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Use Cases of the Cloud

Updated Feb 28, 2020 ·

Cloud Migration​

Cloud migration involves moving production services from on-premise solutions to the cloud, offering scalability, cost savings, and operational efficiency.

Traffic Bursting​

During peak seasons, like holidays, businesses often experience increased infrastructure demands. Traditionally, this requires extra:

  • Compute
  • Storage
  • Database
  • Network capacity

In a data center, this adds ongoing costs for space, power, and cooling, even though you only need the resources temporarily. Cloud computing offers a more efficient solution by allowing you to scale resources up during high-traffic periods and scale them down afterward—paying only for what you use.

Backup and Disaster Recovery​

Cloud computing provides a strong solution for backup and disaster recovery due to its inherent resiliency and durability. With data lifecycle management, businesses can archive older data cost-effectively without sacrificing accessibility.

For example, AWS S3 enables data archiving to AWS Glacier, a low-cost cold storage option that remains accessible via the internet.

Key benefits of cloud-based backup and disaster recovery include:

  • Scalable storage to accommodate any data size
  • Cost-effective storage by moving older data to cheaper options
  • High durability and availability due to replicated storage
  • Vendor-managed replication for enhanced data protection without manual effort

For more information, please see Disaster Recovery.

Web Hosting​

Many organizations opt for cloud hosting for web services because it automatically scales and balances traffic across multiple instances as demand changes. This reduces manual management and simplifies maintenance.

Cloud hosting also enhances web applications and databases with services like Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and Domain Name Services (DNS) to improve performance.

Key benefits of cloud-based web hosting include:

  • Automatic scaling adjusts resources with traffic fluctuations
  • Load balancing prevents server overload by distributing traffic
  • CDN minimizes latency by delivering content from nearby servers
  • DNS manages traffic efficiently through load balancers

CDN​

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) uses a network of caching servers to redirect traffic, delivering content faster by serving users from the nearest server. DNS services also play a role in managing web server demand by routing requests to a load balancer.

The load balancer distributes incoming requests across multiple web instances, reducing the load on any single server.

Key benefits of CDN include:

  • Faster content delivery by using nearby caching servers
  • Reduced latency for global users
  • Efficient traffic management via DNS and load balancing
  • Balanced server load to prevent overloading

Test and Development Environments​

Test and development environments often require significant resources, which can be costly to maintain in a traditional data center. Cloud computing offers a more flexible and cost-effective solution by allowing you to provision instances when needed and shut them down when finished.

Key benefits of cloud-based test environments include:

  • On-demand resource provisioning based on project needs
  • Cost-effective compared to maintaining in-house infrastructure
  • Quick deployment and shutdown of instances for efficient testing
  • Flexible resource scaling for specific testing requirements

Proof of Concept​

The cloud makes it easy and affordable to implement proof of concept (PoC) designs, allowing you to test ideas and validate concepts without significant upfront costs. You only pay for the resources you use, which helps in building a solid business case when presenting to senior management.

Key benefits of cloud-based proof of concept include:

  • Only pay for the resources used
  • Adjust resources easily as needed
  • Rapidly test and validate new ideas
  • Use results to strengthen presentations to senior management

Big Data and Data Manipulation​

Cloud computing makes managing big data more affordable and efficient by providing scalable, on-demand resources. Instead of investing in costly infrastructure, you can access and pay for only the resources you need for data analysis. Public cloud providers offer managed Big Data services that handle the technical details, allowing you to focus on your data.

Key benefits of cloud-based big data management include:

  • Cost-efficient access to resources
  • Scalable to handle varying data sizes
  • Managed services for infrastructure and monitoring
  • Allows focus on data analysis without maintenance concerns