MyPage is a personalized page based on your interests.The page is customized to help you to find content that matters you the most.


I'm not curious

The Future of Cloud Computing and Big Data - What do Businesses Need to do to Prepare?

Published on 03 June 13
2 Jamie rewarded for 2 times 2 Jamie rewarded for 2 times   Follow
0
0
In years gone by it was necessary for businesses to keep filing rooms stocked with paperwork charting all the information generated by their operations, at least until the arrival of computing technologies over the last half century made it possible to move from this method of data storage over to a digital alternative. At first this seemed like a real boon, since a server that can hold hundreds of thousands of documents takes up a tiny amount of space compared to what would be required in the presence of a physical filing system.

However, the honeymoon period for digital data was short lived, with companies soon finding that they were being charged with storing, cataloguing and analysing an ever-increasing sea of information which can easily outgrow the capabilities of an in-house IT setup.

Global predictions for the growth of data make interesting reading. A report from CSC found that while the total amount of digital information in the world was 1.2 zettabytes (ZB) in 2010, by 2020 this will have risen to 35ZB. Since a zettabyte is the equivalent of a thousand billion gigabytes, this is not an insignificant amount of information. And the rate at which data is being produced by 2020 will be 44 times that of the levels registered in 2009, so the market will still be growing, not slowing.

While two thirds of the data generated by the end of the decade will come from individuals, businesses will still be responsible for creating the rest and the majority of this information in all of its forms will need to be stored and managed by enterprises. Ten years on from 2020 and the problem will have become exponentially bigger, at least if you consider the growth in data creation as an issue in itself that requires a solution rather than an opportunity for businesses to innovate and improve themselves.

Big data services based in the cloud are designed to answer the ever-growing requirements placed upon IT infrastructures by businesses.

While relying on in-house hardware can leave a company struggling to find adequate storage and processing capacity for information, a big data platform is purposefully designed to be flexible enough to handle data of all types and scalable enough to grow in line with the needs of its clients. The cloud's role in managing the global flow of data is expected to increase as demand for storage grows, with the CSC report predicting that by 2020 a little over a third of all information produced will be kept in the cloud.

With all that being said, businesses will doubtlessly be wondering whether there is anything they can do to prepare for this data-drenched future in which the cloud is going to be playing an increasingly central role. For a company that may still be entirely reliant on internal systems for data storage, or has yet to computerise all of their old records, these estimations can make intimidating reading.

However, it is important for companies to embrace the cloud rather than shy away from adoption, because experts predict that it will not only become ubiquitous in the future, but will be so well integrated that users will not even make the distinction between hosted and on-site services.
The Early Bird

Although some emerging technologies should be approached with caution because they are unproven and may not turn out to be a durable as advertised, this is not true of big data and the cloud. Companies which buy into the deserved hype and adopt cloud for storage and analytics early on will be putting themselves in a stronger position further down the line, because the increased import of cloud-based platforms will be something that they can absorb and benefit from with ease.

Conversely, firms which hesitate and are needlessly sceptical about the cloud may find that they are forced to rush into adoption in the future at a pace which may not be entirely suitable. It is better to get ready for the cloud right now rather than wait until there is no other choice available.
Cloud Advantages

Aside from the pure flexibility and scalability of the cloud, there are several other benefits that make it an ideal alternative to a reliance on internal systems for modern businesses. The cloud is fundamentally future-proof, because unlike the hardware setups for which individual companies are responsible, there is no fixed shape, size or location of the data centres that fuel the cloud.

Hardware and software upgrades are handled by cloud providers centrally, which removes this responsibility from the hands of businesses and thus lowers the costs associated with procurement, maintenance and augmentations.

As your data requirement spiral ever upwards, the cloud will be growing at a rate that never leaves you feeling restricted. It is in the interest of cloud providers to constantly invest in their underlying infrastructures to meet the expectations of clients and with more organisations and individuals investing in the cloud there is always funding available to help them achieve this.
Cloud Encroachment

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about cloud adoption is that you do not have to approach it as an all-or-nothing ideology. The degree to which you rely on the cloud can be entirely dictated by your company's requirements at a given time and there is no need to plump for a solely private or public cloud setup, since hybrid solutions are far more popular, particularly among larger firms.

The fact that the cloud will still only account for a third of all data storage by 2020 suggests that there is still room for businesses to keep data independent of remote systems. Of course companies which choose to use the cloud for the purposes of data backup and security while still using internal hardware for day to day activities may account for this.

Preparing to hold back the floodwaters of data does not mean that your business has to invest in a huge dam. Instead the cloud can become the scenic, remote reservoir that lets you accommodate the coming torrent with ease.

This article is written by Jamie Garner, who works for the business telecoms and hosting provider Daisy Group.
This blog is listed under Cloud Computing and Data & Information Management Community

Related Posts:
Post a Comment

Please notify me the replies via email.

Important:
  • We hope the conversations that take place on MyTechLogy.com will be constructive and thought-provoking.
  • To ensure the quality of the discussion, our moderators may review/edit the comments for clarity and relevance.
  • Comments that are promotional, mean-spirited, or off-topic may be deleted per the moderators' judgment.
You may also be interested in
 
Awards & Accolades for MyTechLogy
Winner of
REDHERRING
Top 100 Asia
Finalist at SiTF Awards 2014 under the category Best Social & Community Product
Finalist at HR Vendor of the Year 2015 Awards under the category Best Learning Management System
Finalist at HR Vendor of the Year 2015 Awards under the category Best Talent Management Software
Hidden Image Url

Back to Top