Cloud computing offers a new way to manage your business by providing IT services through virtualized applications, software, hardware and networking services that are housed in an internet “cloud“. Unlike a traditional environment where you own and actively manage the infrastructure and resources, a cloud computing model enables you to “lease” these resources — and why it is often referred to as “Software, Platform or Infrastructure as a Service”.
The cloud provides unmatched flexibility to quickly adapt to your changing business needs and it’s the most efficient, most dependable and most agile environment ever created. Cloud solutions improve operational efficiency, enhance access, accelerate service delivery and lower costs by consolidating and virtualizing your desktops, servers and storage into a shared pool of resources that are allocated on the fly.
Both Cloud and Virtualization are focus areas for IT departments right now — and are often misunderstood. The terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Virtualization is one of the fundamental technologies that makes cloud computing work. Cloud providers have large data centers full of servers to power their cloud offerings, but they aren’t able to devote a single server to each customer. Thus, they virtually partition the data on the server, enabling each client to work with a separate “virtual” instance of the same software.
Most service providers, including PCM, offer cloud computing in the form of VPS hosting, shared hosting and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), such as Microsoft Hosted Exchange. It offers on-demand services where customers can pay for what they use and adjust resources to what they need with no long-term commitment.
Organizations are benefitting from cloud computing through:
- Business agility
- Easier collaboration
- Cost savings
- Remote access for mobile workers
- Disaster recovery and backups
PCM recognizes the power of the cloud and offers many solutions for organizations like yours. Whether you are looking for a public cloud, private cloud or a combination of the two (hybrid cloud), PCM has the extensive experience designing, deploying and managing solutions from the industry’s top manufacturers including HP, Cisco, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, VMware, EMC, NetApp and more.
