IT Support in Surrey: Could Computing Solutions Q&A

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, local businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on managed IT support in Surrey. 

Our IT support services in Surrey give you access to cloud services, heightened security, resilience and more. Our IT professionals are specialists in their field and enable you to take advantage of their expertise. 

If you’re wondering how cloud solutions work and how cloud computing benefits businesses in Surrey contact us today and speak with a member of our friendly team. 

Alternatively, have a read through our cloud computing solutions Q&A. The content on this page will help you to determine whether cloud solutions offer any benefits to your business and provides you with an insight into how our specialist IT support services can help to leverage your business.

How does cloud computing replace on-premise servers?

Adopting cloud service and working with IT support providers in Surrey offers a range of benefits and advantages including scalability, flexibility, agility, resilience, reliability and cost savings. 

By offloading IT management to a managed cloud provider, your IT team will not be distracted by performing routine maintenance and infrastructure provisioning. That means your in-house experts can put their focus and energy into strategic initiatives and core business activities. This can lead to increased productivity, innovation, and faster time-to-market for your applications and services.

Cloud computing also facilitates remote work and collaboration by allowing authorised personnel easy access to resources and data from anywhere, on any device. With on-premise servers, accessing resources may be limited to physical office locations which can hinder productivity and flexibility.

In addition, our cloud solutions deliver advanced backup and disaster recovery mechanisms to safeguard your data, applications and network. Our business IT support services in Surrey are designed to protect the long-term future of local businesses. 

Which cloud service model is best for IT Support in Surrey?

The best cloud service model depends on your specific requirements, resources, and goals. There are three cloud service models:

• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) 
• Platform-as-a-Service (PasS)
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

SaaS provides ready-to-use software applications that are hosted and managed by the cloud service provider. Users can access these applications through web browsers or APIs without the need for installation or maintenance. SaaS is suitable for organisations that want to quickly adopt and use software applications without the burden of infrastructure or software management.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

PaaS provides a platform for developing, deploying, and managing applications without the complexity of managing the underlying infrastructure. It offers a higher level of abstraction, allowing developers to focus on application development rather than infrastructure management. PaaS is suitable for organisations that prioritise application development, scalability, and ease of deployment.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS):

IaaS provides virtualised computing resources such as virtual machines, storage, and networking infrastructure. It offers the most flexibility and control over the underlying infrastructure, allowing you to manage and configure your virtual environment. IaaS is suitable for organisations that require full control over their infrastructure and have the resources and expertise to manage it.

Choosing the best cloud service model depends on factors such as your specific needs, available resources, in-house IT expertise, scalability requirements, and budget. 

If you require full control over your infrastructure and have the capability to manage it, IaaS might be the best fit. If your focus is on application development and deployment, PaaS can offer significant benefits. 

On the other hand, if you prefer to use pre-built software applications without infrastructure or software management, SaaS can be the most convenient option.

In some cases, a combination of cloud service models, known as a hybrid or multi-cloud approach, maybe the appropriate option. This allows you to leverage the benefits of different service models. And cloud service providers are best placed to deliver your specific requirements.

It’s essential to carefully evaluate your needs and consider factors such as scalability, control, management complexity, and cost to determine the cloud service model that aligns best with your business goals and resources.

What cloud service is best for my business? 

This is a question we are asked regularly. But determining which cloud service is best for your business largely depends on the nature of your business, your budget and your in-house IT expertise. 

We’ve listed the leading cloud service providers below to give you an idea of the options. However, just because the companies below are household names, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best cloud service providers to work with directly. 

You probably know from experience that customer support at large corporations is woeful. You will probably get a far better service working with and managed IT support team in Surry that provides one of the following cloud services. 

Microsoft Azure

Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. It gives you access to essential business tools such as Microsoft 365, Teams and Share. For this reason, Microsoft has a strong presence in enterprise environments and offers a broad set of cloud services, including virtual machines, databases, analytics, AI, and more.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) 

AWS is one of the largest and most comprehensive cloud service providers, offering a wide range of services and solutions for computing power, storage, databases, analytics, and more. It provides scalability, reliability, and a global infrastructure.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

GCP provides a suite of cloud services similar to AWS and Azure. It offers storage, computing power, machine learning, data analytics, and other tools. GCP emphasises its AI and machine learning capabilities and is known for its BigQuery data analytics service.

IBM Cloud

The IBM Cloud platform offers a wide range of cloud services boasting 170 products, including compute, storage, AI, blockchain, and more. IBM’s cloud service is known for its enterprise-grade security, scalability, and integration with other IBM offerings.

Oracle Cloud

Oracle Cloud offers a comprehensive set of cloud services, including infrastructure, platform, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions. It is particularly focused on supporting enterprise workloads and applications and a good option for firms that want to leverage Big Data.

What cloud solution does Microsoft provide?

Microsoft provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) that offers a wide range of cloud services and tools to support multiple business needs. Some key components and services within Microsoft Azure include virtual machines, Microsoft 365, cloud storage, IoT hub, DevOps, and app services. Microsoft is regarded as a cloud leader boasting 258 million users worldwide — more than any other cloud service provider. 

The fact that 70% of Fortune 500 firms and 85% of Fortune 100 firms have a license for Microsoft 365 tells its own story. 

Can cloud computing integrate online shopping?

Yes, cloud computing plays a significant role in supporting e-commerce operations. Cloud services provide a scalable and flexible infrastructure that can handle the demands of online shopping websites, including high traffic, data storage, and processing requirements. 

In addition, cloud services provide web hosting plans, storage and content delivery and end-to-end payment gateways and processing services which handle secure and reliable transactions for online shopping. These services integrate with e-commerce platforms to securely process customer payments, deliver invoices, and provide fraud detection and prevention mechanisms.

You can also integrate cloud-based inventory management systems which track and manage product inventory in real time. These systems provide accurate inventory levels, automated order processing, and fulfilment capabilities. Cloud-based systems allow for efficient management of multiple sales channels, automated stock updates, and streamlined order tracking.

Can cloud computing affect privacy? 

Data privacy is one of the leading concerns for business owners in Surrey. On the face of it, the concerns are legitimate because your data is stored on off-site servers owned by a third party. However, cloud services have advanced technologies, strategies and provisions that protect data ownership and control. 

When you entrust your data to a cloud service provider in Surrey, it’s important to understand the terms of service and any agreements regarding data ownership and control. Ensure that you retain appropriate control over your data and have the ability to retrieve or delete it as needed. Some cloud providers may have limitations on data transfer or retention, so it’s important to review and understand these policies.

It’s also important to integrate appropriate security measures when your storing data in the cloud. Whilst cloud computing platforms implement security measures, such as encryption, access controls, and regular audits, to safeguard data, you should also work out a cybersecurity strategy with your IT support provider. 

It is essential that your IT support provider in Surrey understands the best security practices for your business.  Depending on the industry your organisation operates, you may be subject to specific privacy regulations and compliance requirements. It is crucial to assess whether the cloud service provider adheres to the necessary compliance standards and can support your organisation’s compliance obligations.

Before choosing to work with an IT support provider in Surrey, it is essential to evaluate their reputation, track record, and commitment to privacy and security. Look for providers that have strong privacy policies, transparent practices, and a solid reputation for data protection. Assess their compliance certifications, security audits, and any third-party assessments they have undergone to validate their privacy and security practices.

Can cloud computing be hacked?

Whilst cloud computing can improve IT security, like any other technology, it’s not immune to security risks. Every business is vulnerable to hacking because threat actors target your employees via email and infected downloads.

Cloud services can be compromised if you have weak access controls, improper configurations, or vulnerabilities in the cloud infrastructure. To ensure you don’t leave yourself exposed, it’s best practice to work with an IT support specialist in Surrey that has experience with cloud computing. 

Cybercriminals generally attempt to compromise user accounts or credentials to gain unauthorised access to cloud resources. This can happen through techniques such as phishing, social engineering, or weak password security. 

Cloud platforms enable you to set access control and monitor your business network for unusual activity. This help to strengthen your fortifications and stop hackers dead in their tracks as soon as they attempt to enter your network. They are also equipped to fend of DoS attacks that over overload the system with excessive requests, rendering it unavailable to legitimate users.

To mitigate these risks, both cloud service providers and users should implement robust security practices, such as multi-factor authentication, regular security assessments, vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing, monitoring and logging of activities to detect and respond to security incidents, regular application and system updates. 

Can cloud computing exist without virtualisation? 

No, cloud computing relies heavily on virtualisation technology. Virtualisation is the foundation that enables the flexibility, scalability, and resource-pooling aspects of cloud computing. 

Virtualisation allows for the creation of virtual machines (VMs) or virtual instances that abstract the underlying physical hardware. By utilising virtualisation, multiple VMs can run on a single physical server, allowing for efficient utilisation of computing resources. This helps optimise resource allocation, improve hardware utilisation, and reduce costs.

Virtualisation is also needed to enable the dynamic allocation and provisioning of computing resources in response to changing demands. Cloud providers can scale up or down the number of VMs based on workload requirements, allowing for rapid elasticity. 

In addition, virtualisation provides strong isolation between different virtual instances. Each VM operates independently, with its own operating system and application stack, creating isolation and security boundaries. This prevents interference between different workloads running on the same physical infrastructure, enhancing security, stability and hardware independence. 

Management tools and software that monitor, control, and automate the provisioning, configuration and management of virtual instances also rely on virtualisation. These tools allow cloud administrators to efficiently manage large-scale infrastructures and streamline operational tasks.

What is cloud storage consensus? 

One of the key advantages of cloud services is cloud storage consensus. It refers to the process by which a group of nodes in a distributed storage system collectively agree on the state of the system or reach a common decision. In cloud storage systems, where data is distributed across multiple nodes or servers, achieving consensus is crucial for maintaining data consistency, reliability, and fault tolerance.

Consensus algorithms ensure that all nodes in the system agree on the order of operations and the validity of data updates. These algorithms help resolve conflicts, handle failures, and maintain the integrity of the data stored in the cloud.

By achieving consensus, cloud storage systems can provide secure, reliable and highly available storage services to users, ensuring that data remains consistent and accessible across distributed nodes or data centres.

Which is the best cloud service provider in Surrey? 

Well, we’re obviously going to say Micro Pro. But we also have the history, the case studies and the technologies to back up that claim. 

Having started as an IT support provider in Surrey serving local SMEs, we have earned a reputation as a business IT specialist. We now have four offices in the UK; London, Kent, Glasgow, and of course, our award-winning IT support team in Surrey. 

Still not sure which company is the best IT support provider in Surrey? Then check out the feedback from our customers. 

Or call us now on 01932 300 314 and ask our knowledgeable team members how our business IT support services in Surrey can leverage your business.