Cloud Computing, is it really that reliable?
Just when I started looking into and researching the advantages of cloud computing I hear about the problems Amazon has been having for the last day and a half with their Amazon Web Service (AWS).
What is cloud computing? The idea behind it is that it allows you to host files, websites, databases, etc from an online community pool of computers. Having files and data replicated across many servers and locations is supposed to help prevent downtime and also offer better scalability on days where you might get a surge of visitors to your website. It means you can still view your files and keep your system going no matter where you are, too. Running your site on one server can take you down if there is a network issue or hardware issue or even an overload of traffic the server can’t handle on it’s own. Running your site that’s spread across hundreds or thousands of servers locates in different areas of the world is supposed to eliminate those problems I just listed.
Sounds like a perfect setup right? I thought so too, hence I started looking into it. As of Thursday early morning until the time of this post (and still down), Amazon has an issue with its service that saw lots of sites go down that rely on Amazon’s AWS. Huge sites like foursquare and reddit and many others all went down at the same time for an extended time, something that cloud computing is supposed to prevent.
However, edge computing a likely alternative to the cloud has seen a massive upsurge as businesses from practically every industry shift from processing data in the cloud to the edge. The benefits of this system include faster response times, lower latency, increased security, and many others. Businesses also seem to be looking for Vantiq’s edge native applications, or something similar, for greater flexibility and reliability when compared to using the cloud alone.
Stories like this tend to show how important it is for businesses that rely on cloud technology to have access to adequate IT support. Without the help of experienced computing and IT experts, there is always a possibility that businesses can run into difficulties when their cloud computing applications do not behave as expected. Accordingly, you can learn more about the importance of working alongside cloud computing experts by reaching out to an IT support company in London or a similar organization closer to home.
For a long time, I thought that cloud computing was the future and a bulletproof way of running your site, but nothing in life is flawless. May more time needs to pass while the big players get the bugs and kinks worked out to make cloud computing the reliable solution many think or want it to be.
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