Working in the cloud: what should you pay attention to?

An entrepreneur who has moved with the times, nowadays works in the cloud. Understandable, because working in the cloud brings a lot of benefits. But the choice for the right cloud service and configuration was not made just like that, because the options are numerous and the technical knowledge of the modal starter is often limited. What should you actually pay attention to if you want to start working in the cloud?

Benefits of the cloud

Everyone is always talking about 'the cloud', but why would you actually start with it at all? Can't you 'just' work on your laptop like before, without all those extras? Of course you can old school working locally, but ultimately working in the cloud brings a number of important benefits that ultimately make doing business easier for you.

For example, you don't have to worry about losing your documents and files, for example with a computer crash. Periodic manual backup is therefore superfluous. Data in the cloud, if properly encrypted, is better protected than locally stored files and you cannot just lose them if you lose a USB stick, for example. Furthermore, the cloud also offers far-reaching possibilities for remote collaboration. Ideal for working with colleagues or customers without always having to sit next to each other at a desk.

Cloud options

Most starting entrepreneurs tend to turn to the standard solutions that everyone knows. Think of Google Docs for your documents and spreadsheets and Dropbox for your other files. That while there are countless other options available and while services such as Dropbox and Google Docs are not always ideal. Every company and every situation requires its own approach. An important factor to determine that approach is the question to what extent you yourself have the technical knowledge (and are willing to use it) to cloud environment to manage.

IaaS, PaaS and SaaS

Three terms that you will often hear in that context are IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. They are also called the three levels of the cloud pyramid. To determine how you are going to set up your cloud solution, you first have to make a choice at which of those levels you want to do that.

• SaaS stands for Software-as-a-Service and means that you buy ready-made software as a cloud solution. Dropbox, Office 365 and Google Suite world are included, but also software intended for enterprise level such as JUICE, Salesforce and Oracle. Often such a purchase means that you have to take out a subscription. The advantage is that you do not need technical knowledge to be able to use working in the cloud and that you can get started quickly. The disadvantage is that the costs are relatively high and never stop; you must continue to pay your subscription 'forever'.
• Easter means Platform-as-a-Service and means that you purchase a fully furnished server room, complete with an operating system but without running applications and data. Such a server room is often cheaper than a ready-made package, but you still have to host the right applications yourself. You manage all data yourself.
• IaaS is the most stripped down variant and means Infrastructure-as-a-Service. You then purchase a bare server room without software or operating system. The costs are low and you can fully determine how you will organize your server. The disadvantage is that you need a lot of technical knowledge and time to get everything working.

Whichever form or service you ultimately choose, the most important thing is that you make a choice right from the start that suits your business and its future. You cloud solution you do not simply change from one platform to the other. So read it carefully and do your homework, before you unthinkingly take out a subscription and later encounter obstacles.