Based on Cisco’s 2022 Global Hybrid Cloud Trends Report, which surveyed 2500 IT decision-makers in 13 countries, 82% of IT leaders have adopted the hybrid cloud. However, the same survey also found that when deploying a hybrid cloud, the top 3 challenges are:

1. Security (37%)
2. Increased operational complexity and cost management (33%)
3. Compliance and privacy (31%)

What are Some Hybrid Cloud Best Practices?

To address the challenges mentioned in the previous section, businesses can implement a set of best practices to optimize their hybrid cloud deployment and mitigate potential risks. These are some of those best practices: 

Evaluate your needs and requirements

Evaluating your company’s needs and requirements ensures that your hybrid cloud deployment is tailored to your specific needs while avoiding unnecessary costs. This involves assessing storage needs, computing power, and network bandwidth. However, it’s important to note that this evaluation is an ongoing process. Regularly tracking resource usage and evolving needs allows you to optimize resource utilization and prevent unexpected costs. 

Additionally, consult with your provider to see if they allow you to pay only for what you use, or provide bundled service packages that can help you save money and avoid overspending. 

Check the hybrid cloud provider’s SLA

A provider’s Service Level Agreement outlines the provider’s guarantees regarding uptime, performance, availability, support, and security. Thus, before choosing a hybrid cloud provider, make sure that you review and understand their SLAs. By making sure that the SLA aligns with your organization’s requirements, you can minimize the risk of downtime and ensure business continuity.  

Implementing security measures

Security is a crucial best practice for hybrid cloud usage as you want to make sure all private information related to your business is kept confidential. Implementing security measures in your cloud environment can be done through encryption strategies, managing access controls, and regularly patching and updating your systems. Moreover, you should also continuously monitor your systems for potential security threats and make disaster recovery plans for your business, so that you can respond to any security issues quickly. It’s recommended to consult with your provider to see if they can help you with implementing these security measures so you don’t have to manage all that on your own.  

Who should use a hybrid cloud?

Small medium businesses (SMBs) 

Hybrid cloud is the perfect solution for small-medium businesses as it allows them to store their sensitive data securely in a private cloud while still utilizing the public cloud for scalable and cost-efficient resources. This ensures that the business has optimal website performance and delivers an excellent and secure customer experience. 

Software developers

Hybrid cloud provides software developers with an affordable and flexible platform to build, test, and deploy applications quickly and efficiently. Developers can still keep their sensitive data on the private cloud while using budget-friendly resources from the public cloud for development and testing needs. 

Regulatory-driven businesses

Hybrid cloud allow businesses that have strict compliance requirements to maintain control over sensitive information by safely storing them in the private cloud while still enjoying the scalability and cost benefits of public cloud services. This is so they can comply with regulatory standards and ensure data privacy and security, while still saving some costs.  

Media and entertainment industry

Businesses in the media and entertainment industry has to deal with large files that require big-sized storage. This includes high-resolution video, images, and graphics. Using the this type of cloud can help them store and process those data cost-effectively. They can also use the public cloud resources for their content distribution and streaming while safely storing their valuable assets and information on the private cloud. This helps them to ensure a smooth content delivery while maintaining the protection of intellectual property. 

Educational institutions and research organizations

Hybrid cloud can help educational institutions and research organizations as they allow them to keep their students and research data secure on the private cloud while taking advantage of the public cloud for hosting online courses and learning platforms. This way, they can enjoy easy and convenient access to resources, while still keeping their sensitive data private.  

Overall, a hybrid cloud is a perfect solution for organizations or individuals who want flexibility, scalability, affordability, and secure data management by combining private and public cloud environments to meet their specific needs.

Click here to learn more about how Hybrid Cloud works. 

The post Hybrid Cloud Best Practices appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

The good news is, you don’t have to find a new hobby even if your PC doesn’t have that amount of storage or that specs of GPU. You can still play games on your same PC without risking it getting overheated with cloud gaming.

What is Cloud Gaming?

Before we dive deeper into what cloud gaming is, let’s review a bit about cloud computing in general. The idea of cloud computing is to make computing resources, such as servers, storage, networks, software, and databases available online on a pay-as-you-go basis. With cloud computing, users can access software (SaaS), platforms (PaaS), and infrastructures (IaaS) at any device as long as the device is connected to the internet and the user subscribes to the services.

Simply put, cloud gaming or game as a service is similar to that, except that it is more focused specifically on accessing game services. Thus, gaming as a service allows its users to play video games on a remote server in a data center. This allows users to stream or play video games without having to install each game individually on their PCs or mobile devices as long as they have subscribed to the services and are connected to the internet. The user only needs to either open the website provided or download the app provided by the cloud gaming provider to enjoy the video games because the game is already rendered on the remote server.

What are the Benefits of Cloud Gaming?

There are some of the main benefits of using cloud gaming, which are:

Accessibility

Not everyone has the hardware to run the latest and super demanding video games, but with cloud gaming, users can enjoy high GPU-demanding and storage-demanding games without actually having to upgrade their PC or console. This also saves a lot of money for the users as they can just use their existing hardware without having to buy expensive gaming hardware.

Wider variety of games to play

Also, another benefit of cloud gaming technology is that similar to Netflix or other movie streaming services, users now have a wide range of games to choose from. This is a huge benefit for gamers as they can try out lots of games without going through the hassle of installing or purchasing them one by one.

Flexibility

In the past, we may have experienced playing games that can only run on Windows and can’t be played on Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, etc. Cloud gaming has solved that problem. Similar to how you can always resume that Netflix series that you haven’t finished watching on any of your devices, cloud gaming also allows users to cross-play across their desktop and mobile devices, which can’t be accomplished using traditional computer or hardware-based games.

Easier Developer Experience

With cloud gaming, game developers now only have to build a video game once and it can directly be distributed across multiple devices without having to create multiple binaries. This means they no longer have to go through the hassle of optimizing the video games for multiple hardware platforms (mobile and desktop).

How Does Cloud Gaming Work?

Just like a movie or video streaming service, cloud gaming usually requires its users to pay on a monthly or yearly basis to access the games, and some require their users to buy the games on top of that fee.

The remote server will do all the heavy work. The server renders the game and streams the video game to your device.  Meanwhile, your device (PC, tablet, phone) will receive the streaming video and audio and your device will also send input commands. Your keyboard and mouse input actions will be sent over the network to the server. In short, the inputs from your device will be sent to the game server, and the server sends back a response, in the form of a video stream, in real time.

Future Trends in Cloud Gaming

In the future, cloud gaming can be as famous and as widely adopted as video streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, as the trend in subscription-based services is on the rise. People prefer subscription over ownership because it is more affordable and flexible without the required maintenance. Furthermore, the global e-commerce subscription market size is expected to reach $904.28 billion in 2026. Additionally, Newzoo, a provider of games and e-sports analytics, also predicts that cloud gaming will generate $6.3 million in revenue by 2024.

The global adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the rise. According to a 2021 survey by McKinsey , AI adoption is continuing its steady rise as 56% of the respondents adopt AI in at least one function of their organization, compared to 50% in their 2020 survey.  With the rise of global AI adoption, the future of cloud gaming providers will also be likely to utilize AI to provide a better gaming experience for their users. Aside from better graphics, Myelin Foundry , a deep tech product start-up, mentions that AI and deep learning can help users to have a lag-free and ultra-HD cloud gaming experience.

Ultimately, the future of cloud gaming is set for immense growth in-the-near future. With more and more gamers signing on and using this service, it appears that this has the potential to become the norm.

The post Is Cloud Gaming Becoming the New Norm? appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Essentially, cloud computing has revolutionized the way businesses and individuals store, manage, and access their data and applications. Rather then relying on physical hardware to store and run their programs, you are able to access your resources and services over the internet.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the basics of cloud computing and how it can benefit you or your business.

What are Cloud Computing Basics?

Cloud computing is the delivery of resources and services over the internet. This can include storage, servers, databases, software, and more. Instead of buying and maintaining physical hardware, you can access these resources on-demand and pay only for what they use.

Cloud computing is made possible by a network of servers that are owned and managed by service providers. These servers can be located in various data centers around the world that you can access from anywhere with an internet connection.

Types of Cloud Computing

There are three main types of cloud computing: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS provides you with access to virtualized computing resources such as servers, storage, and networks. Additionally, you can configure and manage these resources to run their applications.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS provides you with a platform for developing, testing, and deploying their applications. This platform includes the necessary hardware and software to run the application, as well as tools for building and testing the application.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS provides you with access to software applications that are hosted by the cloud provider. These applications can be accessed through a web browser or an API, and the provider is responsible for maintaining the software and ensuring that it is always up to date.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing offers many benefits for you and your and business. Here are some of the key advantages:

Scalability: Resources can be scaled up or down to meet changing demand. This means that businesses can quickly add or remove resources as needed, without the need to invest in expensive hardware.

Cost Savings: You only pay for the resources you use, rather than investing in and maintaining your own hardware. This can result in significant cost savings for businesses of all sizes.

Flexibility: You are able to access resources and applications from anywhere with an internet connection. This can be particularly beneficial for remote workers or businesses with multiple locations.

Reliability: Cloud service providers typically offer high levels of uptime and reliability, thanks to their redundant infrastructure and multiple data centers.

Security: Cloud service providers often have dedicated security teams and implement strict security protocols to protect user data.

Conclusion

Cloud computing has changed the way we access and manage our data and applications. By providing on-demand access to computing resources and services it has become easier and more cost-effective for businesses to store, manage, and access their data. As technology continues to evolve, cloud computing will likely become even more ubiquitous and essential for businesses of all sizes.

If you would like to learn more about cloud computing to determine if it is the right move for your company, you can contact us today to learn more!

The post Cloud Computing Basics and How it Benefits your Business appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

There are three other types of cloud computing service available other than IaaS which is service-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and serverless.

There are many advantages in considering using or migrating workload into IaaS. For example, users of IaaS can use any kind of operating system or application disregarding the maintenance and operational cost.

IaaS service also provides access to servers throughout the world and a service-level agreement (SLA) regarding the uptime and performance of the service. This allows businesses to eliminate the need to manage and provision their data center manually.

How to Implement IaaS in Business

IaaS represents the general purpose of computing resources, thus it is capable of supporting all use cases of all types. The question of “how to implement IaaS” then becomes insignificant. However, there are 5 ways of implementing IaaS that are commonly used by businesses.

• Lift-and-Shift Migration

Lift-and-Shift Migration is the fastest and least expensive migration business can take when migrating into IaaS service. It allows businesses to scale the size, enhance the performance, and reduce the cost without many works.

• Test and Development

IaaS is also useful a field of test and development. Users can quickly set up and scale environments suitable for the need of the test, thus bringing results faster and better.

• Storage, Backup, and Recovery

In-house IT infrastructure often requires a huge amount of investment and cost to maintain. Employing an IaaS service will help businesses in handling the growing need for space for storage and simplify the process of backup and recovery data.

• Web Apps

IaaS can also be used to support web apps needs, from the networking resources, storage, and the web and application itself. The ease of scaling the IaaS service also means users can simply scale the service according to demand.

• High-Performance Computing

Completing the calculation of complex variables or analyzing large data can also be achieved using IaaS. IaaS flexibility allows focusing computing capability into one single demanding task or workload.

Wowrack’s IaaS Service

Wowrack is a global leader in various IaaS services. Our service include Disaster Recovery, Private & Hybrid Cloud solutions, Colocation, Backup Services, Managed AWS & Azure, SD-WAN services and more.  All of these can optionally be co-managed or fully managed by Wowrack 24/7/365 team of experts.  With a workforce that is 80% engineering, you can rest assured that no matter what challenges you face. Wowrack is by your side to help.

Get in contact today to schedule your no-obligation consultation!

The post How to Implement IaaS into Your Business? appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Utilizing a cloud-based solution to operate a business is applicable for (and not limited to) the following types of retail companies:

• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Museums
• Health Care Providers
• Movie Theaters
• Home Improvement Companies

One of the largest drivers of this explosive growth has been the ever-increasing adoption of smartphones by the public at large. With e-commerce starting to overtake traditional means of purchasing (with 51% of Americans preferring online shopping), and more accessible means of other retail applications such as banking, it’s no question that the industry is well-suited for a cloud-based

What is the Value of the Global Retail Market Growth?

Worldwide, IT expenditures with relation to cloud computing have grown exponentially. In segmented markets, such as retail, we are seeing similar growth as well. In 2017, the global retail cloud market was valued at 13.24 billion dollars – and projections have already been made that by 2023, that valuation would rise to 40.23 billion dollars.

Why the steadily-growing adaptation of this technology? The retail industry has also seen rapid growth over the past decade, especially with a new emphasis on e-commerce storefronts to compete with traditional brick-and-mortar locations. As competition increases and customer demand becomes more time-sensitive, the industry as a whole needed to find a comprehensive solution to keep up – and many companies are finding those resolutions within a cloud-based infrastructure.

“With thin margins and an ever-growing emphasis on retailers and e-commerce sites to be customer-centric, it is important for retailers to find the balance between efficiencies and cost of their IT infrastructure to deliver fast-performing applications that are available 24/7/365” – Wowrack.com

So, Who Owns the Fastest Global Growth?

While North America has certainly seen (and continues to see!) very impressive growth in the cloud sector, the Asia-Pacific region has far and beyond dominated the retail cloud market in terms of growth rate. Mainly due to developments taking place in India and China, these two markets have captured the top and second spots as the cloud services markets with the fastest growth potential. For example, India’s public cloud services market clocked in at 1.8 billion in 2017 and is due to grow exponentially to 4.1 billion by 2020.

A global phenomenon that has restructured how the world views the retail process – both as the business owner/operators and the customer, the multitude of solutions that this technology provides saves time, money, and results in peace of mind.

To explore adopting a cloud-based infrastructure for your retail business, contact Wowrack to schedule a consultation. This complimentary consultation is crucial to crafting a custom plan that will take into account your needs alongside the uniqueness of your industry and current IT set-up.

The post Global Retail Cloud Trends in 2019 & Beyond appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

With its hybrid cloud customization services, managed cloud retailers like Wowrack works with retail clients both to refine and enhance their infrastructure and processes. Our retail cloud services provide customized solutions that don’t compromise on cloud compliance and security needs.

There are many benefits of utilizing managed cloud servers for retail businesses:

Consolidation of Infrastructure

Imagine having all of your data accessible at once, from one central hub. By consolidating your properties into one customizable infrastructure, you no longer have to worry about insecure, misplaced or scattered data.

By utilizing providers like Wowrack, you can save both time and money by not having to hire as many IT team members, while still maintaining a strong level of specialized infrastructure management.

Increased Performance & Uptime

One of the main headaches a retail business has to deal with is frequent downtime. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons, but all reasons that have to take time to diagnose and fix.

Similarly, decreased performance can cause a multitude of issues that can end up causing a negative customer experience. With customer reviews so important nowadays, it’s more important than ever to have your servers not only up and running, but running fast and efficiently.

Many managed server providers contain data centers that are specifically built for uptime and are continually monitored for any signs of issues. If problems are detected, providers with 24/7 network availability assurance will quickly remedy any downage.

Retail Scalability

In today’s cutthroat retail industry, your business can’t be caught off-guard. When the need arises for additional resources, traditional methods may pose time and space restraints that would cause costly delays. By adopting cloud-based computing, however, scalability is available at a moment’s notice. Plus, you will never pay for equipment or services you don’t utilize – only the resources that are working to raise your bottom line.

Ease of Mind

When migrating to a provider like Wowrack, you can immediately rest assured that the following tasks will be closely monitored by their team, leaving you more time and energy to focus on other revenue-generating endeavors for your retail business:

•         Maintaining UPS & Generators
•         Maintaining server infrastructure
•         Maintaining HVAC/CRAH/CRAC units
•         Ensuring network availability 24/7
•         Managing the security of server infrastructure space

Case Study: Fire and Vine

After choosing Wowrack as its Cloud Solutions Provider, Fire and Vine Wine Syndicate Director Lee Spires noted an important customer-facing improvement: “With Wowrack Turbo Cloud, the staff at the restaurants wait less and our customers get a faster response time from the system.” To see how this was achieved, and resulted in 10x improvement in performance, read our retail cloud computing case study here.

Cloud computing for retail businesses is undoubtedly a smart migration to make if you haven’t already done so. Efficiently consolidating your infrastructure and vastly increased performance and uptime are two of the many benefits that will quickly pay for themselves.

Contact Wowrack today for more information on meeting with a knowledgeable Wowrack rep to discuss how we can craft a solution for you.

The post Benefits of Cloud Computing in Retail appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

If you’ve weighed all your options and you’re still not satisfied, then we have one more type of managed service for you. Could a Platform as a Service what you need for your company?

What is The Difference Between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS?

When it comes to managed services, you can essentially separate the main types into three tiers.

If we’re going from the first tier up, we’ll start with IaaS, which as you know, stands for “Infrastructure as a Service.” This is considered the lowest level, as it provides the basics in order for a company to get itself off the ground.  An IaaS provider will deliver cloud computing infrastructure such as storage and a server. The rest, like managing applications and data, is completely up to the user. Think of it as hiring a party planner to give you tips about a planning a party.

Next up the pyramid is Platform as a Service. A Platform as a Service is a type of managed service that may seem very similar to a Software as a Service. But, there are some key differences that would make a company lean more towards one than the other. PaaS uses different platforms to allow users to build, develop, and run applications and services over the Internet, without needing to develop their own infrastructure to match it. Companies can choose what functions they want to utilize and deploy, in an environment, or “platform” that suits them best. This one can be thought as hiring a venue to book your party with some features included, but the rest is up to you.

Last is SaaS, and is the highest level of managed service functions. Unlike PaaS, SaaS already has ready-to-use applications in place so you can do whatever you need to do for your business, such as email marketing,  which is all managed by the vendor. If we use our party analogy one more time, this would be if you booked a venue that provided absolutely everything you’d need for your party, from the food right down to the confetti. All you have to do is tell them what you like, and show up.

Which Companies PaaS Would Be Good For?

As you can see, PaaS falls in the middle of IaaS and SaaS. It is ideal for web developers, software developers, and businesses who essentially want to have more flexibility with the applications and software they want to deploy, but wouldn’t mind someone helping them along the way. You’re given leverage from that platform you’re using to build what you want, while the vendor, or MSP, manages the rest.

Iaas might be good for a start-up business that wants to build but doesn’t have the budget to invest in additional tools. Likewise, Saas is good for a company who wants complete functionality to deploy apps that are already built in.

If you think PaaS is the right managed service for you, then take a look at our Wowrack PaaS package.

What You Can Expect with Platform as a Service?

If you choose to go with PaaS, then you’ve made a good choice. PaaS has a lot of great benefits. First of all, you get to choose what you pay for. Based on what kinds of perks you’re looking for with your PaaS, will determine what price you pay for the package.

One platform that’s often used with PaaS is Microsoft Office 365. However, instead of just getting what the platform itself would offer, you’d be getting much more than that when you take it as a Platform as a Service. That’s because the managed service provider will include system administration expertise and support on top of those platform functions; and,  at no extra cost.

With Platform as a Service, you really get the best of both worlds. Contact us today if you would like to learn more about PaaS.

The post Comparing PaaS to Other Types of Managed Services and Choosing the Right One appeared first on Wowrack Blog.