Is 2014 the Year the Public Cloud Finally Takes Over Everyday Life?

There has been talk of a cloud revolution for years now, yet it’s still not as widespread in its usage as you may think. This is largely due to business caution, and rightly so. The public cloud takes all of a company’s data, processes and applications, and essentially hands them over to someone else, that’s a daunting notion in itself. But couple that with question marks over security, and caution is to be expected; click here for more info on cloud security.

For the last few years, IT departments have been ‘dipping their toes’ into the cloud, realising the potential benefits it can bring a business and moving more of their infrastructure to the cloud. New research from 451 confirms this, it found that roadblocks are now being overcome and corporate cloud activity has doubled in just six months, with a third of companies surveyed now engaging in active cloud projects.

Personal cloud usage has also started to become more widely accepted with the introduction of iCloud and the uptake of products like Google Docs and Dropbox. This is in no small part due to the explosion in mobile device usage – more than half of Americans now own a smartphone. They have replaced cameras, telephones, alarm clocks, video cameras and ATMs to name just a few of the innovative ways mobile devices have infiltrated life.

The amount of personal information that can be found on a mobile is astounding too, making the cloud an important part of mobiles rapid and extensive growth. Whether it is to increase the memory available on a smartphone or to ensure that data and documents are never lost, the cloud is increasingly becoming an essential part of our daily routines.

Physical Storage

The public cloud reduces the need for physical storage. Storage in itself is getting much smaller, hence why mobile devices are too, but as they become a part of our everyday lives the need to store even more information on them becomes acutely apparent. Using the cloud allows photos, contacts, documents and other data to be accessible across a range of devices, be it a work laptop, the PC at home or a smartphone or tablet.

Demand for PCs/Laptops

The portability and convenience of mobile devices is slowly reducing demand for traditional computers, which will result in the cloud becoming yet more necessary. Professor Manuel Castells, former adviser to Barack Obama and member of technology panels on the United Nations, believes the number of mobile Internet users will surpass the number of users browsing the Internet via a desktop computer by 2014. In fact the impact is already being felt, earlier this year global PC sales declined again, for the fifth quarter in a row, dropping over 10% in just a year.

This is already being seen in businesses with many turning to a ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) culture. It gives staff the freedom to work on their preferred device, but it wouldn’t be possible without the use of the cloud. With every machine varying in spec and age, installing and accessing documents and applications without the use of a central cloud would require a significant proportion of an IT departments time.

Adaptability

Finally, from a business perspective, the cloud is highly adaptable, giving companies the ability to create and manage a public cloud to meet their exact needs and standards. This includes the ability to scale up or down dependant on business needs and limit access to cloud-hosted applications where necessary.

PEER1 Hosting believe the public cloud is set to become a vital part of everyday life, just as our mobile devices already have and it is with this in mind that running a resilient and scalable IT infrastructure (in the cloud) will bring considerable advantages to your business.