Cloud Hosting Environment

If you’re worried about whether cloud hosting fits your business needs, this guide will assist you to understand it better. Cloud hosting operates through the concept of virtualization. It is a technology of network architecture and servers that makes use of software to dissect one physical server into several virtual servers, also known as virtual machines (VMs). Then, these virtual servers interlink to form one network designed to host websites. Simply put, cloud hosting is the deployment of virtual servers to host sites. It is also referred to as cluster server hosting due to its interlinked cloud structure. These virtual servers are used for cloud hosting (storage), cloud computing, application development, remote-accessible work environments, etc.

The underlying infrastructure of cloud hosting makes it way different from conventional web hosting where the latter typically adopts a centralized approach – one server is used to store multiple sites simultaneously. As a result, organizations of all sizes are increasingly migrating towards cloud hosting thanks to its ability to allow easy access to applications and services. It also enables the scaling of resources depending on the user needs and lets businesses only pay for the services/resources they use. Besides, cloud hosting supports high-level security resources like SQL (including MySQL) and NoSQL databases. Cloud hosting enables the automation and control of solutions using APIs, internet portals, and mobile applications.

Consideration for cloud hosting 

• Information security (infosec): businesses are opting for cloud providers with operational network and system data security options. Most cloud hosting companies such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, et al., offer exemplarily secure cloud hosting services for your data:
• Sensitive information: businesses that handle valuable information may consider segregating it at the hardware level, with the use of dedicated servers hosted in the cloud.
• Support: Cloud hosting vendors often provide resources/tools and multiple specialized functions/services to assist in managing the cloud-hosted environment.
• Performance: latency is a major challenge for organizations handling huge volumes of data. Businesses are migrating workloads to the cloud to build a reliable, seamless connection between their voluminous data systems.

Why choose cloud hosting? 

• Reliability: dependability is the main benefit of cloud hosting. Hardware failures in cloud hosting solutions do not result in downtime since sites, applications, and services are hosted on a host of servers. Data traffic travels across various network interfaces where it’s quarantined and secured.
• It’s flexible: conventional hosting environments provide limited bandwidth whereas cloud hosting platforms enable scaling to accommodate temporary demands or traffic spikes.
• Pay-as-you-use model: unlike flat rate setups often adopted by traditional hosting solutions, cloud hosting allows organizations/users to only pay for services they consume at hourly or monthly rates.
• Traffic load balancing: data traffic in cloud hosting is dispersed across numerous servers. This enables it to host big volumes of data and operations without malfunctioning.

How do cloud business models related to cloud hosting?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) are the three main forms of cloud-based service models. All these models adopt cloud infrastructure to provide their services. Users should understand what each cloud service model entails before switching to contemporary cloud hosting environments. This is because there are differences among IaaS-, PaaS-, and SaaS-based cloud service providers.

IaaS cloud vendors typically deliver cloud-based computing resources like storage and servers for enterprises to manage their operations. Businesses are now opting to buy from IaaS-based service providers rather than building their own on-site IT systems. PaaS cloud providers often offer cloud-based frameworks mostly used for application development. Unlike the IaaS-based vendors, the PaaS service provider manages cloud server tools for their users, allowing them to focus on project creation. SaaS-based service providers offer full-fledged applications/services that users can access via internet browsers or web-based applications.

In addition to an appropriate cloud business model, users should choose a cloud provider that adopts the appropriate cloud type (public, private, and hybrid) that best suits their data and applications. For instance, a bank should go for a provider that uses a private cloud as it offers a higher level of control and increased flexibility. Most importantly, a private cloud reduces the risks of data breaches thus it offers a higher degree of cybersecurity to valuable customers’ bank account numbers, transaction records, as well as personal information.

The future of cloud hosting 

Enterprises are constantly looking for cloud-based solutions to secure their valuable data and improve user experience; where cloud hosting plays a central role. Benefits such as easy scalability, resilience, maximum availability, flexibility, immunity against hardware failure, etc., imply these businesses can serve their clients at all times. So, it’s not surprising that the digital realm is witnessing an immense rise in cloud migration. Recent studies reveal that over 61 percent of businesses have migrated their workloads to cloud hosting environments in the last year. 46 percent of organizations cite a significant reduction in their expenditure after the migration. So, we expect more companies will continue to migrate to the cloud in the future.