Cloud computing has been a revolutionary shift in the way we use technology, but it comes with its own set of challenges. To start, cloud computing is vastly different from traditional computing and therefore requires a new skill-set.
The most significant challenge with moving to the cloud is security concerns. In addition, there are also financial considerations when switching to the cloud because you have less control over your budgeting process. Lastly, shifts in storage capacity can create problems for people who rely on their computer for work or school projects that require large amounts of data storage space.
It’s used to store, access and share data remotely rather than storing it on a local device. Cloud storage offers many benefits for those who use it as well as for the companies hosting the data. However, this type of technology does come with its challenges. In today’s blog post we will explore some of these challenges and how they may be solved.
1) Slow File Access
Azure is a popular hosting service that many people use today. This type of popularity creates its own issues though, because it results in more usage than Azure ever expected. To solve this issue Microsoft offers Azure file shares which you can mount into your virtual machines (located within Azure) which allows you access to all of your files as if they were local. Azure storage is not the only option that you can use. You can also use Azure file shares. Azure Table storage is another global storage option that allows Azure users to store data in what is called “data partitions.” Data partitions are collections of entities (data) which are stored within Azure Table storage; these entities consist of name-value pairs where each pair represents different attributes or metadata for each entity.
2) Storage Costs
The new service that’s coming to Azure is called Cool Storage and it will definitely cost you more than regular cloud computing. This means if your data were stored through file services or table storage in a previous month, then using this for storing the same amount would result in greater costs because of how advanced cool sync features are with their system which tracks usage based on time stamps so they can provide faster access speeds as well as unlimited scalability at an affordable price point while also taking into account performance needs too!
Azure offers many storage solutions like Azure table storage and Azure file services but there is also an all new service coming called Azure cool storage. It’s important to note that even though it has “cool” in the title, this type of solution will definitely cost you more than regular cloud computing. This means if you use Azure file services and Azure table storage to store your data, it will result in greater costs than what was originally expected.
3) Security Issues
It’s so important for companies using Azure cloud computing to understand that all of their data is not secure on Azure; they need to take proactive steps towards securing this information. This means ensuring the Azure account has proper security as well as understanding how Azure stores user accounts and passwords. Ensuring your Azure accounts are properly secured ensures that no one person or group will gain unauthorized access to privileged account credentials like administrator login IDs and passwords. Azure itself encrypts sensitive information like billing and usage data by using certificates, and Microsoft says these certificates employ “industry-standard algorithms.” Lookout experts also warn users to be on the lookout for Azure phishing scams, which target Azure cloud storage users and trick them out of their login credentials.
4) Privacy Concerns
Companies that use Azure cloud computing need to ensure there is a “privacy by design” approach in place because Azure doesn’t provide any tools for segregating or restricting access to certain data sets. This can lead to companies having issues when they try and comply with laws like the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). The GDPR requires companies to store personal information about EU citizens in such a way that makes it inaccessible without explicit permission from the individual. Azure does not currently offer this type of security mechanism so moving data into Azure runs the risk of violating European privacy laws.
5) Azure Service Instability
Azure is the most widely used platform for cloud computing in the world which means there are more Azure virtual machine running than any other service. Azure goes down from time to time though, meaning that companies will have downtime while Azure fixes these issues. This might not be a big issue if your Azure usage is only processing data or conducting some other non-essential task but it could result in lost revenue if you are working with real-time data. The best thing companies can do to avoid this type of problem altogether is implement an Azure uptime monitor. With an uptime monitor, Azure downtime alerts are generated immediately so your organization knows when Azure has experienced problems and then takes appropriate actions to get everything back up and running. Azure has a great uptime record but that can quickly change without proper Azure monitoring in place.
Conclusion
Cloud computing is a relatively new concept and its challenges are still being explored. One of the main issues relating to cloud computing, as it stands today, is that many people do not trust storing their data in the “cloud” because they believe this could lead to security concerns among other things. As more time goes on and we get used to having our files stored elsewhere online, most likely these problems will be solved or lessened with better understanding of how technology can help us keep up with life’s demands.
Cloud Computing is a difficult process, and there are many challenges that come with it. With the right strategy in place, however, you can make this transition smoother than ever before.
To learn more about cloud computing check out our other blogs. Happy Cloud Computing!!
