Cloud Computing Advantages and Disadvantages
Cloud server hosting has a wide variety of advantages that can’t be ignored. As with any technology that is still essentially in its nascent stages, however, it also has a wide range of disadvantages. Though cloud services have the potential to revolutionize the way that your organization does business, you’ll still want to weigh the pros and cons of such a deployment within the context of your own business to help make sure that such a shift is right for you.
Cloud Computing: The Advantages
The major advantage of cloud computing is one of versatility. All of the data that you store in the cloud is accessible on any device with an Internet connection at a moment’s notice. You’ll have the ability to achieve the same level of productivity regardless of where you happen to be at any given moment – be it at the office, at home, on vacation or somewhere else entirely.
Cloud servers are always connected to the Internet, which means that your data is always readily available. This also ties into another major advantage: one of security. Because the cloud by its very nature is “off site,” you don’t have to worry about losing huge amounts of data to a disaster like a hard drive failure or even a fire in your building. The important data isn’t being stored on a physical computer, so it is in essence always “backed up” for safe keeping.
Cloud Computing: The Disadvantages
One of the major benefits of cloud computing also happens to be one of its largest disadvantages: the fact that your data isn’t stored locally and is instead stored on the Internet. If the Internet connection goes out for any reason in your business, you will essentially lose access to most of your important documents for that limited period of time. If you’re employing “software as a service” cloud based app solutions, those will maintain limited access, as well. While this certainly isn’t a deal breaker (and you can still access these resources from an Internet connected device like a phone), it is still a potential disadvantage depending on the quality of Internet access in your area.
Cloud Computing Statistics of 2023
According to Parachute, cloud computing technology is constantly growing within the industry and shows no signs of slowing down. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the cloud computing growth accelerated when companies around the world began to dive into cloud usage and do remote work setups. Here are the key takeaways:
- The United States is leading the way in cloud adoption and innovation, but other countries are catching up.
- Companies around the world have implemented new cloud technologies at a staggering rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for remote work.
- Many businesses are struggling to keep up with rapidly evolving cloud technology. This has resulted in security risks, most notably cloud misconfiguration and unauthorized cloud access.
- Cloud experts are in high demand around the world, and employees both in and out of the IT sector will need to improve their cloud proficiency in recent years.
- Both enterprise and SMB organizations are increasingly turning to hybrid cloud models, which combine elements of both public and private clouds.
- Managed IT Services can help companies through the process of implementing cloud technology or keeping their cloud technology secure.
To learn more about cloud computing statistics and trends that represent the state of the current IT industry, you can read Parachute’s blog post here.


