Importance of Cloud in the Internet of Things

Cloud technology first made its mark in 1993 and since then has become a very important part of the IT industry. This technology is pivotal to the growth of Internet of Things (IoT), a mind-boggling derivative of the worldwide information technology industry.

First Things First!

What are Cloud and Internet of Things?

Internet of Things is a grand chain that connects several intelligent devices globally. Each of these devices is intelligent because it can store information. this stored information is also analysed and processed by the device to act  in a particular manner. For example, an oil company can connect its various tankers and ships via electronic devices. Through these devices, the company can monitor the movement of its tankers real time and also check how and where the oil is dispensed.

The term ‘cloud’ refers to a network of servers, data centres, information architecture etc managed by a third party. For example, if the oil company wanted to set up a cloud, it could access a network of computers and other resources, set up by a third party.

Importance of Cloud in IoT

Companies invest in cloud because of several reasons. Those reasons are:

1.  Cost advantages

A company using IoT need not invest in its own data servers and centres. It can approach a third party like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure and request it to build its cloud infrastructure. The company, this way, saves its money and continues to focus on its key competencies.

There are many small companies and startups that use the IoT model. Cloud computing can help such lean organizations by charging them on a pay per use basis. You need to pay according to the actual computing power consumed. So, the first benefit of having a cloud is the attendant cost advantages. Cloud is not expensive at all; even start-ups can avail of this amazing technology.

2. Security

IoT is driven by terabytes if information is stored in sensors, data centres, hard disks etc. This information is the spine of the connected devices. But what happens if this information is stolen or compromised?

Enter the cloud architecture. Because this architecture is managed by third parties, there is very little chance of its information being stolen or hacked. If you are running your own website or Ecommerce business, storing your information on cloud is the best decision that you can ever make.  Talk to your web hosting provider and find out the various cloud hosting solutions available with him.

3. Technical Support

One of the most obvious advantages of cloud computing in an IoT environment is that you don’t have to maintain your cloud on your own. Cloud computing and hosting is a super specialized area and not everyone possesses the right skills in this area. So the obvious way to go forward is to let experts handle your cloud architecture and you continue focusing on your business.

4. Little or no downtime

Relying on third party cloud solutions means you don’t have to face downtime in your operations. Your website keeps running smoothly because there are experts out there managing things.

5. Collaboration

Lastly, using cloud in IoT opens a world of opportunities as far as the world of collaboration goes. Developers can come together and share ideas on projects, pick and choose ideas and improve upon other ideas as well. As a result, in IoT, things can become better only thanks to cloud.