Discover the essential role of IT support in managing infrastructure and data in cloud computing. Explore the challenges and best practices, and stay ahead of the evolving trends to ensure smooth operations in your cloud environment.
Cloud computing has emerged as a transformative force, revolutionizing the way businesses and individuals manage and access data and applications. Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and more, over the internet, offering unparalleled scalability and flexibility.
Various industries have witnessed a substantial shift towards cloud-based infrastructures, from finance and healthcare to e-commerce and entertainment. With this shift was come a growing demand for IT support geared specifically toward cloud computing. We discussed this with TechQuarters. Like many IT support companies London businesses rely on, TechQuarters’ focus for the last decade has been in cloud computing for businesses. For this article, we spoke with them about the role of IT support for businesses leveraging cloud computing.
Understanding Cloud Computing Infrastructure
Public Cloud Computing is arguably one of the most impactful IT innovations of the 21st century. It has allowed countless businesses to access resources – from data storage to software, and even new technologies like AI and machine learning – that would otherwise have been unavailable to them. The key components of cloud computing infrastructure are as follows:
- Servers – Servers form the computational powerhouses that host applications and handle processing tasks.
- Storage – Cloud-based storage eliminates the need for organizations to invest in physical storage devices, offering a scalable and cost-effective alternative.
- Networking – Robust networking infrastructure facilitates seamless communication between various components of the cloud environment, ensuring efficient data transmission and rapid access to resources.
Cloud computing is leveraged by organisations in many different ways, but the most common way is Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).
With IaaS, users rent virtualized computing resources from cloud service providers, granting them the freedom to customize and configure their virtual machines according to their specific needs. As an IT support provider London businesses rely on, TechQuarters has helped clients leverage IaaS many times, enabling them to do away with their on-premise servers and other infrastructure.
The main benefit of IaaS is that it is highly scalable, meaning organisations can increase (or even decrease) resources as and when they need, making it highly cost-effective.
The Role of IT Support in Cloud Computing
The role of IT support in relation to cloud computing is largely defined by the shared responsibility model. This is how cloud providers (such as Microsoft Azure) and cloud customers define which party is responsible for what. So, who is responsible for what?
- Infrastructure –The shared responsibility model means that the cloud provider is responsible for the underlying infrastructure that runs the cloud. They perform all maintenance and upgrades to hardware (i.e. servers, storage arrays, etc.) and are also responsible for the networking that enables users to access the cloud remotely.
- Data – Even with the most granular form of cloud service – Infrastructure-as-a-Service – the data that resides within the cloud is owned by the customer. This means that they alone are responsible for their data, and must therefore implement the appropriate security, for example.
- Applications – As with data, the customer is responsible for any applications they host in the cloud. IT support functions focused on the cloud typically dedicate a lot of time optimising the hosting and deployment of applications from the cloud specifically for this reason.
The Future of Cloud Support
With the increasing adoption of cloud services across industries, IT support teams will play an even more critical role in ensuring seamless cloud operations and addressing complex challenges. For example, the trend of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies will see IT professionals widening their expertise on the cloud, enabling them to navigate complex and diverse cloud ecosystems.
Having provided IT support central London businesses have used for over a decade, we asked TechQuarters about what the future holds for IT support and cloud. They stated that the integration of other cutting-edge technologies – such as AI and blockchain – will further drive innovation in cloud technology.
