Data analytics is a process of taking, working with, adapting, and modelling data with the aim to discover useful information, insights, and patterns that can be used to help a business make better decisions. This process can be done in-house on-premises, but more and more businesses are taking their data analytics to the cloud. Here are four clear benefits of using the cloud for data analytics:
Increased Flexibility
One of the main benefits of using the cloud for data analytics is increased flexibility. With on-premises data analytics, businesses are limited to the resources they have on hand. But with cloud-based data analytics, businesses can scale up or down their usage as needed without having to make a large upfront investment.
Many services offer pay-as-you-go pricing, so businesses can only pay for the resources they use. This flexibility is especially useful for businesses that are experiencing rapid growth or changing needs that makes it easy to quickly upgrade and downgrade your data analytics solutions whenever you need it, usually without any interruption to your service.
Improved Collaboration
Another benefit of using the cloud for data analytics is that it can improve collaboration. With on-premises data analytics, it can be difficult to share data and collaborate with others. But with cloud-based data analytics, businesses can easily share data and collaborate in real-time.
What’s more, the ability to securely access data and files from anywhere in the world encourages the ability to remote work. This is beneficial for businesses as it can help to reduce overheads costs and means you can source talent for your business from anywhere in the world, ensuring you can invest in the employment of the best people for your business.
Improved Security
Despite concerns that the cloud is less secure than on-premises data analytics, the opposite is often true. Cloud service providers have teams of security experts working around the clock to keep their systems secure. They also invest heavily in security, so you can be sure your data is safe.
Additionally, by using the cloud for data analytics, businesses can take advantage of the latest security features and updates as soon as they’re released. This can be difficult to do with on-premises data analytics, where you may have to wait for an upgrade or patch to be released before you can use the latest security features.
You don’t even need to invest in upgrades or carry out any work yourself. The platforms you’re using will simply handle everything on your behalf and will usually provide you with some sort of notice as to what has changed. This allows you to focus on the other more important aspects of your business.
Reduced Costs
Finally, one of the biggest benefits of using the cloud for data analytics is that it can reduce costs. With on-premises data analytics, businesses need to purchase and maintain their own hardware and software. But with cloud-based data analytics, businesses only pay for the resources they use, which can lead to significant cost savings.
Summary
Data analytics is an important aspect of any business looking to use their data from any source to discover useful information, insights, and patterns. While the benefits of having some kind of data analytics software are undeniably, you can further better your business by using a cloud-based service, and it’s certainly worth thinking about.
