The process of storing and analyzing data in the cloud and using it to extract actionable business statistics is termed as Cloud Analytics. Cloud analytics involves grouping large data with powerful analytics to identify patterns and predict future outcomes, along with other insights useful for both SMEs as well as large enterprises.

It works similar to on-premise analytics but is a more efficient alternative for businesses heavily dependent on cloud computing and is often associated with artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning. Nowadays, Cloud Analytics is helping businesses gain competitive advantage and has become an increasingly valuable tool.

In this article, we cover – 

1. What is Cloud Analytics?
2. What are the different types of cloud analytics tools?
3. Benefits of cloud analytics

Before we dive deep, let’s understand what is cloud computing – 

Cloud computing is the process of delivery of computer services via the internet by using third party infrastructure. In a cloud computing model, organizations can either create an in-built system or rent the IT infrastructure and services based upon the requirement from a cloud service provider. The solution includes everything from essential infrastructures such as networking, servers, storage, databases and software to advanced tools like artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning systems.

Cloud computing solution allows businesses to use the advanced system within a set budget and thus, increase productivity. Cloud computing enables remote working efficiently, they can be used from any geographical location with the internet.

What are the modules of cloud computing?

There are 3 modules of cloud computing and cloud analytics, defined below:

1. Public Cloud:  A type of cloud computing where services are publicly available via third-party service providers. Often free, these services are sometimes charged according to usage or consumption. In the public cloud, although the IT systems are shared, the data is kept private. Public clouds help in cost reduction since maintenance of servers, applications, infrastructure is handled by cloud service providers.
2. Private Cloud:  Private cloud involves all hardware and software dedicated & accessible by a single owner. It offers the benefits of public cloud such as scalability and centralized access, but is owned and operated by a single organization or hosting service. With increased privacy and security, private cloud solutions are a bit more expensive than public cloud.
3. Hybrid Cloud: This is the combination of private and public cloud solutions. Businesses opting for a hybrid cloud structure normally use public cloud or non-sensitive data while keeping sensitive information on a private cloud. It gives the best of both worlds for businesses looking up to scale or moves to cloud solutions.

What are the different types of cloud analytics tools?

Whilst cloud services are provided by service providers, Cloud Analytics adds value by throwing light on the right amount of data required for your business to grow. There are numerous types of cloud analytics tools available. Here’s a few popular ones:

Website Analytics: One of the most commonly used cloud analytics is website analytics. This tool is used to understand and evaluate website traffic, conversion rate, bounce rate which can be implemented to improve user experience, revenue and profitability.

Sales Analytics: This cloud analytics tool helps businesses manage customers and leads along with evaluating worldwide sales and monitoring performance. It also helps in predicting important trends or signals that can help decision-makers develop efficient strategies.

Financial Analytics: Financial cloud analytics not only helps understand revenue and expense trends, but also evaluate minute financial details that can help leaders take financial decisions wisely. Financial analytics also helps answer many ad hoc questions, prepare strategy and forecast future trends based on factual insights rather than simple intuition.

Performance Analytics: This looks at the sales, production, evaluating business practices, reviewing revenues and other data to find performance blockage, expense sources and improvement opportunities.

More advanced cloud analytics tools not only process bigger data chunks by using technology like machine learning and artificial intelligence, but also help the C-level executives make predictions using accurate analytical outcomes.

How Cloud Analytics work?

Cloud Analytics allows companies to access remote data centers connected via numerous network systems and process large data chunks to evaluate, understand and predict business information better. This is beneficial especially for companies with no on-premise cloud computing data center or for those dealing in heavy digital data.

Benefits of cloud analytics

Some of the major advantages of cloud analytics are :

1. Growth and Scalability: With powerful capabilities such as on-demand scaling up/down and maximum flexibility with no on-site infrastructure set-up requirement, the cloud presents tremendous growth and scalability options at the touch of a button.

2. Centralized and Unified Approach: With Cloud Analytics, different teams need not manage different databases and analytics tools. Cloud analytics pulled from an organization\’s ERP system allows the entire workforce to work on a single source of information and analytics irrespective of their department or location.

3. Breaks Down Isolation: The use of a single system throughout the firm increases collaboration between departments and promotes communication across teams for data usability.

4. Cost Reduction: Cost reduction is huge when a company uses a single system. Housing and maintaining on-premise systems including IT, software and hardware along with other administrative expenditure is reduced significantly in the long run.

5. Increased Processing: Cloud is operated via powerful servers as opposed to on-site systems, thus increasing the processing capabilities of the entire organization.

6. Promotes Collaboration: Cloud is best if used by a bunch of people as it provides a better system for data sharing and collaboration all at the same time. Multiple people can access the same set of documents from across the world without lag and in real-time.

7. Enhanced Security: With regular cloud backups at third party servers located at multiple geographical locations, data security is an event of utmost importance which the cloud carries out seamlessly.

Conclusion:

Cloud analytics is gaining popularity among different industries and business leaders for all the right reasons, including accessibility, security, reliability and valuable insights. For any company dealing in larger data chunks and limited resources to process, manage plus analyze it, Cloud Analytics is the perfect answer. In short, it helps drive growth, scalability, improve application performance and optimize IT costs.

If you are looking for a cloud partner who can provide end-to-end cloud services, be it cloud implementation, managed services, cloud analytics and more, Rapyder – leading Global AWS Consulting Partner can help your business grow and scale easily.