Cloud hosting brings with it so many benefits which is why it is becoming incredibly popular. If you are seeking the ability to scale up and down quickly via a service that offers high availability and is secure, reliable and affordable, then getting into the Cloud may be just the thing for your business.

Research has shown that by the year 2020, operations in the Cloud will command over $1 trillion when it comes to IT spending. It is clear to see that the use of Cloud-based servers and Cloud computing is going to expand in a big way, with the service seeing more and more improvements.

Cloud hosting has risen so dramatically partly due to the increased use of SaaS (Software as a Service) and now businesses throughout the world are opting to go in the direction of the Cloud.

Why it makes sense to jump into the Cloud
For those businesses that have an ecommerce website or are looking to create one by making use of ecommerce website design services, there may be many advantages involved in utilising Cloud hosting, but what are they and what is fuelling the move? And it’s not only online stores that sell products who are jumping on the Cloud bandwagon; now food can be ordered via ecommerce, hotel rooms and flights booked and even movies streamed.

Think of Amazon who are a great example of an ecommerce store and one of the largest online retailers in the world. But ecommerce stores don’t have to be big. Even small businesses can make use of Cloud hosting at a price that is affordable, knowing that it will not impact negatively upon their costs.

Let’s take at what makes cloud hosting so attractive to businesses with ecommerce sites:

Ability to scale up and down quickly
If you have an ecommerce business then you will already know that demand can fluctuate greatly. Depending upon the business sector that you operate within, there can be peaks and troughs.

Your operation may even be affected by seasonal ups and downs. Because the Cloud provides the ability to scale up and down quickly, at the same time, as your business begins to grow, you have full peace of mind knowing that your Cloud hosting service can expand with you.

Before the Cloud, this was not the case and in order to administer your website you may have had to get involved in hosting plans that were far too large and expensive but needed to be able to deal with the worst case scenario.

This was bad in so many ways as not only would you have been wasting money but paying for use of a server that was not fully utilised.

Using the Cloud enables you to maximise use of resources during busy times or major campaigns and then drop back down to normal afterwards, quickly and easily.

High Availability all of the time
When you have a busy ecommerce site- whether that be a magento or even a WooCommerce based website, it is your business’s lifeline. If the site goes down, you are not only liable to lose customers but also money. And once a buyer goes elsewhere – to a competitor for example – they may never come back. Every minute offline is a missed opportunity. Cloud services provide High Availability because they are around the whole time. Whichever Cloud provider you choose, you will be able to add and remove facilities as and when you need them.

This enables you to keep up with the demands of your ecommerce site and make use of the available solutions should you need them. Even if data is lost, you can always restore it from the Cloud.
If you use a Cloud hosting provider such as Microsoft or Google, their systems are flexible enough to enable you to choose what applications you need, as and when. This maximises affordability and convenience and is great for businesses of all sizes, including start-ups and SMEs.

This also makes life a whole lot easier in terms of not having to upgrade software or hardware frequently. The Cloud enables businesses with ecommerce websites to be incredibly flexible and adaptable which can only be a good thing in terms of providing an outstanding service to customers.

Built-in security and recovery system
The other great thing about utilising the Cloud for your hosting is that security, backup and recovery systems are included. Think of how much money and time you can save by not having to get your in-house staff to deal with IT issues, nor do you have to purchase additional equipment. Whatever type of business you have, security should be an integral part of your processes. The Cloud takes care of this incredibly effectively.

Summing up the Cloud
As you can see, making use of the Cloud brings with it many advantages and particularly if you have an ecommerce site that is subject to ups and downs in terms of demand. It also makes having this type of website far more affordable as you do not have to get involved in expensive software purchases or regular update premiums. Whilst traditional hosting services do offer reliable and competitively priced options, if your business is one that is bound to thrive due to:
• The ability to scale up and down quickly
• Access to a service that offers high availability
• In-built security and reliability
• Affordability

Then there would seem to be no reason not to go full-out for Cloud hosting. It is not a matter of blindly following others and doing what everyone else seems to think is the next big thing but finding the solution that best fits your business requirements.

The year 2020 is not far away and with it we are going to see the Cloud doing amazing things whilst providing businesses with a service that ticks every box. If you are in the process of changing or upgrading your website hosting services, talk to your ecommerce website development provider about getting into the Cloud. It may just be the best thing that you have done for your business in a long time.