The latest episode of ‘Shop Talk’, the series where our own Alex Ahmed takes a deep dive into the latest innovations with the top talent in technology, has just been uploaded to VIA’s YouTube channel: this week, Alex talks with Robin Cheng, who works in VIA Product Marketing, about all things related to the Cloud.
So, as many of us often wonder but are too worried to say for fear of looking foolish, what exactly is the Cloud? More importantly, why is it suddenly so indispensable to modern businesses, the buzzword employed by a myriad of leading figures regardless of operational sector or company structure?
In short, the Cloud consists of huge collections of servers that are accessed remotely and provide companies innumerable benefits, including swathes of storage space, remote access to important work files, and the ability to analyze mountains of data to generate insights that enable them to enhance efficiency, safety, and responsiveness of their operations.
Some businesses that are more privacy cautious regarding company data may choose to utilize their own ‘enterprise Clouds’ but, due to the high cost of building, maintaining, and expanding their own infrastructure, many others utilize third-party Cloud services. Some of the most famous examples of these include AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
The on-demand availability of third-party Cloud services not only provides incredibly easy access for companies but also offers invaluable cost savings and efficiencies. Perhaps even more importantly, these services enable businesses to grow very quickly with minimal initial infrastructure investment. Simultaneously, for seasonal businesses like retail where the vast majority of sales are recorded during peak holiday periods, the flexibility is there to upgrade potential capacity in times of high demand while reducing it during other times of the year.
Naturally, the technology retains some inherent disadvantages, such as unreliable internet connectivity in remote areas and slow home networks of employees working remotely. However, Robin is optimistic that these problems will be addressed by the emergence of more powerful 5G and 6G wireless broadband technologies. He is also confident that the performance and functionality of the Cloud will continue to be enhanced by higher-speed and lower-power chips built using ever more sophisticated nanometer and sub-nanometer processes.
The episode provides a fascinating insight into a subject that is a key concern for all businesses. Alex and Robin break down how a Cloud functions, the breadth and benefits of this technology, potential drawbacks, and what the future holds. Give it a watch and be sure to subscribe to the VIA Technologies YouTube channel for future episodes of Shop Talk.
Written by Stan Buckley, PR, Social Media Marketing and Marketing Communications intern at VIA and a Business Management graduate from Lancaster University.