Michalina Staszewska
Starting your own business comes with many consequences. Any business plan, even the best-designed one, assumes the possibility of failure. There is no company that never takes risks. It is experienced in varying degrees, depending on the company’s operations and the current market situation. There are times when you have to put everything on one card and move forward. Even choosing the optimal data processing infrastructure involves the risk of losing information, money, time and even customers.
By thinking innovatively, we can avoid these risks. We live in a world where technological innovations are coming down at the speed of light. That’s why today we will offer you a flexible solution to fit any situation your business finds itself in. Its implementation results in proper and efficient management of business processes and effective decisions made by management. What are they talking about? A tailor-made solution for individual enterprise needs is cloud computing. An IT service where you don’t need your own infrastructure. It is created on the service provider’s servers, so that, the cost of acquisition, implementation and use are spread over time, and the whole system of operation reflects many advantages.
Effectiveness is referred to as the goals set by a company to lead to the intended results. In the case of cloud computing, it’s all about continuous, flexible adaptation to ongoing changes that will make your company’s value grow. With constant modifications in the market, we need to be aware that there are no fixed and certain things. Literally every element is changing. If you’ve been running a company for several years, you’ve certainly seen these changes. Recall the beginning of setting up your business, and then the moment you are in now. There is a difference, isn’t there? Cloud computing does not assume that methods of business management, customer service, project implementation and other elements will be fixed. The cloud gives us plenty of opportunities to quickly adapt to change without limiting our previous activities. With the proper use of cloud solutions, we can get surprising results.
In times of digital transformation and rapid growth of the e-commerce industry, it is customers who demand the most, so cloud computing provides the best possible tailored services to meet their needs. The customer is an impatient person by nature, expecting a quick as well as effective response to change his needs. It does not look at other, external factors related to the environment. The only thing that matters is the effect, i.e. the quick satisfaction of needs. The result is constant competition among companies and a constant search for solutions that will not let the customer go.
Particularly important is the fact that cloud computing not only offers new solutions, but seeks to improve the products and services created so far. Companies using the new technology IT-wise do not complain about inefficient operation of their business areas. Moving infrastructures, platforms or applications to the cloud space is a tangible benefit for both the site owner and its users. Rapid response to customer needs, seamless construction of new business strategies, support for collaboration with other entities, automation and acceleration of other processes are a few of the cloud computing functionalities changing the enterprise for the better.
Making the move to the cloud solely dependent on growing and ever-changing customer needs is a motivating factor, but not the most important one for many companies. According to a number of reports by research and analysis firms, respondents cite cost reduction as the most important motive for moving to the cloud. By changing many processes, including IT and communications operations, companies are reducing a significant amount of costs in a short period of time. The money saved can be invested, for example, in the development of marketing activities that will lead to the creation of new business values.
Another decision factor for moving to the cloud is better availability of services and the ability to speed up work. A basic element of any business should be well-connected departments. I can’t imagine a thriving company where employees don’t have constant communication with each other. Cloud computing improves business operations, affecting the speed of work done. Its capabilities can be demonstrated with a few examples. First, cloud services do not depend on the infrastructure that the customer maintains. Having your own server is associated with the need for constant supervision and adequate security of the equipment so that it can function properly. These are necessary activities that generate additional costs. Second, all of the activity is done through an interface that can be operated from a web browser. Access to the network should not be a problem, because every company in the 21st century is provided with the best possible network connection. Faster troubleshooting is enriched by continuous access to services. Whether you run a micro-enterprise or a multinational business, databases can be accessed 24 hours a day, and the resources provided are so vast that there is no real threat of saturation at the provider. In case you suddenly run out of RAM or CPU space, it only takes a few clicks to change the installation type to a higher one, thereby increasing its performance. High availability and resilience to sudden increases in resource demand are the pillars of cloud services.
By far the majority of enterprises betting on cloud solutions also point to improved performance of their applications, sites, platforms or infrastructures. Optimization through a range of dedicated tools and technologies, such as Route 53 and AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB), and Cloudflare, is a key part of cloud computing operations.
A not-so-surprising element that companies are targeting is improved security. This is an inherent factor in any business structure. Starting with the security of the data that the company operates, and ending with the financial security of the employees and owners.
Through the rapid development of cloud computing services, the vast majority of enterprises plan to provide the offered IT solutions in diverse cloud models. As a result, many business areas are constantly supported with specialized, automated and flexible solutions. This reflects the number of Polish companies using cloud services. According to the Central Statistical Office, only 11.5% of all enterprises used paid cloud solutions in 2018, with a 6% increase in 2019. Initially, the Polish business community did not accept cloud computing as an innovative solution that can equal or even replace the existing infrastructure of many entrepreneurs. In our country, it was initially met only with criticism, when in other countries companies were vigorously practicing cloud services. The sharp increase in cloud operations of the general business community demonstrates a strengthening of management awareness of the possibilities of flexible technology, pay-as-you-go payments and the IaaS ownership model. Boards consider current and future business operations not only through the lens of maximizing profits, but also improving business operations with a focus on the customer experience.
The average growth rate of enterprises using cloud computing is increasing. There is no denying that Poland is in a phase of significant development of cloud services. An optimistic approach is to say that companies have a growing awareness of shifting legacy, traditional operations to computerized forms with a scalable, always available and flexible approach. Cloud computing should be seen as a tool to support a business strategy whose main goal is to maintain the loyalty of existing customers and attract new ones. Companies should look at the effects that market changes may bring in the future. In the case of a cloud solution, these are mainly advantages such as optimizing processes and streamlining operations, flexibly fitting into new market trends, more efficient execution of business strategies, and the ability to gain leadership in the use of services. We just have to remember that cloud computing will not always be a new area in which we can gain a pioneering position.
