In the cloud, businesses of all sizes can benefit from massive resources on a scale that suits their business requirements at a particular point in time. Processing power can be increased quickly, flexibly and affordably and capacity can be scaled up and down according to demand. Redundancy is improved, solutions can be delivered through the cloud, and the company’s IT infrastructure can react to change in real time. What’s not to like?!

In order to make the most of the cloud, businesses need to understand the practical benefits and how to leverage cloud technology to their advantage.

 

What’s In a Cloud?

Cloud computing encompasses a huge range of different technologies, protocols and delivery methods. You might move your Exchange email server into the cloud so that employees can access messages anywhere. Applications can be provisioned in the cloud so that the user can get to their data over the web. Cloud servers make storage reliable, affordable and scalable, and virtualisation makes better use of existing infrastructure.

In the cloud, the ultimate goal is to improve availability without compromising security. And over the last seven years, we’ve seen a seismic shift in the way people do business online. Large and small businesses alike are moving their content to the cloud, as it is both safe and easy to navigate. You don’t need to be an IT expert to understand how this new and innovative software works, and that is a huge selling point for the software. To top it all off, it’s an extremely valuable way to protect important files. Even a backup hard drive has the potential to crash, break, die, or, worst case scenario, get stolen. Cloud storage, on the other hand, takes place online, keeping your data safe and untouched.

 

What is Virtualisation?

I just mentioned virtualisation; it’s not really a new technology but it is becoming more widespread. Virtualisation is the process of creating virtual instances of items: servers are the most common example. A single physical server can hold multiple virtual servers; this infographic describes virtual hosting very well.

Virtualisation can also be used to provide employees with virtual desktops, giving them all of their essential applications wherever they might be. So instead of having Microsoft Office 2013 installed on your desktop for example, virtualisation means you get the functionality (through cloud services) without the hassle of installing the program on your hardware. And when staff and stakeholders need to collaborate, the cloud provides the platform for real time sharing and conversation.

Virtual servers behave in the same way as physical servers, but they can be deployed more quickly and upgraded in an instant. This makes virtualisation the key to a flexible infrastructure that’s both powerful and flexible yet extremely affordable.

The evolution of virtualised infrastructure has coincided with the evolution of cloud computing. The cloud would arguably never have got such a secure foothold without the widespread use of virtualisation in the modern data centre.

 

How Dell Can Help

Dell cloud solutions help businesses to realise the potential of the cloud. With Dell’s backing, your enterprise will benefit from the very best security, infrastructure and support. By moving your business into the cloud, costs will be reduce while scope and security are increased, and resources are made instantly available. In time, Dell will help your business make a transition to a flexible, modern and fully virtualised infrastructure.

As part of the Dell team, I know we have a great range of cloud solutions on offer, which can be found at dell.co.uk. Take a look!