When we talk about data and digital transformation, it’s important that we understand why the cloud is a better option.
And, more specifically, for data.
Now I know it’s a bit of a recurring theme and I’m a bit of a broken record when it comes to this. (You can find more here, here, and here).
But it’s important to explore these 3 very important reasons why cloud is better for data.
Unlimited Storage
If we put a microscope on data to understand why the cloud is better, it essentially comes down to the unlimited nature that the cloud offers.
- You’ve got storage that you can use over and over again.
- You’ve got multiple areas to store your data.
- And you’ve got multiple storage options (fast storage, slow storage, archive storage and even glacial storage – or data that you’re never going to touch or access, but need to keep for certain periods of time).
The unlimited nature of the cloud makes it great for data.
And then you’ve got the hyperscalers working with their platform-based solutions. If we take a look at the hyperscalers (Azure, GCP, AWS, etc.), their goal is to sell platform solutions to us.
Which isn’t just using their hardware in cool ways – it’s them actually giving us solutions that we consume to help make our lives and our systems better.
There Are Great Analytics Tools Available
As part of the tooling, we have options to dig deep into the data and get insights into it that we’ve never had access to before.
The cloud gives us analytics and reporting options, and drilling tools that we can use to mine our data in such a way that gives us a far greater understanding of our data.
Essentially, we are seeing scale at costs that we’ve never understood before.
Because it’s become easily accessible to mine our data now (and to mine it ourselves). Instead of having to make it accessible to a 3rd party, or another service.
The Cloud Gives Us Global Availability.
- You can bring the data closest to the decision makers.
- You can bring the data closest to the people that are going to use it most effectively.
- You can make it available anywhere in the world.
If you’ve got employees anywhere in the world that need to understand what forecast they’re looking at and if they have a tablet, a phone, a laptop and some form of connectivity, you can make the data available to them as closely as possible.
That way, they don’t see yesterday’s data. They can see data now.
And it’s not going to cost an arm and a leg in data connectivity, either.
To Rehash, We Know Why the Cloud Is Great for Data
We know that my cloud is great for everything, but specifically why it’s great for data.
- You’ve got access to unlimited storage capabilities;
- Powerful analytics and reporting options; and
- Global availability.
You can put data in the hands of the people that need it the most.
