You most likely remember, or work with someone who does: before cloud computing, businesses had to build, run, and maintain their own computing resources, typically housed in local data centers.
Cloud computing, though, has enabled what’s called "computing-as-a-utility" where, just like water, gas, or electricity, computing resources are available as you need them, and you pay for the resources or services your business consumes.
This includes servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics, all delivered over the internet (aka "the cloud").
As a model, cloud computing provides flexibility, reduces overhead, and offers a scalable, on-demand IT environment.
Whether it’s storing data, running applications, or enabling remote work, cloud computing IT services are revolutionizing how organizations operate. They were instrumental in enabling businesses to continue operations throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to reduce social isolation, job loss, and economic disruption. But what exactly makes cloud computing so powerful for simplifying business processes?
Ahead, learn more about the core ways cloud computing simplifies business operations, from cost savings and scalability to improved collaboration and security.
To fully grasp how cloud computing simplifies business operations, it's important to understand the four primary types of cloud services, also known as the cloud computing IT services models. Each serves a different purpose and offers varying levels of control and flexibility.
Infrastructure-as-a-service is the most basic cloud service model, providing virtualized computing resources over the internet—including virtual machines, storage, and networking. These services are leased from providers, including Microsoft Azure, on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Offering scalable on-demand infrastructure and cost-effective infrastructure for dynamic workloads, and enabling businesses to build custom applications, IaaS is attractive for businesses that want full control over their IT infrastructure without managing, maintaining, and upgrading physical hardware themselves.
Platform-as-a-Service, including Microsoft Azure App Services, provide a platform for developers to build, test, and deploy applications without worrying about the underlying hardware or software layers. PaaS can speed up app development, handle software updates and infrastructure, and provides built-in scalability and integration tools. Naturally, PaaS is a fit for software developers and teams focused on application development.
Software-as-a-Service is a massive category of platforms delivering fully functional applications over the internet. Users access software via a web browser without needing to install or maintain it. SaaS applications are easy to use and deploy, can reduce IT responsibilities, and are accessible from anywhere, enabling employees to continue work seamlessly, no matter where they’re working from (ex: Microsoft 365).
Millions of people use SaaS apps daily, with companies reporting using an average of 106 SaaS apps in their business operations. While SaaS app consolidation is becoming a key strategy for businesses, these services aren’t going anywhere, having proven their value and cost-efficiency.
Function as a Service, or FaaS, is a newer model where developers write code in the form of functions, which run automatically in response to events. With FaaS, the cloud provider—such as Azure Functions—manages all infrastructure. Best for event-driven applications or microservices architecture, FaaS makes it possible for these IT teams to pay only for execution time, scale automatically based on demand, and offload the responsibility of managing servers.
Now, it’s time to understand the benefits of cloud computing IT services and how they help businesses simplify operations.
One of the most immediate advantages of cloud computing is cost reduction.
Traditionally, businesses had to invest heavily in hardware, software licenses, and in-house IT personnel. Maintaining servers, managing upgrades, and ensuring uptime involved ongoing capital and operational expenses.
Cloud computing removes much of this burden:
This shift allows companies to reinvest capital into core areas like product development, marketing, or customer experience.
As your business grows and scales, so do your IT needs. Traditionally, scaling meant buying new hardware, increasing staff, or reconfiguring networks, which, as you know, is a time-consuming and costly endeavor.
With cloud computing, scalability is as simple as adjusting a few settings.
This flexibility ensures that businesses can respond to market demands faster and more efficiently. Because cloud computing enables the delivery of even massive amounts of computing resources in minutes, it relieves IT teams of a lot of the pressure of capacity planning while also enabling high flexibility.
A modern workspace is fluid, flexible, and hybrid. It leverages the concept of a thoughtfully designed and technology-enabled office space while moving beyond physical boundaries. It supports your employees wherever and however they choose to do their best work. Not to mention, robust collaboration capabilities are the foundation for retaining top talent and staying ahead of your competition. Thankfully, cloud-based tools and platforms have transformed how teams collaborate, especially in hybrid or remote work environments.
These services streamline workflows, boost productivity, and keep everyone on the same page — whether they’re in the office or working remotely.
Enterprise cybersecurity involves more than implementing security tools or fending off emerging threats. Ultimately, it’s about designing security measures to support your business processes, improve resilience, and deliver a seamless end-user experience.
Whether your business has a hybrid cloud strategy, or exclusively uses public or private cloud, you store a vast amount of data in the cloud. While it might seem riskier to store data off-site, major cloud providers invest significantly in cybersecurity.
Benefits include:
Cloud platforms also allow businesses to monitor user activity, detect anomalies, and ensure that sensitive data is protected, often more effectively than on-premises systems.
Enterprise security isn’t just about fending off attacks. Your strategy must align with business objectives while ensuring business resiliency and continuity when the unexpected happens.
Data loss can cripple a business. Whether due to a natural disaster, cyberattack, or hardware failure, traditional recovery methods are often slow and costly.
Cloud services offer:
This ensures that businesses can continue operations with minimal disruption. Even in the event of a system failure, data and applications can be restored quickly, keeping downtime and revenue loss to a minimum.
Time-to-market is a critical factor in business success. Cloud computing dramatically speeds up the process of deploying new applications, launching digital services, or testing new ideas.
This agility empowers teams to move faster, stay ahead of competitors, and respond quickly to customer needs.
Managing an in-house IT infrastructure requires ongoing attention, from routine maintenance to emergency repairs. Cloud computing IT services offload most of that responsibility to the partner.
As a result, internal IT staff can focus on strategic initiatives rather than being bogged down with maintenance.
Cloud computing IT services are a critical enabler of modern business efficiency, collaboration, and innovation. By simplifying IT infrastructure, lowering costs, and enhancing flexibility, cloud services help organizations of all sizes operate more efficiently and adapt to change.
Whether you're a startup looking to scale or a large enterprise modernizing your operations, the cloud offers tools and services that can streamline your processes, boost productivity, and secure your data.
To future-proof your business and maximize your business’s use of the cloud though you’ll need a clear strategy and roadmap. Taking the time to set your direction, define goals, engage key stakeholders, and align your cloud goals to business goals will help ensure you move forward with confidence and achieve the outcomes you’re after. It will also help you to avoid the pitfalls of cloud services, from cloud or SaaS app sprawl to Shadow IT.
It also helps to have a strategic Technology Ally by your side to give you guidance at every step of the journey, from defining your cloud strategy to securing and managing your environment. No matter if you’re just starting your cloud migration or scaling across your enterprise, leveraging IaaS or SaaS, we’ve identified the essential steps –and the right support—to help you move forward with confidence.