The introduction of technological solutions like cloud services enables businesses to stay efficient and effective whilst cutting down operational costs to improve productivity and increase profitability.

Since the cloud computing concept was introduced and technically launched in the mid-1990s, it became a mainstream concept in the mid-2000s with the sole focus on resource sharing championed by Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

Cloud Computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources for example networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service interaction. It helps business organizations of all sizes transform their current technological operations by establishing an adaptable and flexible IT environment to meet the changing requirements.

According to a study by the International Data Group, 69% of businesses are already using cloud technology in one capacity or another, and 18% say they plan to implement cloud-computing solutions at some point. At the same time, Dell’s annual Global Technology Adoption Index (GTAI) reports that companies that invest in big data, cloud, mobility, and security enjoy up to 53% faster revenue growth than their competitors. As this data shows, an increasing number of tech-savvy businesses and industry leaders are recognizing the many benefits of the cloud-computing trend. But more than that, they are using this technology to more efficiently run their organizations, better serve their customers, and dramatically increase their overall profit margins.

The need to achieve more with less is vital so the increase in demand for cloud computing is not surprising as it provides the perfect platform for organizations to operate effectively within their budget without incurring unnecessary expenses for hardware, software, administrative costs etc. Rather than using a dedicated server that you own, maintain, and pay for regardless of demand, workloads can now share server infrastructure with other organizations’ computing needs allowing cloud- providers to optimize the hardware needs of their data centers, which in turn means that organization don’t need to pay for idle infrastructure, resulting in lower operating costs.

Cloud computing comes with zero upfront costs. When you run your servers, there are usually upfront capital costs, but in a cloud-based model, financing that capital investment is someone else’s problem. With cloud-based computing, there’s far less variability in cost as your business scales, removing a significant barrier to growth.

More businesses are adopting cloud computing across the globe as it has proved to provide numerous values whilst driving digital transformation.

MainOne, the leading provider of colocation, cloud and connectivity solutions for businesses in West Africa has since begun empowering enterprises to adopt Cloud technology by connecting businesses across the region directly and privately to private and public cloud service providers.

Its Managed Cloud Service grants the companies direct access to other global cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, Oracle and IBM, thereby giving customers access to the services they need.