The Cloud Computing Technology

Introduction

Cloud computing is of significant economic benefits as it eliminates the idea of stand-alone investment in software or servers. It is a way of cutting down on overhead charges like software updates, data storage as well quality controls. The fact that users can share most of these services or acquire them from a common server eliminates the need to individually acquire one. For instance, it would certainly take lots of time and money to have one in place. Besides, this technology is quite expensive, and lots of skilled manpower would be required to maintain it. In the end, individual companies would have to spend a lot of money to have stand-alone computer software. This technology saves time and money as a user is not required to install the hardware for every new application acquired. However, it allows users to just scale up or upgrade the computing services according to their own specifications or requirements. There are several data centers from where users may choose to get these services whenever they want them, thereby making the entire thing safe and convenient to use ( Winkler, 2011). The other benefits that accrue from cloud computing is the provision that allows service providers to cut down on overhead costs by freely selecting their own locations for infrastructure. Generally, cloud computing has several benefits for its users given that it can be accessed from any electronic gadget like phones or computers. It is certainly the next significant thing in the area of technology and will continue to benefit the world for quite some time.

Allowing Remote Computer Access

The fact that cloud computing allows employees to access their work from multiple locations has certainly made it a popular idea. According to literature, many businesses are suddenly coming to terms with the manifold of benefits that they can get from using cloud computing in their firms. Among the benefits is increased employee satisfaction. It’s the desire of every employee in the world to be able to work at the comfort of his or her house. This has been made possible in cloud computing due to the use of remote access computing, which enables people to work on a full time basis from the comfort of their homes. In some instances, this technology has been used to poach workers from rival employees in a bid to be at the top of the competition. The idea here is that given equal payment of salaries, people would prefer to take a full-time job that one can comfortably do at home as compared to one at the office. This is especially true for young people who still have children to bring up. It gives young people the ample time to bring up their children in the best way they want without having to pass the responsibility to other people. According to studies, worker productivity has also been shown to increase when they are allowed to work through the remote system. For example, they can effectively evade the hustle and bustle of the office, attending meetings or meeting people who have an appointment with them (Hurwitz, 2009). These distractions can be well avoided by allowing workers to do most of the work from home. Particularly, this technology has worked for workers who can’t avoid the temptation to chat with their colleagues whenever there is an opportunity at the workplace. However, allowing them to work from home makes them more productive and effective.

The use of remote computer access also saves the cost of operating an office. The adoption of new technology in almost all spheres of the office makes it quite expensive to run one. For example, the cost of purchasing classy and comfortable furniture can be extremely expensive. Yet, they have to be bought because the way the office looks holds sway to the general perception of the entire firm. A company that uses old or rugged furniture will not attract many customers and eventually will not make significant profits. In addition, modern offices need computers that work efficiently. Such a model of computers certainly cost a fortune, implying that lots of money will have to be spent to acquire a complete set of computers for the office. Besides, computers work together with other electronic devices like internet connections as well as printers. All these devices require a significant amount of space that must be available in the office. In some instances, companies have had to move to bigger offices in order to accommodate the increasing number of their office equipment. Other office costs incurred by companies include water coolers, air conditioning, and parking space for workers and cost of electricity. For example, the high number of electronic gadgets operated at the office undoubtedly consumes lots of electricity. In addition, the fact that they need skilled manpower to operate implies an extra cost on every device acquired for the office. In the end, it becomes extremely expensive to have an office and operate from it. It is the reason firms have resorted to having only a few employees who they pay well. They feel that having many people will reduce the sense of personal responsibility as well as the motivation to work hard as workers tend to waste a lot of time when there are many of them. However, remote computer access has enabled companies to evade these costs by allowing workers to work from home.

Remote computer access has introduced a new level of business resilience for most companies. There are hardly any mishaps that can bring the operations to a halt. Even in the eventuality of a strike by employees, the management can still convince a few workers to do most of the job from home, away from the glare of the striking colleagues. This has become the new trick in handling employee strikes, given that employers will always find a few workers who wish to work from home at an extra cost (Grama, 2010). Meanwhile, employers can be engaging employees in a dialogue with a view to getting the best bargain, considering that they will not be looking so desperate at the moment. In countries that experience adverse weather conditions like the United States, remote computer access enables businesses to remain operational even if all employees cannot make it to the office because of bad weather. For example, while it may be too cold to work from the cold environment in the office, the heating devices at home can give the comfort that enables offices to remain operational during extreme weather conditions. And when all roads are covered with snow, businesses may not have to come to a halt because employees can be informed to work from home instead. In this manner, employers never get worried about the company not meeting urgent deadlines simply because of bad weather. Remote computer access allows businesses to remain resilient in the face of situations that would otherwise cause closure of offices for days or even weeks. According to statistic, firms that have adopted cloud computing are always able to make substantial profits all year long without experiencing low seasons due to adverse weather conditions that discourage workers from going to the office. Essentially, businesses should embrace cloud computing in order to remain a float in the market for the longest time in the year.

Remote computer access ensures that employees have unlimited access to all the information they need. Usually, it gets to a Friday evening and one suddenly realizes that some crucial work has to be finished up before Monday the following week. While one may actually be willing to finish up the work over the weekend, one gets home and realizes that the computer at home does not support the version of the file from the office. However, remote computer access enables workers to obtain the versions they want at any given time without any inconveniences. It saves a lot of time that one would waste going back to the office to get the correct version of the files needed (Babcock, 2010). In addition, there are necessary emails that are sent from the office intranet that one may have to access form home. This may not be possible without cloud computing because the information can only be accessed from the office computers. This coupled with the fact that employees may need to contact their employers or their colleagues even when they are away from the workplace makes remote computer access an ideal technology. For example, the employer may want to know what some accounting information is not balancing before he or she can process workers’ salaries. In this case, the employer may not have to wait till he or she gets back to the office to get answers from the responsible employees. Rather, all the clarification can be done without any of the two parties making a tiring trip to the workplace. Also to note is the fact that employees may opt to go for an annual trip without having to entirely close their operations. In an office that uses cloud computing, the need to have someone stay behind to attend to emergency situations may not arise because such emergencies can even be attended to from the comfort of a hotel from overseas. It eliminates the need to make unnecessary sacrifices and avoid social functions simply because one cannot leave the office. Indeed, cloud computing continues to make lives much easier for both workers and their employees.

Cloud computing also enables quick provision of essential services at any given moment. The conventional office settings were designed to work only eight hours a day. However, cloud computing has made it possible to indefinitely extend this period as one can effectively continue working from home if there is a need to. In fact, there is a popular joke that the only reason people go to the office is to socialize, which is essential for workers’ productivity. For instance, one can get to interact better with his or her colleagues at a personal level rather than through constant mails or phone calls. Were it, not for this, there would be no need to go to the office, especially for companies that use cloud computing (Miller, 2008). According to statistics, 64% of Americans received emergency services offered during weekends, over the past two years. Essentially, this means that one did not have to go to the office to offer these services as there was neither enough time nor space to do this. Thus, it can be deciphered that several people already benefit from cloud computing. Remote computer access has made it possible for workers to receive complaints and respond to them adequately from their home offices without having to go to the companies’ offices. This idea does not only give employees a sense of satisfaction, but also builds the reputation of the company as both effective and responsive. According to literature, every business would like to associate with such kinds of good reputation because it is what keeps customers coming back. Thus, for businesses that wish to stay ahead of the rest in as far as attracting customers is concerned, they should seriously consider adopting cloud computing as this will enable them to respond to their customers in an efficient and timely manner. It should certainly be their priority. Take a situation whereby all sales and marketing staff of a given firm have been caught up in an airport and cannot make it to the office on time, yet there is a client who needs services of the department so urgently. Cloud computing will definitely solve the situation as one can just log on remotely and get the information that the client may be in need of. Essentially, these reasons have made cloud computing and remote computer access a commonplace in businesses today. The technology has literally allowed companies to operate 24 hours a day without compromising on the quality of services offered.

According to literature, many businesses are suddenly coming to terms with the manifold of benefits that they can get from using cloud computing in their firms. Among the benefits is increased employee satisfaction. This has been made possible in cloud computing due to the use of remote access computing, which enables people to work on a full-time basis from the comfort of their homes (Der Molen, 2010). In some instances, this technology has been used to poach workers from rival employees in a bid to be at the top of the competition. The idea here is that given equal payment of salaries, people would prefer to take a full-time job that one can comfortably do at home as compared to one at the office. This is especially true for young people who still have children to bring up. It gives young people the ample time to bring up their children in the best way they want without having to pass the responsibility to other people. According to studies, worker productivity has also been shown to increase when they are allowed to work through the remote system. For example, they can effectively evade the hustle and bustle of the office, attending meetings or meeting people who have an appointment with them. These distractions can be well avoided by allowing workers to do most of the work from home. Particularly, this technology has worked for workers who can’t avoid the temptation to chat with their colleagues whenever there is an opportunity at the workplace. However, allowing them to work from home makes them more productive and effective.

Outsourcing Hardware Maintenance

The cloud computing technology enables firms to enjoy economies of scale through outsourcing for hardware or software maintenance. The fact that a company does not have to single-handedly  bear the burden of maintaining its computer software or hardware makes it quite lucrative to use cloud computing. For example, it should be noted that skilled manpower, as well as complex electronic devices, are required to operate cloud computing. Thus, if companies were to operate their own “cloud computing” systems, they would have to spend a fortune in obtaining, maintaining as well as operating the devices to keep the system working. This has been made easier with cloud computing because all that a company needs to do is pay a subscription fee and renew it after a specified period (Lumban, 2012). This essentially eases the economic burden considering that different companies come together to share the cost of operating the cloud computing systems. Thus, it enables firms to save their funds and use them elsewhere in improving the quality of services that the company offers.

It also considerably reduces the amount of expenditure that companies undergo in installing technology infrastructure. Ideally, installation of new infrastructure requires a lot of money to acquire the machines as well as the space to place them. Thus, companies that opt to have their own “cloud computing” systems would require a lot of resources to achieve this. In addition, they will need to either acquire new staff that can understand how the machines operate or have to retrain their staff to operate the machines. This may be extremely expensive for small businesses that may not afford large sums of money in investments. Essentially, cloud computing would not be possible for small businesses. Outsourcing of maintenance, therefore, looks more realistic for small companies or those that are just getting into the market. It enables them to save on the cost of production and preferably invest the extra money on general improvement of services provided.

Cloud computing also helps companies to globalize their operations as anyone can access their services from anyway in the world. Indeed, the fact that certain companies outsource maintenance services as much lower puts them in a better place to provide services that meet international standards. Cloud computing streamlines companies’ processes by reducing the time spent in production. According to statistics, most companies are adopting cloud computing simply because they want their processes to be unique and efficient. This is ensured by the fact that information can be relayed between various departments in a timely manner. Thus, the various departments are able to coordinate their activities and come up with the best products in the market. For the manufacture of goods, companies that use cloud computing usually ensure adequate flow of information between production and quality control to ensure that the products meet international standards.

Simplifying Hardware/Software Deployment

Cloud computing has considerably simplified the process of deploying software or hardware. This involves all the activities that are aimed at making software or hardware available for general use. For example, the general process of deployment encompasses several activities that are quite interrelated and which usually have overlapping transitions between them. It is quite easy to make grave mistakes if one has to do all this by him or herself. However, the producer sites usually take the responsibility for deploying the software for their consumers. This effectively saves consumers the burden of doing it single-handedly and the risk of making mistakes. According to literature, deployment of software follows a specified process and involves all activities geared at assembling the system and eventually transferring it into the customer site. This can be done effectively by the producers on behalf of the consumer. If this service were not available, consumers would have to hire skilled labor to do all this, which would undoubtedly be extremely expensive (Isaca, 2011). In the end, the consumers would have to spend more money in deploying the software that they used to acquire it. This significant benefit accrues from the use of cloud computing as a form of technology in the office.

In addition, the actual activation of the executable components of the new software is done by the producers on behalf of the consumer. For the simplest systems, this usually involves designing a particular command for execution of the desired components. In more complex systems, all the supporting systems should be left ready for use by the end of the activation process. The producer may then decide to store a copy of the software for reinstallation in case the one in use crashes. This implies that  it would be almost impossible to use cloud computing for small companies that cannot afford these services. The consumer may also wish to deactivate the system once it is operational. Even at this point, the producer may still chip in and deactivate it as this process also needs some technological expertise. For example, it involves totally shutting down all the executing components or only a few of them within the system so that another deployment is done. Usually, deactivation of software may be necessary to perform a second deployment or to perform an update. In addition, cloud computing also comes with the benefit of application retirement, which is essentially the infrequent removal of obsolete systems from use.

Cloud computing also significantly simplifies the process of adaptation which involves modification of the software system after it has been previously installed for use. For this case, deactivation or installation may not be necessary. This is another expensive venture that cloud computing does on behalf of its clients. For example, it gets several companies paying up for the upgrade such that they don’t individually feel the pinch of heavy expenditure. They also provide web based tracking version systems that make it easy for their clients to locate and upgrade their software systems (West, 2011). This is quite significant because technology keeps changing extremely rapidly. Thus, the basic procedures that individual clients can do for themselves are made available from the convenience of their offices. Essentially, cloud computing oversimplifies the process of deploying their software or hardware systems purposely to convenience their clients. All the procedures that may be too complicated for individual firms to accomplish are done for them by the producers and the simple ones facilitated through the internet. As such, companies remain only with one thing to worry about, doing business. It is the reason every company is rushing to adopt cloud computing.

In conclusion, cloud computing has significantly changed global perceptions with regards to software and hardware requirements. It is a perfect mixture of several delivery models in terms of new technology and latest ideas in technology. This technology allows its users an unlimited access to servers for several reasons including hosting and maintenance, data space center and other network equipment. Cloud computing enables companies to save lots of money through remote computer access, outsourcing software/ hardware maintenance as well as the deployment of software. For example, remote computer access allows businesses to remain resilient in the face of situations that would otherwise cause closure of offices for days or even weeks. According to statistics, firms that have adopted cloud computing are always able to make substantial profits all year long without experiencing low seasons due to adverse weather conditions that discourage workers from going to the office. Essentially, businesses should embrace cloud computing in order to remain afloat in the market for the longest time in the year.

Thus, they can use the money elsewhere to improve the quality of their services.