Remote operations
Marc Prempain
15 April 2024
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For many businesses, the days of saving files on physical media like floppy disks or USB thumb drives are long gone. Cloud computing has now entered the mainstream as a technology for both businesses and consumers. For large companies, they may want to have their own cloud service to replace on-site dedicated servers. So how can they do so?
In many ways, cloud hosting architecture is the backbone of cloud computing. Companies can choose a specific cloud hosting architecture to structure their cloud storage systems, or to handle their computing needs. There are several options available from major companies. So what are the primary options?
First of all, there are three main distinctions to make with cloud services. First is Software-as-a-Service (Saas.) SaaS includes standalone applications like Google Workspace apps (like Google Docs) and Microsoft Office 365 apps. It can also include cloud-based CRM software. Second is Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), which allows companies to create and test apps more easily. PaaS examples include Microsoft Azure, the Google App Engine, and SQL servers. Finally, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) refers to renting storage space and hardware like servers. Google Compute Engine and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are some of the biggest actors in IaaS.
The cloud space is dominated by a few major Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). These are the four MAAG “hyperscalers”: Microsoft, Amazon, Alibaba, and Google. These large companies can easily rent you precisely the amount of cloud space needed and massively expand that space at a whim. Using cloud servers, they give you the flexibility to rent a single server or multiple servers and to specify details like the number of CPU cores needed. This affordable scalability enabled by cloud computing is part of what is driving the shift from on-site servers.
Google is perhaps the most well-known tech company in the world. The tech giant has its own cloud server hosting architecture, known as google cloud hosting. Similarly, software behemoth Microsoft offers its Azure Cloud hosting service. Perhaps the most popular cloud hosting service is Amazon Web Services (AWS.) OVH Cloud is another commonly used cloud hosting platform. They all offer certain services for free and their cloud hosting plans tend to follow a pay-as-you-go model so that you pay for exactly what you consume. In addition, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft offer many bespoke services like blockchain solutions, IoT services, and a wide array of security services. These companies have a large online presence and have dedicated customer support teams.
So what differentiates these services? Well, each service comes with its own unique set of features. For example, Google and Microsoft offer SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS cloud platforms built according to your company’s needs. They may offer hosting packages that include a combination of these services. They can provide cloud platforms, web hosting services, web apps, databases, virtual servers, and more.
The hosting packages will be the best option if you can’t go with only one set of features. With them, you can use SaaS management system together with PaaS and IaaS platforms and merge the benefits of each of them. You’ll have more complex software in one solution. It gives you time efficiency and resources savings.
Google’s cloud stands out for its excellent data analytics, secure encryption, and servers powered by green energy. Customers of Google’s IaaS cloud hosting solutions may also use SaaS like Google Workspace (formerly G-suite.) Workspace includes domain-specific Gmail, Google Drive file storage, and Google’s web-based word processor and spreadsheet apps. Still, while Microsoft is slowly gaining market share, Google has yet to crack 10% of the cloud provider market share as of December 2020.
OVH Cloud is a popular cloud hosting service from France. It offers both public and private cloud hosting services. Like the tech giants, OVH offers big data and AI computing services. It also offers private clouds that meet European certification for handling healthcare data. While OVH is smaller than the other companies we’ve mentioned, it has millions of customers using dozens of data centers on four continents. OVH touts its price competitiveness as a reason to choose them over the competition, but can it compete with the likes of Amazon? Well, it won the VPSBenchmarks best value VPS (Virtual Private Server) award in May 2021.
Azure cloud offers several services for free, like databases and event grids. For the first twelve months, its VPN (up to 750 hours) and other services are also free. Microsoft has a long-standing vendor relationship with many companies using its Windows Operating System and the Microsoft Office 365 SaaS software suite. Their software runs natively on the Azure cloud platform. Customers may also be interested in using their product to get a deal for buying everything from one vendor.
AWS is the most popular cloud hosting platform. Due to its massive size, it is often very competitively priced for cloud services. Since AWS is so widely used, it is likely to continue offering its services for many years in the future. This stability is an advantage over smaller competitors. It is hard to find many differentiating factors between AWS, Google, and Microsoft. If choosing between them, it is essential to consider your use case and your specific needs. There is one big difference, however. Unlike Google and Microsoft, AWS is focused on Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) and does not offer cloud software (SaaS) or platforms (PaaS.)
With an endlessly configurable array of options from different suppliers, it can seem intimidating to choose a cloud hosting services provider. To keep it simple, there are several factors you should consider before selecting a cloud services provider. These factors include built-in cybersecurity standards, your specific technical needs, your pre-existing vendor relationships, among others. If you use Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, you may consider looking at their cloud platforms first. Of course, it’s also possible to use multiple vendors for different parts of your cloud infrastructure in a multi-cloud configuration. Services like Cloud control panel make it easier to manage different services and allow you to see server information like dedicated IP addresses and more.
Since migrating data storage to the cloud, many companies have centralized their file storage systems in an easy-to-access location. Knowledge management is a strategy to keep important information in a centrally accessible place, where it can be constantly accessible. ViiBE’s built-in knowledge base keeps call data like shared documents, photos, and even the call video in an easy-to-access place. Call agents can access the latest procedural information or pull up information on a client at a moment’s notice. Expertise call routing puts you in touch with an expert without the wait.
SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS offer a cheaper price and more convenience compared to traditional software and hardware. Thanks to the scalability of major tech giants, cloud computing is rapidly becoming mainstream. ViiBE is also packed with convenient features like its cloud-based knowledge management tool and innovative ticketing system. With such fantastic software available today, who knows what’s on the horizon.
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