Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Services
With the spread of cloud products such as SaaS, system development is becoming less difficult than before. In addition, the cloud dramatically increases the speed of system development, contributing to the growth of companies. In this article, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cloud service in detail.
Table of Contents:
- Advantages of cloud services
- Disadvantages of cloud services
- Summary
Advantages of Cloud Services
Cloud services offer a variety of benefits, but the three major ones are as follows:
- Cost reduction
- Services can be used anywhere
- Immediate operation after installation
Let's take a look at each of these in detail.
Cost reduction
One of the first benefits of adopting cloud services is the reduction of costs.
Before the advent of cloud services, the most common way to implement a system was to install servers and communication lines in-house and then to operate and maintain them on-premise.
However, when it comes to operating equipment in-house, various costs such as purchase costs for servers, communication lines, and software, system development costs, maintenance costs, and labor costs for engineers are required.
These cost issues can be solved by adopting cloud services.
Since cloud services do not require you to prepare your own facilities, you can use them with less initial investment than on-premise services.
Another advantage is that the fee structure for cloud services is monthly or pay-as-you-go, minimizing wasted costs.
Service is available everywhere
The second advantage of using a cloud service is that you can use the service anywhere. With cloud services, you can work from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection.
In the conventional on-premise environment, it was common to be at the office to use the system. In particular, salespeople, who often travel outside the office, had to return for paperwork and documentation after visiting clients during the day, resulting in lost travel time.
A cloud service can solve this problem. In addition to checking and replying to emails, you can perform almost any task, such as placing and receiving orders and sending documents, on the go. As a result, not only will the work efficiency of individuals improve, but the labor productivity and performance of the entire company will also improve.
The emergence of cloud services has also made remote work a lot easier. Cloud services provide an environment essential for remote work, such as communication tools, web conferencing tools, and storage, enabling communication and file sharing wherever you are and minimizing business interruptions.
Ready to operate immediately after implementation
The third advantage of using cloud services is that they can be operated immediately after implementation. When running a system in an on-premise environment, it takes at least a few months to start using the system because it is necessary to set up an in-house server and design and develop from scratch.
However, speed is the life of a business. If you spend months building a system, you may be ahead of the competition.
In this regard, cloud services shorten the time from consideration to implementation and launch compared to on-premise services because you are using a service that is already complete. This allows you to focus on more important tasks, and as a result, increase the growth rate of your business.
Disadvantages of cloud services
It is a cloud service with many advantages, such as less time and effort to deploy regardless of where you use it, but of course, there are disadvantages. In order to effectively utilize cloud services, it is important to grasp the drawbacks in advance. The main disadvantages of cloud services are as follows:
- Inability to customize
- May not be able to integrate with internal systems
- Risk of service termination
I will explain each of them.
Inability to customize
The first disadvantage of adopting a cloud service is the lack of customization. A cloud service is a service that has already completed its functions. In the case of public clouds, where the cloud environment is published on the web and shared with multiple users, it may not fit well with your company's business requirements.
If you need detailed customization to meet your requirements, you may want to consider the option of private cloud, which is a cloud environment built specifically for your company. Or you may want to consider a hybrid cloud that operates in combination with an on-premises environment.
May not be able to integrate with internal systems
The second disadvantage of using cloud services is that they may not be able to integrate with internal systems.
Since the implementation of cloud services will be done in phases, data will need to be linked between systems that have already been moved to the cloud and existing on-premise systems.
If the system does not work well with existing systems, the business may become more complicated even though the cloud was introduced to improve business efficiency.
Whether or not it can be integrated with existing systems depends on the specifications of the cloud service to be used. When implementing a cloud service, it is advisable to select a cloud product after thorough verification, including whether or not it can be linked to existing systems.
Risk of service termination
The third disadvantage of adopting cloud services is the service termination risk. Depending on the policy of the service provider, the service may be terminated suddenly.
In some cases, you will be notified in advance of the termination of the service. But, if the service you are using is suddenly terminated, you will have to switch to an alternative service, which may interfere with your business in the meantime.
In today's cloud market, competition is fierce, and many services are in disarray. It is important to analyze the service provider's vision, capital strength, and response from all angles and consider whether the service is trustworthy or not.
Summary
Cloud services are services that enable low-cost deployment and operation of computing environments such as servers and software. One of the advantages of cloud services is that the period from implementation to the start of operation is short, regardless of where you use it, as long as you can connect to the Internet.
On the other hand, there is a risk of service termination. When implementing a service, it is necessary to determine its compatibility with your company's business and whether it can be linked to existing systems.
It is necessary to thoroughly check the advantages and disadvantages and consider the product you plan to implement.