Cloud Technology : What Is It ?
Cloud Technology : What Is It ?
On-demand access to computing resources such as applications , data storage , and development tools . Since all the infrastructure is hosted by a remote data centre or cloud service provider , you don ’ t have to install or maintain it . Instead , you pay a monthly subscription fee or pay per use . Its benefits : you can scale capacity up or down , spread your applications closer to global users ( see : Edge Computing ), and outsource IT expertise . If you ’ ve ever used Google to answer a question , Netflix to stream a video , or Dropbox to store a file , congratulations : you ’ ve already used the cloud .
reported that they now have increased access to useful data . As this trend grows more common , creative , marketing , and production divisions will have better analytic and predictive models at their fingertips .
• Walmart : Cuts down the amount of time it takes to solve complex business questions via its Data Café — its real-time , fortypetabyte cloud .
In a Think 2021 programme , IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna discussed how the agility of hybrid cloud and the intelligence of AI can accelerate digitalisation . Like any good pair , AI and cloud technology balance each other ’ s strengths and weaknesses — yin and yang for a digital future . The company concluded : ‘ Every industry can build a stronger digital foundation to reinvent the way they do business and engage in the world ’.
Yet the world is shifting under our feet . To truly adapt , your company should develop cloud self-awareness , talk to people who know the field , and find honest sources of feedback . If you go about it the right way , the cloud and AI can balance scale and security ; consolidate consumer data ; and help make sense of corporate confusion . But there ’ s no time to wait . As futurist , strategic technology advisor , and Forbes senior contributor Bernard Marr wrote : ‘ Cloud computing will transform society ’. aimagazine . com 87