What is Cloud Storage and Hosting; and Its Uses?
Cloud storage provides users with immediate access to a broad range of resources and applications hosted in the infrastructure of another organization via a web service interface. Cloud storage can be used for copying virtual machine images from the cloud to on-premises locations or to import a virtual machine image from an on-premises location to the cloud image library.
In addition, cloud storage can be used to move virtual machine images between user accounts or between data centres. Cloud storage can be used as natural disaster proof backup, as normally there are 2 or 3 different backup servers located in different places around the globe.
User’s access cloud computing using networked client devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones and any Ethernet enabled device such as Home Automation Gadgets. Some of these devices—cloud clients—rely on cloud computing for all or a majority of their applications so as to be essentially useless without it.
Some cloud applications, however, support specific client software dedicated to these applications (e.g., virtual desktop clients and most email clients). Some legacy applications (line of business applications that until now have been prevalent in thin client computing) are delivered via a screen-sharing technology.
Why Start a Cloud Storage and Hosting Business?
Cloud computing is an emerging paradigm computing concept that enables both information technology infrastructure and software to be delivered directly over the Internet as a service.
This arrangement, whereby companies can expand network capacity, and run applications directly on a vendor’s network, offers a host of advantages with the most primary being radically lower IT costs. The lower budgetary requirements and commitments allow even smaller companies to piece together an IT project without spending on purchasing legacy server, and storage systems.
Interesting Statistics About the Cloud Storage and Hosting Business
However, there is a price war between these cloud storage service providers globally, as they keep reducing the prices at regular basis and increasing the volume of storage. The storage solutions are evolving as several companies have entered into the market and are offering advanced solutions to store the data at minimum costs.
The first digital storage device was introduced in 1890 when Herman Hollerith, founder of Tabulating Machine Company, used punch cards to read and record data. Thus, the storage market has evolved and in the present scenario, the user can save up to 1 GB of data free of cost on cloud storage and access it from any remote location.
Factors such as rising need for big data storage and increasing adoption of cloud storage gateways are driving the demand for cloud storage solutions globally. The cloud storage market has been segmented on the basis of types into solutions and services.
On the basis of solutions, it is divided into:
- Primary storage solution
- Backup storage solution
- Cloud storage gateway solution
- Data movement and access solution
On the basis of services, it is divided into:
- Consulting services
- System and networking integration
- Support training and education
On the basis of deployment, it is divided into:
- Public
- Private
- Hybrid
On the basis of organizational size, it is divided into:
- Small and medium businesses (SMBs)
- Large enterprises
On the basis of verticals, it is divided into:
- BFSI
- Manufacturing
- Retail and consumer goods
- Telecommunication and IT
- Media and entertainment
- Government
- Healthcare and life sciences
- Energy and utilities
- Research and education;and others
Economic Analysis
The services or applications organizations are moving to the cloud are largely dependent on company size and industry. For instance, storage is the primary service for 40 percent of small businesses and 35 percent of mid-sized businesses, whereas large businesses and the federal government are first and foremost going to the cloud for conferencing and collaboration applications (40 percent and 39 percent, respectively).
