When you know you need a server rack for your business, there are some questions you need to ask yourself when it comes time to make that purchase. These are critical questions to help you buy server hardware that is going to benefit your organization and not stand in its way of success. No matter what your business goals are, you may require services, including a voice hosting service or a cloud IT company.
First, there are some critical pieces of information that may help you decide between the cloud for service or in-house options. You want to consider how you are able to cool your equipment. You also want to think about the power you can provide the equipment. There are many options, but you have to make decisions. You also need to understand the size server that you need to meet your requirements. Security is also a pressing concern, and all cloud provider platform options have strict security protocols. Service rack enclosures also provide a fair amount of security, as well.
Cloud servers are the current toast of the tech industry. A new study from IDG found that a whopping 69% of enterprises are using cloud hosting servers, which is a 12% increase from just two years ago. The study also found that about 19% of enterprises increased their spending on cloud hosting services by nearly 20% creating an average of $3.3 million spent on cloud hosting per year.
Though those statistics make it seem like just about everyone is using cloud hosted servers, there are still many out there who have yet to make the jump. Thought that is a problem in and of itself, the bigger issue is why they haven’t already switched. Either they’ve never heard of cloud hosting before, which is unlikely, or it’s because they’ve bought in to a lot of the misinformation that’s out floating on the web.
Let’s clear the slate, and get a few things straight. Here are a few of the most commonly believed misconceptions about cloud hosting out there today.
The Cloud Is Not a Literal Cloud.
According to a survey from 2012, about 29% of people think that “the cloud” has something to do with the weather. Though the name can certainly be misleading, the cloud is not, in fact, a literal cloud or has anything to do with those big, white, fluffy conglomerates of vapor in the sky. It’s simply a complex network of computers used to host web sites, applications, and more.
The Weather Does Not Affect the Cloud.
Just as people thought cloud hosting had to do with literal clouds, so too do many people think that the weather affects cloud services. In fact, the same survey revealed that 51% of people believed stormy weather affected cloud services. This, luckily, is not true. The only way weather could affect cloud hosting services is if it were to somehow cause a power outage or a flash flood that could take out a data center.
They’ve Never Used the Cloud.
Lastly — and perhaps most surprisingly — many people think that they’ve never used the cloud, when in all actuality they have. According to the survey, a whopping 95% of respondents have used the cloud without even knowing it. The most obvious and likely form of cloud services used by these unwitting web surfers is email. Most email services use the cloud to store files and messages, allowing their users to check it from whatever device they want, wherever they are.
Hopefully now, you know what the cloud is, or at least what the cloud isn’t. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.