Technological advancements change our lifestyle; be it working, shopping or socializing. E-commerce is one such technological advancement that redefined the trade and revolutionized buyer-seller relationship. E-commerce websites give customers unlimited freedom in terms of shopping time, location, purchase method, payment and delivery. Websites like Amazon and eBay serve customers all over the world, 365 days a year. If you are looking for anything at midnight, there is always an online shop open for you.
As millions of customers access e-commerce websites throughout the year and products are always added to the sites, online shop owners need to take help of the latest technology to cope up with the pressure. So, what solution can they use? The answer is “cloud computing”.
Cloud computing is a very broad term and it’s hard to explain it in a sentence. Still, if you want a definition, it is safe to say that cloud computing is a model that lets you store data and applications in unknown, unidentified servers and end-users can access the data from computers, smartphones, tablets and other internet-enabled devices. The cloud computing service provider gives you the freedom to use the service on a “pay as you use” basis.
Let’s try to understand how cloud computing is beneficial for e-commerce business owners.
Helps E-commerce Businesses Cope up with Sudden Increase of Users:
Cloud computing is like electricity usage. You can use as many gadgets as you wish to and pay for the electricity you consume. Cloud computing helps you cope up with the pressure during festive seasons. For example, December is one of the busiest months for online stores as everyone purchases something new for X-Mas and the New Year. During this 1-2 month period, you need greater bandwidth and more data storage capacity.
Earlier, you had to buy new server and database and hire a PAN manager to oversee the network’s demands. The problem with this model is that the money you spend on the infrastructure is huge but the advanced infrastructure stays idle for the rest of the year as the demand goes down after the festive season.
However, with the help of cloud service, you pay extra money to the service provider for the bandwidth, processing and data storage, and that too only for the peak months. Your package remains the same the rest of the year.
Saves Money:
When you develop an in-house infrastructure for running an e-commerce business, the cost is really high. You have to buy all the hardware and software to manage your business successfully.
From buying servers to creating a payment gateway, everything is a costly affair and add to that the regular upgrade hassles to understand how much money and manpower you actually waste. When you opt for cloud service, the cost of server, storage, payment gateway facility – everything becomes much cheaper and maintenance becomes the duty of the service provider.
You can Trust Cloud:
Cloud computing service is provided by some of the leading software behemoths in the world such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon etc. By using their service, you can be absolutely sure that your business-related confidential data will remain safe. The cloud computing services utilize the latest security features to keep hackers at bay. Besides, customers also trust you more easily if they visit your site and see that it is powered by a renowned cloud computing company.
Your Business is always Active:
When you have an in-house facility, natural calamities such as heavy rain or storm can destroy your equipment and thus, your website can go down for an indefinite period of time. Cloud computing helps e-commerce business owners get rid of such performance issues.
As all the data is on cloud, even if your office gets damaged or you shift your office location, the website runs smoothly all the time. If you need to update a product page or delete an “out of stock” product, all you need is a laptop to make the changes.
Impeccable Accessibility:
If you have used Google Drive ever, you must have appreciated the brilliant accessibility offered by cloud computing. As everything is online, you can access your database using any web browser.
For better ecommerce website management, you can also share log-in details with the product suppliers and delivery team so that they can access the system and do their work. Even if the seller and supplier live at opposite parts of a country, they can manage their website-related work, without ever seeing each other.
If you own an e-commerce business, it is the ideal time to shift your business on cloud. You will not only be able to save thousands of dollars that would have otherwise been spent on infrastructure, but also provide a more professional and secure online shopping experience to buyers.
