Who uses cloud computing?

Cloud-based technology is a life-saver for many businesses that have sudden, and often unpredictable, surges in the number of users mixed in with slow times where the user load is much slower. For instance, video streaming websites like Hulu benefit greatly by having their operations in the cloud, as there’s a huge difference in the number of users throughout the day. With the cloud they only pay for traffic used instead of having to maintain thousands of their servers even though most of the day only a fraction of them is used. 

Chat bots that use artificial intelligence to customize their answers would not be possible if it wasn’t for the cloud’s expansive computing power and storage space. Siri and Alexa are both cloud-based assistants that make personalized experience for every user possible thanks to cloud technology. 

Cloud-based software has helped revolutionize not only the way we relax but also the way we conduct business. With cloud software like Google Docs, Sheets and Slides allowing people to view and edit their files from any computer or smartphone that has internet connection from anywhere in the world, workers have become truly flexible. Plus, dozens of people can edit documents in this software simultaneously in real time, taking collaboration to the next level of efficiency. 

Data safety and security is a big concern in today’s world and frequent backups are necessary to keep your work safe. This is where cloud-based technology comes in, as you can quickly back up data from your computer to cloud storage and be sure about its safety in case something happens to the original files on your computer. Data centers where servers that store the data are located are strictly protected from natural disasters, power outages etc. and they have robust redundancy requirements, meaning that there are several copies of your data on different servers for extra protection. 

Big data analytics are crucial for many emerging fields including artificial intelligence and machine learning, but as the name states, it involves working with huge amount of data to find patterns and correlations that can be exploited. Cloud-based technology provides a huge amount of computing power and storage space on-demand, making it possible for more companies and scientists to get into the big data field.