10 Secret Things You Didn't Know About Cloud Connect Services

Did you know that you can reduce your business's total cost of ownership by as much as 40 percent if you migrate to the public cloud?

"Connectivity is a fundamental enabler of digital transformation, allowing organizations to better leverage cloud, mobile, and IoT technologies." - Joe Weinman, author of "Digital Disciplines".

In today's era, networking has become a must-have commodity. The scale of how vast or small the network needs depends on its applications. Cloud Connect services is a popular networking tool among large corporations and organizations due to its secure privacy systems.

Over the past two decades, we have seen a rise in Cloud Connect services regarding providers and functionality. As of now, Cloud Connect services have become integral to be included in the Organization's IT infrastructure.

Being a tech-savvy who has been excelling in the field for 5+ years, I have covered the latest trends and developments in the technological world. From software developments to artificial intelligence, the information you'll get will be remarkable!

"From a marketing perspective, Cloud Connect services providers will never proactively outline their limitations (unless legally obliged to) to you."

These secret architectural tricks that these providers use help them with gaining maximum profits. In today's blog, you will learn the top 10 secrets that Cloud Connect Service Providers do not want you to know.

1. Security Features of Cloud Connect Services

Cloud Security Systems have become the talk of the town as they provide their users with top-notch security as it handles data transfers. 

Pros

• It helps maintain security compliance within your organization.
• Cloud Connect services offer protection to prevent any attacks on the connectivity that may cause outages in your organization.
• Your organization can audit activity on the network to detect any data breaches.
• Offers private connectivity for far better protection against cyber attacks than in a public domain. Make it easier to transmit sensitive information.

Cons

• The security is not foolproof, and there are risks involved. The Code Space data hacking that happened in 2014 is proof that hacks can happen. This hack led to the company being shut down as all data was erased illegally from the cloud connect servers.
• It does not hurt to be more cautious about proper risk assessments, deploying more security measures, and using multi-factor authentication wherever possible.

Despite this one case, Cloud Connect services have had a ton of successful examples of its security. 

From Nasdaq (stock exchange and technology provider) to Gogo (inflight entertainment system), which are using Amazon Web Services (AWS). And Siemens (a tech provider) and Hess Corporation (a Gas and Oil Exploration company) use Azure.

These companies have established safe, private connections with multiple data sites to enhance their information transmissions.

The private connections provided by Cloud servers have helped these organizations streamline their data transmission.

2. Scalability 

The idea behind using Cloud Connect services in organizations is to make it easier for them to do networking or IT-related tasks. Cloud Connect services help organizations with the following:

Pros

• Faster and secure data transmissions without downtimes or interruptions help scale the scope of the business
• Reduce networking costs allowing resources and investments to be allocated more effectively
• Promotes hybrid work structures by providing high-speed connectivity.
• Private connections reduce the risk of data theft or data breaches.

The most significant advantage of Cloud Connect services is giving organizations access to tools to enhance security. Moreover, providing more cost-effective ways in terms of IT infrastructure. As a result, organizations can expand over different locales globally.

Cons

Cloud Connect services might be a little complex to understand for some not-so-tech-savvy people. Moreover, it all relies on internet connectivity that can be unreliable during high traffic times or simply inaccessible.

Latency and security concerns are valid in this type of networking system, which can cause data or production loss impacting overall performance.

Over the past two decades, many popular businesses, like Netflix, Slack, Dropbox, and Pinterest, have massively scaled up their operations using multiple cloud connect services. The Cloud services enabled them to expand their database.

Cloud Connect services' scalability is more monetary, practical, and a more secure connection to the private cloud service providers. It enables them to quickly improve their IT infrastructure, which makes their operations more effective, quicker, and agile.

3. Cost-effectiveness 

By now, we know how Cloud Connect services benefit an organization regarding infrastructure and scalability. However, one thing that was hinted at is how cost-effective that is.

What does it mean? You can look at it from two perspectives; The service cost and the overall benefits and savings you get from using Cloud Connect services.

As a service, the cost of Cloud Connect depends on the features. It can be expensive for organizations requiring top speed and reliable connectivity. Different providers structure it differently.

On the other hand, the services can help businesses save money. With cloud connect, services companies don't need expensive networking components to enhance their on-premise infrastructure. This in turn helps reduce operating costs as well.

Pros

• Reduces costs for in-house IT structure and team.
• Reduce latency and improve performance which improves productivity and customer satisfaction
• Reduces risk of data breaches or data theft, which can cause financial loss

Cons

• Complex pricing model due to being unclear or having hidden charges.
• Some pricing models do not offer flexibility to let the organization adjust to their needs.
• Some pricing models make it difficult to compute cost-effectively. The pay-as-you-go model can have different monthly pricing that you cannot pre-plan into the budget, etc.

The Cloud Connect services themselves have helped many businesses save tons of money. When Airbnb started using Google's cloud services, it expanded and scaled up its business very effectively without investing in building its infrastructure. Otherwise, this would have been time-consuming and costly.

Similarly, Unilever and Netflix used AWS to rapidly expand their e-commerce and video streaming services. They saved costs by avoiding building their own data centers or investing in any hardware or software for their infrastructure.

4. Performance Enhancements via Cloud Connect Services

There are certain enhancements that Cloud Connect services are known for, and that is for the advanced quality they provide.

Cloud services provide high-speed connectivity using platforms like ExpressRoute or Direct Connect. Moreover, it helps remove any latency, improves the overall time taken, and improves application performance.

Because these are private networks instead of public domains, the overall performance and data security is better. Thus, in the long run, avoiding losses from hacks, etc is very important.

It is easy to manage through a centralized system, making it less hectic.

Pros

The performance enhancements that the Cloud Connect Service provides can help different organizations in a multitude of ways like:

• Better performance regarding applications being used.
• Provides a more reliable and available connection for data exchange within the premise and even in a hybrid environment.
• Improved security to avoid any data theft.
• Enables the organization to have more time and money to make more profitable investments

In healthcare, the introduction of electronic health record systems has made it easier for physicians to make swift and accurate decisions, especially during time-sensitive cases.

One of the most widely used cloud computing systems is available in banks. Many international banks have started using cloud connect services to help make secure online payment processing. This has protected against any fraud and has proved to be far more efficient.

Overall, this helps the organization stay competitive and provide a better product to improve customer satisfaction.

5. Integration Capabilities 

Because Cloud Connect Services are used widely within any field, they need to have customizations or integrations available to fit all. This ensures that the organization's applications and systems connect within the cloud without any hassle.

Pros

The integration capabilities of Cloud Connect servers help to:

• Provide scalability to organizations to expand and grow
• Give more ease and security in terms of data sharing
• Customize and integrate cloud servers with on-premise technology

Furthermore, some of the integrations that you can benefit from include the following:

• Use of APIs that allow custom software development to provide secure data exchange between the cloud and the organization's applications.
• Cloud Connect can also integrate data from the organization's systems for safekeeping.
• The hybrid integration lets the organization use its applications along with the cloud services for the most efficient and secure combo regarding data transmission.
• Cloud provides identity and access rights to the organization so they can efficiently manage who has the rights across all the different systems.
• Cloud also integrates messaging in real time, allowing a seamless flow of data to enhance communications.
  

Cons

• Security concerns. Around 84% of organizations find it difficult to maintain security configurations.
• Network and latency issues
• Not choosing the right configuration for your organization's needs
  

How To Choose The Correct Integrations for Cloud Connect Services

It's crucial to understand what integrations are needed by the specific organization. It is important to evaluate and see the organizations' needs regarding system application. Once you know the requirement, the selection of the type of cloud services becomes easier.

The good thing is that the cloud allows you to monitor the progress and make changes as per the need with time. This ensures that the solution is effective at all stages to improve the company's productivity and customer satisfaction.

6. Limited Control and Flexibility

When you have an in-house IT infrastructure, you have all the say. This includes the easy and the tough decisions. By using cloud services, you are taking help from already designed infrastructures that are stable and tested multiple times across multiple platforms.

However, this also means that you are not the only person with a say on how things go. It is a shared venture.

Pros

Using an already tested and successful cloud system reduces the organization's time and cost.

These systems provide faster-speed networking, along with high-level security and assistance regarding system setups, which is cost-effective.

Another advantage is that you get introduced to new and improved technology which is tried and tested. No hectic production time or stress needs to be faced by the organization itself.

The last four things are more related to the consequences of poor choices on the organization's part. It shows the importance of making the correct decisions when opting for Cloud Connect services.

Cons

The initial thing that might be a point of hesitation in going for cloud services for your organization is to give up partial control. The organization is dependent upon third parties for any system integrations. This can come up with its limitations.

In the case of sensitive information, the cloud servers won't have full access to the system's applications. This will be an inconvenience as they are the ones who can fix, integrate, or troubleshoot issues.

Companies have faced issues because of limited control over cloud servers. For example, Delta Airlines faced a huge system outage in 2017. Thousands of flights were canceled, which was a huge financial cost to the company.

The issue was with the management of the third-party IT system, and as Delta had limited control over that, it could not be resolved quickly.

7. Selecting the Right Cloud Connect Services Provider

The blog has hinted multiple times at understanding the organization's needs and then selecting the right Cloud service provider.

The market is so saturated right now with cloud systems like MS Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, etc. It can get confusing as to what is the right fit for your organization.

While selecting your provider, look at which one is fulfilling the organization's security and integration needs. Check for how cost-effective it is for the organization and how their support and maintenance are.

Pros

• Increased productivity
• Faster service means increased customer satisfaction
• Ability to use the organization's data more effectively 

Cons

Selecting the wrong vendor can have disastrous consequences, such as: 

• Financial loss
• Lack of business scalability
• Poor support systems
• Overall security risks.

Instead of reaping all the benefits of using Cloud Connect services, it can backfire and prove to be a poor decision on the organization's part.

8. The Vendor Lock-in

This is another reason why it's crucial to understand and know where you are connecting cloud services from. The organization and the cloud provider are already sharing responsibilities.

Proper research should be done on choosing which vendor is best suited for the organizational needs.

Pros

Using one vendor and trusting them with your data and IT services might make things simpler. Considering they will follow a similar structure of how things take place with little changes over time. 

It keeps the processes streamlined.

Cons

In more ways, organizations have become dependent on cloud providers' services.

At times it is good. However, organizations should be mindful of the know-how. If they need to switch to another provider, the organization should be able to do so easily and avoid being in a vendor lock-in.

In a study conducted in the UK, it was found that a lack of knowledge and understanding of the servers was an issue. Around 28.8% of companies faced vendor lock-in issues when trying to switch providers.

Choose a provider that allows interoperability with their systems. In hindsight, make sure your contracts have clear and concise termination and working clauses to avoid any issues in the future.

9. System Longevity

With Cloud Connect servers providing the latest technology, hardware systems do not need to be replaced due to outdated systems. A simple web extension can catch up your systems to the latest technology within the cloud.

It helps an organization:

• Reduce expenses of upgrading outdated hardware and systems in the office
• Promote hybrid or remote working situations

Surprisingly, this does not have any such disadvantages. This is an overall benefit that organizations reap because of using Cloud Connect Services.

Cloud servers help with saving costs that can then be allocated within the operations. 

10. Hidden Costs

By now, the benefits and fallbacks of using Cloud Connect services have been made clear. However, apart from these, an organization should cover all its bases.

You should be aware of any hidden costs you might incur or any limitations you may face. This is important when planning and selecting the best fit for your organization.

These are the most common seven hidden fees that will hurt your bank account balance regarding Cloud servers:

• Data Transfer cost, on-premise, within the same country, or globally. All will incur different charges.
• Buying excessively of any service or integration than what is needed.
• Not using all the services available to their full potential.
• Underbuying ‌resources, which leads to poor customer experience. It can cost you customer satisfaction.
• Charges may vary due to the location of your services.
• Maintaining deleted or destroyed data on the backend when it's not necessary.
• Integration customizations
• Vendor Lock-in

When looking for hidden fees, ensure the contract outlines all the details you are paying for and that the provider is up to date with industry compliance rules. Otherwise, those can also be hidden charges that you may need to pay.

Conclusion

The important thing is to understand that even though cloud connect services come with amazing benefits, the buyer needs to be extremely vigilant.

The organizational needs come above all. When negotiating these deals, understanding, comprehension, and communication is the most effective way. Understand that by using third-party services, what is the organization gaining and what is it losing?

The whole idea is to provide a platform that eliminates the risks companies usually face. This is your chance to make the best decision for your company. Try Cloud Connect services today to reduce your organization's costs while increasing productivity!

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