The Future of Cloud Entrepreneurship

Cloud computing has officially gone mainstream, with dozens of cloud computing services offering bespoke services to the radical entrepreneur. Having successfully perforated the business landscape, right from SMEs to large corporations, cloud computing has presented huge opportunities for the 21st century entrepreneur.

The cloud offers a diverse range of varied application, in the form of remote storage, email & database servers, as well as servers for gaming and mobile application. However, cloud entrepreneurship, or business via the cloud is said to be the crux of cloud computing, and there are already a number of established players that give you a glimpse of what the future holds.

Rapid Development

The cloud has evolved over more than 60 years, and can find its beginnings in Dr. Licklider’s ARAPNET, the predecessor to the internet. It began with the objective of providing users with remote access to virtually limitless amounts of storage. And the cloud’s biggest potential lies within business computing, where several major corporations have already begun running their vast computer networks from the cloud. 

Photo Credit: business2community.com

Cloud computing has gone from a concept to commercial use within a few short years, and has already helped in the development, execution and delivery of business models that allow enterprises to keep track of their products, services and employees over the Internet. Cloud entrepreneurship already exists in a number of forms, namely:  Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and storage on demand.

Universal Integration

The biggest advantage that the cloud has brought is that of universal integration with other devices, and the internet, thanks to the growth and evolution of allied technologies such as telecommunications and security. This seamless integration of multiple devices and services across numerous platforms has also added to cloud computing’s appeal, and more users are convinced that they should also invest in the cloud.

Photo Credit: hotlinex.org

Corporations across multiple continents and industries have already begun using cloud services in order to reduce costs, expand business avenues, and decrease their overall carbon footprint.

Consistent Growth

Multiple industry sources have claimed that cloud computing and cloud entrepreneurship is headed towards a 5-fold increase in growth, as compared to traditional on-site IT services. And with widespread enterprise interest in cloud computing, businesses new and old are taking advantage of the widespread opportunities for cloud entrepreneurship. 

There are dozens of start-up companies that are currently leading the cloud race, through the provision of comprehensive cloud management services and cloud-based application development platforms.

Start-Up Booster

Of all the kinds of businesses that can benefit from cloud entrepreneurship, the cloud has emerged as the great equalizer for start-up enterprises. Cloud computing is one of the very limited options that provide start-ups with access to the same kind of resources that larger corporations possess.

Intensive operations have always been a major dampener to the growth of start-up businesses, but cloud computing has lowered the entry barriers by providing them with enterprise-level servers and systems, without having to incur the heavy up-front costs that are associated with physical IT hardware and software licensing.

When you think of the future of cloud entrepreneurship, there are multiple factors and considerations that all need to be accounted for, but the cloud has simplified the future by providing enterprises with the following benefits:

1. Flexibility – Earlier businesses used to start up their operations on a bunch of assumptions and anticipation that would hopefully allow it to succeed. But thanks to the cloud, today’s business owners have the flexibility that allows them to achieve their goals irrespective of the changing environment. Businesses can now avail of cloud services that are designed to specifically meet their budget and business requirements. The cloud also allows organizations to account for seasonal fluctuations.

2. Security – Most people feel sketchy about putting their sensitive business data into a cloud, fearing theft or loss. But how safe is sensitive data when it’s on the premises? Your data can be physically stolen or destroyed within seconds. Cloud entrepreneurship allows you to safely store your data onsite, on fully encrypted servers.

What Are Some Future Security Concerns?

Thanks to the proliferation of the cloud, online security has become more pervasive than ever, but there’s always that question of a remote hack at the back of ever users’ mind. Even recent surveys have showed that online users are still concerned about the security of their data, especially when it is stored on a remote cloud server.  

According to industry experts, their concerns are valid as many cloud services do not run your data through encrypted pages, which means that sensitive business data can be hijacked while in transit. It is important to address the various security concerns of all the various cloud services, and also to understand changing consumers attitudes towards cloud computing and entrepreneurship.

Whenever large corporations adopt a new technology or new business model, it is usually because there are vast business opportunities that will allow them to adapt and cater to the increasingly complex digital and on-site marketplace. Making a drastic change is never easy, but it is obvious that the future of entrepreneurship lies within the “clouds”, and has already become a business trend.

Cloud entrepreneurship will slowly but steadily create opportunities for the next generation of entrepreneurs. There has never been a better time to transition to the cloud, as cloud computing is all set to change the technology and methodology in which we do business.