Cloud Computing - Advantages and Disadvantages

Cloud computing refers to the ability to share hardware / software resources from a third part vendor over a network (usually the Internet). 

Cloud computing is a new concept in Internet technology, and presents both advantages and disadvantages. 

The most important advantage of cloud computing is the reduced spending on IT resources. This is especially beneficial for small and medium sized companies. The second advantage is the scalable solution cloud computing presents. In many instances, companies need only a momentary spike in computing power. For example, if your company has launched a new website, then there might be a load on the servers and the bandwidth for just the initial few days. If you have hosted your website with a cloud computing hosting company, you will be allocated dynamic resources to handle the surge in demand for computing power, and your website will not crash or slow down. Since you need to pay only for whatever resources you have utilized for that period of time, you do not pay anything extra, saving you money. 

The most important disadvantage of cloud computing is security threat to the data. This threat includes both in terms of data storage and data integrity. Since cloud computing was introduced, there have been many instances of data loss either due to failure of the server or hacking attacks on the server. While cloud computing service provider companies are working hard to mitigate this threat, it is still a concern. The second disadvantage may be typical of countries like India, where the Internet connection is still not 100% reliable. Since cloud computing mostly uses the Internet to deliver services, you need to be able to connect 24 / 7 to access hardware / software resources. One more disadvantage is the latency concern. Simply put, 'latency' means the time it takes for a command to be executed. Since the cloud resources may be located across multiple locations, this may be a cause for concern in a country like India.