Cloud computing has been a buzzword for many years, but the shift to SaaS and cloud-based solutions is transforming how businesses operate. As monolithic tech becomes a thing of the past, brands are turning to cloud-based solutions to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.

With public cloud end-user spending forecasted to reach $724.5 billion in 2024, it’s clear that the future of cloud computing is promising. In this blog, we’ll explain how cloud computing has evolved over the years and how enterprises can continue to capitalize on it in the future.

How Cloud Computing Has Evolved

Before the cloud, businesses had to rely on managing their own on-premises IT infrastructure. Though the concept of cloud computing began in the 1960s, it didn’t transform into what we know today until the turn of the millennium.

Then, Amazon launched Amazon Web Services and introduced remote server space and services. By the mid-2000s, Google introduced Docs and Google Cloud Platform. Afterwards, other companies began to add additional services that laid the foundation for the modern cloud computing environments we are familiar with today.

Since then, enterprises have been able to offload hardware expenses to third-party providers and leverage the primary cloud computing options like SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.

• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): A model where software is hosted in the cloud and accessed via the internet using a monthly or annual subscription-based payment.
• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): Using this approach, developers can build and deploy applications over the internet, offering subscription-based access and allowing them to migrate existing IT infrastructure to the cloud.
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): With this model, companies receive hardware access for tasks like storage, computing, and virtualization, providing an alternative to on-premise servers while retaining technology control.

How SaaS-Based Technology is Already Benefiting Enterprises

The most popular of the cloud computing options and usually what users think of when someone mentions the cloud, SaaS-based technology has been providing numerous benefits.

Cost Optimization Benefits

Cost optimization, particularly in IT maintenance and security, is the most tangible benefit of SaaS-based solutions. In the traditional on-premises server model, businesses invested substantial resources to build and maintain their IT infrastructure.

However, by adopting SaaS solutions, these responsibilities are transferred to the cloud service provider, resulting in reduced costs and better predictability. Also, by leveraging economies of scale, SaaS providers deliver robust security measures and maintenance services at a fraction of the cost incurred by individual businesses.

Increased Efficiency

Efficiency is another benefit of SaaS-based solutions, as it allows enterprises to outsource. After cost benefits, enterprises can also increase productivity by offloading software updates, bug fixes, security, and maintenance, allowing them to focus on their core competencies. This streamlines operations and frees up valuable time and resources, enabling organizations to allocate energy toward strategic initiatives and innovation.

Improved Agility

SaaS-based technology empowers enterprises with improved agility in their operations, allowing them to respond swiftly to opportunities and stay ahead of competitors. SaaS solutions offer rapid deployment and scalability, unlike traditional on-premises software, which requires time-consuming installation, configuration, and customization.

This enables businesses to quickly adapt to changing market dynamics and customer demands. Moreover, the cloud-based nature of SaaS facilitates seamless access to applications and data from anywhere, enabling more remote work, collaboration, and real-time decision-making.

How Cloud-Based Solutions Catapulting Leading Enterprises into the Future

Large enterprises aspire to have roughly 60 percent of their environment in the cloud by 2025. Along with the benefits the cloud provides, it also offers numerous opportunities.

Enabling Future-Focused Technology

Cloud-based solutions provide the foundation for future-focused technologies such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). That is currently seeing a huge expansion in initial usage around the world. This new technology can revolutionize various industries.

By leveraging the scalability and computing power of the cloud, enterprises can deploy several content-based applications without the need for heavy on-premises infrastructure and their maintenance. The cloud provides the necessary resources to process vast amounts of data and deliver real-time interactive experiences that enhance the customer experience.

Innovation to Drive Revenue

Cloud-based solutions provide crucial support for enterprises in seizing revenue-driving opportunities. The cloud offers increased capacity and scalability, enabling businesses to quickly scale their operations to meet growing demand or capitalize on market trends.

Organizations can efficiently develop, test, and deploy innovative applications, products, and services by leveraging cloud resources. This flexibility and agility foster a culture of experimentation and enable rapid time-to-market.

Additionally, cloud-based solutions facilitate collaboration and integration with third-party services, enabling enterprises to leverage a wider ecosystem of tools and technologies to drive innovation and revenue growth.

Opportunities to Create Digital Applications

Cloud-based solutions create opportunities for enterprises to develop and deploy digital applications that provide an omnichannel experience. The cloud offers a scalable and reliable platform to build and host applications, such as headless CMSs.

With the cloud, businesses can provide a consistent and personalized user experience across different touchpoints, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction.

A Shift to the Cloud

Embracing digital transformation and on premise to cloud migrations can be hugely beneficial for enterprises that have already done so. For those who have begun the journey, doubling down on the cloud is a fruitful pursuit. However, it’s important to have the right support to maximize the benefits of the cloud.

Content Bloom offers extensive experience with implementing and maintaining cloud-based solutions. We also provide strategic support for businesses that want to embrace the cloud fully or create a private cloud, such as highly regulatory businesses needing added security.

Our managed IT services offering provides technical consulting, maintenance, support, content management, and managed cloud hosting services, all bundled together, enabling enterprises to be agile and poised to scale at a moment’s notice.

One of North America’s leading banking and financial institutions wanted to increase efficiency but was under complex regulatory and compliance boundaries. They sought a partner to take over some of the workload from their in-house IT team. They wanted maintenance for their digital infrastructures and 24/7/365 support to guarantee zero downtime.

After seeking out Content Bloom, they were able to mitigate day-to-day online delivery concerns and build a foundation for future-proofed IT services. See how we helped them realize the benefits of the cloud by reading the case study.

FAQs

What exactly is cloud computing?

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services over the internet, allowing users to access and use resources such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and more, without needing to own or manage physical hardware. It provides on-demand access to scalable and flexible resources, often billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.

What is a cloud computing example?

One common example of cloud computing is using a cloud-based email service like Gmail or Outlook. Instead of running email servers on your own hardware, you access and manage your emails through a web browser or email app, with all data stored and processed on the provider’s remote servers.

What are the 3 types of cloud computing?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including servers, storage, and networking. Users can manage and control the operating system and applications running on the infrastructure.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): Offers a platform that allows developers to build, deploy, and manage applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. It includes development tools, databases, and runtime environments.

Software as a Service (SaaS): Delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis. Users can access these applications through a web browser without needing to install or maintain them on their local devices.

How can cloud-based solutions benefit my enterprise’s innovation efforts?

Cloud-based solutions offer scalability and agility, enabling rapid development, testing, and deployment of innovative applications. They foster a culture of experimentation and faster time-to-market.