack of clear and understandable economic benefit. The cloud service vendor not only has to
demonstrate the benefit to the client business per se, but also the financial upside as well. For
businesses under constrained IT budgets, irrespective of the ecological benefits, the
demonstrating of a long term saving still remains the biggest business decision driver.

4. Failing to reach the right people in business. Although a business IT department may
recognise the benefit of cloud computing, the vendor isnt doing enough by convincing them.
Strategic decision making usually filters from the top down, and so vendors need to tailor their
influence to the people making these decisions.

On top of this, I would like to add one more area of concern: a lack of widespread understanding
of the fundamentals of cloud computing. If the upper tiers of management and decision making
are not fully educated on the potential economic and ecological benefits, then they are not likely
to make the initial decision to structure their business with cloud computing in mind. Although
some vendors are moving to help businesses make informed choices by educating them, the
industry as a whole must make a conscious effort to demystify the offering.

Going Green: The Eco-Friendly Aspect of Cloud Computing

 Mar 18, 2014Michael Brown

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When MSPs list the benefits of cloud computing to their clients, there's one that probably doesn't get the
attention it deserves: the eco-friendly aspect of the cloud.

Theres a lot of discussion these days on the benefits of the cloud. Its known for saving
organizations large and small a great deal of time, money and headache. What may
not come to mind immediately are the environmental benefits of cloud based computing.
Going Green and reducing the corporate carbon footprint have also been fairly recent
trends among companies. Not only is it a way for businesses to make drastic changes in
the preservation of our planet; its a good way for them to improve their public image.

As an MSP, you may not have initially considered your services to be environmentally
friendly. Well, according to this article from Sustainablebrands.com, you might want to
reconsider that idea. I wanted to share a few of the environmental benefits they outline
in the piece, with some additional commentary as to how they relate to your business.
Lets take a look:

Fewer machines In many small business and corporate environments,

server utilization rates hover around 5 or 10 percent. This means that you need
more servers to get the same amount of work done. With the cloud, utilization
rates are typically 60-70 percent shared data centers can employ fewer
machines to get an equivalent capacity.

It is pretty easy to see, fewer machines equals fewer dollars spent. Servers can be
extremely expensive to purchase and maintain, and with such a low utilization rate,
enormous amounts of cash are flying out the window. Data loads vary, but you must
have enough servers to handle the peak times. The rest of the time these extra machines
are sitting idly.

Consolidated climate control costs In order for a server to run at peak

performance, its temperature and humidity level must be carefully controlled.
Cloud providers can take advantage of efficient layouts such as rack-first that
are hard for in-house centers to replicate.

This makes the cloud servers more eco-friendly, and eliminates the cost from your
company altogether. If you dont have a large amount of servers that you need to
carefully control the climate for, you dont need to pay to carefully control the climate.
This can lead to huge savings on energy bills.

Efficient equipment Larger data centers often have the resources to

allow them to upgrade to energy-saving equipment and building systems. This
is usually not possible in smaller organizations where this efficiency is not the
focus.

This allows your cloud computing to be more energy efficient (and therefor you more
green!) while also saving everyone money in the long run. More efficient equipment will
lead to lower costs, so whether it is in house, or via a cloud service, lower costs are a very
good thing.

Of course some cloud services will be greener than others. If it is your priority make sure
you do your investigating to find out which service will be best for you from an eco-point
of view. Often times moving to green or more eco-friendly procedures means an increase
in cost for a company. However, with cloud base computing, its likely your transition
will keep more money in your pockets AND do a world of good towards helping the
planet. Its a win-win for everyone!

Has your company investigated cloud services in relation to becoming more green?
Please share in the comments section below.