The technology industry is rapidly moving towards cloud-based services. According to an Intel report, 93% of IT security professionals use a cloud service in their organization. From creating cloud-based servers to having cloud-based mobile app services, the cloud is a huge nebula. Executives from different industries back the benefits of cloud storage services.
Organizations spend billions on developing and installing software to enhance business processes. Cloud services allow businesses to access their software as a service on the internet. The cloud is a safe way of sharing and storing information online. It gives a great level of control to its users. The employees and authorized personnel can easily access the data, over the internet, from anywhere at any time.
Discovering the Cloud
Cloud storage is divided into two parts. First is the user service-oriented aspect, providing a on-demand service application model. It helps users connect to the cloud and save their data, anywhere and anytime. Moreover, cloud storage services offer shared storage resources with higher capacity and lower costs.
OneDrive, Amazon AWS, Google Drive and Dropbox are some of the top-notch cloud storage services. All of these provide comparable yet marginally different services that make it difficult to rank them in order or performance. Cloud storage is the best option to keep important data safe when it comes to mobile app services. Various businesses now use cloud storage for keeping their, and customer, data safe and offer a seamless consumer experience.
Cost-effectiveness and flexibility are some of the reasons for the cloud storage market’s rapid growth, especially in the mobile app services area. Moreover, the cloud storage market is expected to grow at a 29.73% compound annual rate within the next five years. Additionally, the number of organizations that gained a competitive advantage from adopting cloud storage services has doubled in the past few years.
It’s estimated that 90% of United Kingdom businesses use at least one cloud service. The benefits provided by the cloud is the reason for its growing adoption, even in mobile app services.
Let’s look at some of the benefits offered by cloud storage in mobile app services:
Benefits of Cloud Storage
1. Launch on Different Platforms Concurrently
Unlike traditional mobile app services that are developed for iOS and Android separately, cloud apps work on both. This feature makes cloud computing more attractive to developers and designers as it widens the audience spectrum without having to separately code. Moreover, developers save time otherwise spent on deciding what to build first.
The parallel working feature of cloud apps lets users create apps for both platforms simultaneously while tapping into greater customer engagement by leveraging mobile app services platforms. The feature keeps developers from neglecting any important aspect of the business.
2. Cloud Storage is Cost-Effective
Developing native mobile app services is an expensive investment. When businesses build native apps for Apple App Store and Google Play, it takes longer. Additionally, having to build them for both platforms doubles the development costs. When developers use cloud storage for mobile app services, they only code once. This benefit saves companies from incurring large costs along with offering greater market reach.
App maintenance is another cost that an organisation worries about. Research states that almost 20% of apps have maintenance costs of over $25,000 per year. If a business runs an app on two platforms, it needs to pay twice the maintenance cost. In cloud computing, businesses pay a significantly lower cost for maintenance.
3. Cloud Storage Saves Time
Developing a single app takes a lot of time and effort. Then again, making it for different platforms takes double the time. Traditional app development is an extremely lengthy process and takes about 5-6 months. Businesses must set up realistic deadlines for their app development processes to avoid mishaps.
If an app focuses on a specific feature, which is complex, the development takes up to, or more than, 6 to 12 months. Some apps may take longer than 12 months to develop.
Working on the cloud only requires the developer to create the app once and launch it on both platforms. This cloud functionality decreases the development time significantly. It gets the mobile app service on the market quicker, which means a faster return on investment.
4. No Need for Installation
The cloud means everything works over the internet. There is no need for heavy software installations and back-ups. The user sees the interface and uses it on a mobile browser. However, this cannot be done with a traditional app. The only way you can work on a traditional app is to install it on the device. Additionally, users who download the app have different updates and versions based on the mobile device they use which means every user has a different experience.
Cloud mobile app services act like web-based applications. The apps directly interact with the cloud to call data. Therefore, these applications run smoothly as well as offer an exceptional user experience.
5. Data is Stored Safely
Traditional apps store their data on the user devices, locally. One problem with storing data locally is it can be easily corrupted, lost, or malfunction. When the data is stored on the cloud, there are fewer chances of data loss. Data theft is another major concern for customers.
Depending on the application type, businesses might store and collect sensitive user data. If the business is collecting payments and confidential information like customer credit card details, the information is stored in a file and it becomes the business’s responsibility to protect that information.
Storing any data on the cloud offers higher security. By using cloud storage services businesses can protect their, as well as customer, data.
6. It is Easier to Scale
The work does not end at launch. Apps need constant updates to run smoothly. Various bugs may appear that will require immediate upgrade. As noted, app maintenance is expensive especially for traditional apps. An app does not need to have every feature when it is launched. The scalability of the app should be a priority, but this can be costly and complicated in traditional apps.
In cloud applications, scalability becomes easy. Anytime a feature is added, users will not have to install a new update to benefit from the enhanced experience. This saves users space on their local devices and provides a seamless performance and experience.
The Future of Business is Cloud Storage
Cloud apps are the future for business organisations and it is necessary for organizations to adopt industry tech advancements. Cloud based apps are cost-effective, safe, easily scalable and can be brought to market faster. Furthermore, cloud apps are great for launching on multiple platforms simultaneously.
Cloud storage makes it easier to integrate business databases with cloud apps. Additionally, they do not need to be installed on a device to work. The apps safely store sensitive data on the cloud offering a sense of security to both businesses and customers.
