Using a cloud mobile app is highly regarded as one of the most basic requirements for businesses today, especially when the company is in its early stages. With each passing day, an increasing number of organizations and developers are opting for cloud-based solutions and applications.

While there isn’t one particular reason to move to cloud mobile apps, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about how it works and what value it provides to business owners and developers. Let’s take a look at a comprehensive list of advantages that come with switching to cloud mobile apps.

Continue reading below to learn more about how cloud migration services can ensure that your organization continues to operate effectively and efficiently.

Top 3 Reasons to Use Cloud Mobile Apps

Cloud mobile apps are web applications with a mobile-specific user interface and a cloud-based database. Like web applications, these apps can be accessed via mobile browsers, which means updates are pushed in real time, and users always have the most up-to-date app.

Because of the numerous advantages that this growing technology provides, businesses worldwide have begun to use it. Here are some of the most significant benefits to consider when deciding whether or not to use cloud mobile apps for your business:

Not Limited to a Single Platform

If you’ve ever built a native app, you understand how difficult the decision can be when deciding which platform to create the mobile app for.

As opposed to native applications, cloud mobile apps spare developers the burden of determining which kind of mobile devices to focus on in relation to their target audience while developing the mobile app.

This allows developers to reach a larger audience and simplifies their tasks because they no longer have to determine which platform to create for first.

No Installation Required

Unlike native applications, which require you to install the app on your device and constantly update it to function correctly, cloud mobile apps operate directly from the cloud. As a result, they communicate directly with the cloud to get data, eliminating the need to install and update them on your device.

Data Storage

Data security is of the utmost significance for businesses worldwide. With cloud mobile apps, you now have a secure way to protect your clients and business.

Cloud storage means files can be stored remotely and viewed from anywhere via an internet connection, resulting in less chance of data loss, which is especially crucial if your application is required to acquire and keep personal information about your users.

The Number One Choice for Cloud And Data Migration Services

Cloud mobile apps are widely acknowledged as propelling modern businesses forward. With a number of unique features, app developers searching for an alternative to traditional app development should consider cloud mobile app solutions and cloud-based services to stay ahead of the competition in the future.

Choosing the correct cloud or data migration strategy isn’t always straightforward. At Laminar Consulting, we take a fresh approach to data migration services to learn about your specific situation to find the optimal solution for your business.

We’ve worked with a variety of industries, and we’ll walk you through the entire process to help you find the best option for your business that is tailored to your specific requirements.

Our mission is to make your company’s technology more efficient, up-to-date, and easy to use. To schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can assist your business, contact us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting today!

With cloud migration, services are distributed over the internet and in remote data centers—so that innovation can be enabled more quickly. Resources can be provisioned with greater flexibility, and economies of scale can be achieved.

Multiple data centers are used by cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). In addition, cloud computing is based on two methods that enable standardization and cost efficiency, these are resource sharing and a pay-as-you-go model. 

Simply put, cloud computing allows users to rent their IT infrastructure rather than purchase it. Instead of investing heavily in databases, software, and hardware, customers use services like AWS and Azure to access computational power via the internet and pay as they use it.

Azure Vs. AWS: Key Differences

Cloud kings Azure and AWS are both well-recognized and both fighting for dominance in the cloud sector while revolutionizing the IT world. According to current statistics, AWS accounts for 41.5% of all installed application workloads, while Azure accounts for 29.4%. Another competitor, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), has a 3% share, contributing to the AWS vs. Azure debate.

AWS provides serverless services such as Amazon Kinesis Streams, Amazon SQS Queues, and AWS Lambda Functions for smooth and flexible data collection. In addition to computing, database, content delivery, and storage services, AWS also offers Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

On the other hand, Azure offers computing, networking, data management databases, and performance services—and developers can use the Azure Machine Learning Studio to write, test, and deploy algorithms. 

When it comes to availability in regions, there are 22 geographic regions and 14 data centers within Amazon Web Service. In total, there are over 114 edge locations and 12 regional edge caches. Meanwhile, there are 54 regions in Microsoft Azure, each with at least three availability zones and 116 edge locations.

When comparing AWS with Azure, AWS offers a Linux and Windows product marketplace, while Azure has a limited Linux ecosystem despite having a large partner network. To determine which is best for your business, let’s take a closer look at their features and services.

Storage Options in the Cloud

Having adequate storage is essential for the cloud deployment of organizations. It is important to note that Azure and AWS have almost equal strengths in this area—however, their offerings are vastly different. While the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), Elastic Block Store (EBS), and Glacier are available through Amazon Web Services, Azure Storage Services provides disk storage, blob storage, and standard archives.

With AWS S3, customers can benefit from scalable, secure, and robust storage solutions for structured and unstructured big data. The Azure platform, on the other hand, offers data storage options such as Azure Blogs, Azure Queues, Azure Disks, Azure Tables, and Azure Files.

In both cases, the number of permissible objects is unlimited. There are, however, 5TB of object size restrictions on AWS, while 4.75TB are available in Azure.

Data Protection and Security

When it comes to ensuring enhanced privacy, AWS selects secure options and settings by default. Microsoft Azure uses its Cloud Defender service for security and data privacy—an artificial intelligence-powered solution that safeguards against new threats as they emerge.

The Azure platform may, however, not be 100% secure by default, such as deploying virtual machine instances with all ports open unless otherwise configured.

Licensing and License Mobility

It is important for Azure and AWS to ensure that customers don’t have to worry about licensing hassles or license mobility concerns. With both services adopting pay-as-you-go pricing structures, customers are only charged for the services they use. If they have already paid for the service, they are eligible for license mobility in Microsoft Azure.

While Azure is easier for Windows administrators to set up, AWS offers more features and is more customizable. When comparing AWS and Azure, it’s clear that most of the services are identical. 

Azure, however, offers more Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) features than AWS. Among them are Azure Scheduler, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Visual Studio Online, and Azure Event Hubs. Amazon Web Services, however, seems to lead when it comes to flexibility, adaptability to the open-source community, and revenue generation.

Database Services Capacities

These two solutions support both structured and unstructured information, as well as big data. AWS users can take advantage of Amazon RDS for durable data management, whereas Azure users can use Azure SQL server for database management. 

Comparing AWS vs Azure, AWS provides a relatively mature environment for handling big data. Neither system has a problem working with relational databases nor not only SQL (NoSQL) databases. These storage solutions are widely available, long-lasting, and provide simple, automatic replication.

Even though AWS offers more instance types, Azure’s tooling and interface are very straightforward to use, making it easy to complete multiple database tasks.

Pricing Structure

In terms of pricing, AWS and Azure both offer reasonable rates and a pay-as-you-go pricing option. Moreover, both providers offer free introductory packages to show users how their systems can integrate with on-premises applications. On AWS, instances are priced hourly and can be purchased in the following ways: 

On the other hand, Azure charges per minute, so users have a more specific pricing component than AWS. Additionally, there are options for short-term commitments to choose between prepaid and monthly charges. Subscriptions on Azure for a short period of time offer greater flexibility.

In addition to this, pricing for Microsoft Azure using BT MPLS ExpressRoute is available, allowing you to extend your private corporate network into the cloud with the appropriate functionality. 

However, comparing the two options, Azure is usually more expensive and can increase a company’s cloud costs. One example of this is the cost of Azure instances that increase as they grow in size. An Azure server configured with 256GB RAM and 64vPCUs will cost nearly twice as much as an AWS server.

Is AWS or Azure Better for Your Organization?

With AWS  vs. Azure, in comparison, we’re trying to determine which cloud platform is the best. AWS may look better overall, but your organization’s specific needs might make Azure the better choice for you. Thus, in this cloud war, there is no clear winner. In the end, it all depends on what your company needs.

Ultimately, AWS and Azure are both leading companies with the best products and services. The only thing you need from now on is a competent cloud provider to open up the whole world of cloud opportunities for you.

With Laminar Consulting, our team will recommend the best cloud services solution depending on the needs of your business development. Additionally, we ensure a smooth post-migration process with our cloud migration services. You can email us at contactus@laminarco.com or by calling us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting today!

Let’s go over the AWS vs. Azure vs. GCP comparison. Over the last decade, cloud computing has made great strides. Today, you shouldn’t be asking whether to use cloud computing or not—it should be about which cloud platform to choose.

While the cloud computing market is flooded with numerous providers, Amazon Web Services, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform stand out proudly.

What factors do you consider when choosing between these options? Below are ways to learn the answers to such questions. Here, we compare and contrast AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud—highlighting and elaborating on their major differences. 

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) pioneered cloud computing over a decade ago—leading in terms of both the number of products and customers, with it being regarded as the benchmark for cloud computing quality. In addition to computing, database, content delivery, and storage services, AWS also offers Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

AWS provides serverless services such as Amazon Kinesis Streams, Amazon SQS Queues, and AWS Lambda Functions for smooth and flexible data collection. Companies can choose from various platforms, operating systems, databases, and programming languages, among others, according to their needs.

Organizations benefit significantly from this provider in terms of productivity and business growth. Among the drawbacks of AWS are the complex infrastructure and the default service limits that are designed for average users.

Microsoft Azure

Through a network of Microsoft-managed data centers, the Azure platform enables the creation, deployment, and management of a variety of services and applications. It offers computing, networking, data management databases, and performance services.

In addition to its extensive networking capabilities, Azure also supports multiple site-to-site connections to virtual networks—as well as connecting virtual networks across different regions. It also offers the lowest on-demand and discounted instance pricing.

Developers can also use the Azure Machine Learning Studio to write, test, and deploy algorithms.

Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offers an intuitive interface, lower costs, preemptible instances, and flexible compute options—making it a compelling alternative to AWS and Azure. To protect data and communications between its data centers, Google employs full-scale encryption.

Google Cloud and AWS compete in certain areas, including instance and payment configuration, privacy and traffic security, and cost efficiency. Each cloud provider offers a discount of up to 75% for a commitment of one to three years. 

However, Google additionally offers a sustained use discount of up to 30% on each instance type that runs for more than 25% per month.

AWS Vs. Azure Vs. GCP Comparison

New technology based on remote servers is sweeping the new digital world, led by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. In the public cloud market, there is fierce competition, and these are what sets each platform apart:

Availability in Various Regions

When choosing a cloud provider, it is essential to consider their availability and the regions they support. Cloud performance can be impacted by latency and compliance regulations, especially when dealing with big data.

As of September 2021, these are the big three’s availability:

Key Cloud Tools

Presently, there is high competition among the three cloud providers. On the basis of current trends and customer demands, all three suppliers are likely to expand the tools and services they offer in the future.

AWS Key Tools

Azure Key Tools

Google Cloud Key Tools

Pricing

Microsoft Azure is considered to have the lowest on-demand costs, while Amazon is somewhere in the middle. There are a variety of pricing plans available for each of the three systems, as well as additional cost control features, such as reserved instances, budgets, and resource optimization.

Cloud platform costs are determined by several factors, including:

AWS

The price for a primary instance with two virtual CPUs and eight gigabytes of RAM on Amazon Web Services is about US$69 per month. AWS’s most expensive instance, with 3.84 TB of RAM and 128 CPUs, costs roughly $3.97  per hour.

Azure

Azure charges roughly US$70 per month, for instance, with two CPUs and 8 GB of RAM. The largest Azure instance has 3.89 TB of RAM and 128 CPUs. The cost per hour is approximately $6.79.

GCP

The most basic instance on GCP, which includes two virtual CPUs and eight gigabytes of RAM, costs 25% less than on AWS. Therefore, you will have to pay about $52 a month.  In terms of size, RAM, and CPUs, Google Cloud Platform offers the largest instance with 3.75 TB and 160 CPUs. You can expect to pay approximately $5.32 per hour for this service.

Choosing Between AWS Vs. Azure Vs. GCP: Which is Best for You?

Are you still unsure which cloud is suitable for your workload? You can count on us to resolve your quandary. Our team has developed, deployed, and maintained hundreds of cloud applications over the years. Our customized solutions have stood the test of time for both big companies and emerging enterprises.Depending on your company’s needs, our cloud migration services experts will provide you with the best solution. We will also ensure that the post-migration process runs smoothly. To get in touch with us, please email contactus@laminarco.com or call us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting Service today!

Azure Migrations are successful when you have the right strategy in place. In many cases, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin, what questions to ask, and how to implement them. While cloud migration services are unique—a strategy is always created in the same way.

Migrating to Azure from Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud is a significant undertaking for on-premise databases, VMware, and applications. However, many businesses make the switch without fully understanding what the potential pitfalls are.

If you’re new to building and deploying Azure applications, this article is here to help! Using this step-by-step guide, you will discover how to migrate your business to Azure successfully.

What is Azure Migration?

The Microsoft Azure cloud platform offers a wide variety of cloud services hosted in a network of data centers around the world. A wide range of these services allows organizations to design, develop, deploy, and manage their applications.

With Azure migration, organizations can optimize costs, secure assets, and achieve resilience. Operations and development teams can benefit from Azure-managed services by reducing operational overheads.

For Azure migration to be successful, organizations should rely on tried-and-true approaches and strategies. With automated tools and guidance created specifically for migration projects, experts provide a structured step-by-step process for migrating workloads to Azure.

Migrating to Azure: Strategy, Assessment, and Planning

This Azure migration guide emphasizes that for it to become successful, it boils down to three key activities, such as a roadmap, an Azure migration assessment, and a step-by-step plan.

Strategy

Migrating is a complex process that requires a thoughtful strategy that addresses all aspects. Take these factors into consideration when planning your strategy: 

The next step is to create a realistic timeline that allows for meaningful milestones to be achieved along the way. 

Assessment

Can your applications run in a cloud environment? What benefits will the organization gain from the migration? No matter what, you should always ensure everyone is on the same page by informing all stakeholders and employees prior to the migration.

The following should be included in your assessment: 

With Microsoft’s Virtual Machine Readiness Assessment tool, you can assess the readiness of your infrastructure for virtual machines. During migration, it generates a report that shows which workloads can be moved and if there are any issues.

Planning

You will need to do the following during this phase:

In order to ensure that everyone involved in the process understands their role, it’s important to set clear expectations for stakeholders.

Taking a Step-by-Step Approach to Azure Migration

Do you have trouble migrating to the cloud? It is recommended by Microsoft that you follow a migration process that can help you migrate to Azure successfully and optimize your new environment.

The Azure migration phases will be discussed in more detail below.

Step 1: Planning

Any Azure migration project should be evaluated to determine whether the current infrastructure can be migrated. Following that, your migration strategy should be aligned with your business goals, objectives, and processes.

Are you interested in increasing scalability, for example? Is improved performance what you’re looking for? It’s time to take the next step after identifying your desired outcome. 

Step 2: Identifying Your Resources

In context, these are both time and material resources that will be necessary to complete the migration process. The following should be evaluated:

Answering these questions before you migrate to the cloud provides you with sufficient time and information to plan and execute a successful migration.

Step 3: Conducting an Infrastructure Assessment

Checking the status of your existing infrastructure is the third step in fulfilling your Azure migration checklist.

You will be better able to determine the changes needed before the migration if you take an inventory of your existing IT environment.

Step 4: Preparing a Migration Plan

The next step is to develop a detailed plan for executing the actual migration process once all the necessary resources have been identified. All of these steps are designed to ensure success at every stage—including creating deadlines, assigning tasks, and reviewing processes and procedures. 

In order to complete migration work on schedule and on budget, it is important to have a clear plan in place before starting any work.

Step 5: Monitoring and Testing  

During each stage of execution, it’s crucial to monitor the progress of the migration plan. When you deploy new Azure applications or services, it is important to thoroughly test everything before going live.

It is imperative to identify any potential issues ahead of launch or roll-out in order to resolve them as soon as possible. With this, you can also minimize downtime and data integrity loss.

Step 6: Re-evaluating and Updating Post-Migration  

In order to execute an effective Azure migration, all systems should be reviewed post-migration. It will be necessary to update the software from time to time. If needed, you can apply patches to newly migrated code.

The goal is to ensure that all systems function properly after migration and perform optimally in their new environment. 

Choose a Reliable Cloud Migration Service

It is a challenge to move your on-premises application code to a cloud data center. Our highly skilled engineers at Laminar Consulting Service have extensive experience migrating software to secure, stable, and new platforms. 

As part of the migration process, our team will eliminate any weaknesses in your existing platform so you can trust the integrity of your new system. As a partner, we’re fully aligned with your business needs and are 100% transparent with our customers. To discuss the Azure migration step-by-step further, contact us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting Service today!

Have you been asking what AWS or EMR is? Amazon Web Services (AWS), previously known as Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR), is a cloud computing platform that provides supervised architectures—that can be used to run data processing frameworks cost-effectively, efficiently, and securely.

In this system, large volumes of data are processed using open-source technologies, such as Apache Spark, Apache Hive, Apache HBase, Apache Flink, Apache Hudi, and Presto.

Throughout this article, we will examine what Amazon Elastic MapReduce is and how it works with data analytics, among other things.

What is AWS or EMR?

The complexity of capturing, storing, and analyzing all of the data collected by companies often makes it difficult for them to gain more insight and value from it. In addition to growing in quantity and variety—data comes from more sources and originates from more places. As such, different applications and lines of business require secure access to analyze them. 

These issues can be solved with AWS or EMR. It helps organizations analyze and process large data sets more efficiently and effectively by using managed clusters on the former. The frameworks, along with other related open-source projects such as Apache Hive and Apache Pig, can be used to process and sort data for analytics and business intelligence.

Also, you can use AWS or EMR to transform and move large data sets into and out of other AWS storage services, such as Amazon Simple Storage Services (Amazon S3) and Amazon DynamoDB.

How Does Amazon EMR Operate?

An organization’s data is collected into a data lake and analyzed using open-source distributed processing frameworks, such as:

Among data lakes, Amazon S3 is the most popular storage infrastructure. By using Amazon Elastic MapReduce, you can store data in Amazon S3 and compute as necessary to process that data. EMR clusters can be launched within minutes. You do not have to worry about node provisioning, cluster setup, Hadoop configurations, or cluster tuning. 

An Overview of AWS EMR’s Features

Let’s take a look at some of the features of AWS and EMR:

Adaptable

AWS or EMR simplifies the creation and management of large data platforms and apps. In addition to easy provisioning, controlled scaling, and cluster reconfiguration, EMR Studio supports cohesive development.

Elastic

AWS or EMR lets you supply as much capacity as you need quickly and efficiently, as well as add multiple capacities manually or automatically. In particular, this can be helpful if your processing requirements change frequently or unexpectedly.

Flexible

AWS or EMR offers a wide range of flexibility. It provides several data storage options, such as Amazon S3, Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), and Amazon DynamoDB.

Integrated Tools for Big Data

Among Hadoop technologies supported by AWS EMR are Apache Spark, Apache Hive, Presto, and Apache HBase. With EMR, data scientists are able to run deep learning and its technologies, such as TensorFlow and Apache MXNet, alongside scenario tools and frameworks, using bootstrapping operations.

Access to Data

The AWS EMR application processes use the EC2 instance account by default when calling other Amazon Web Services. There are three ways in which EMR manages user access to Amazon S3 data in multi-tenant clusters.

What Role Does AWS or EMR Play in Data Analytics?

In 2020, researchers at Statista estimated the volume of data created, stored, copied, and consumed exceeded 64 zettabytes (ZB), which is about 64 trillion gigabytes (GB). By the year 2025, this number will reach 181 ZB.  

You will likely find a large portion of this data to be valuable for your business. By analyzing risk, you can improve your product and communicate with consumers more effectively. However, in order to extract, sort, process, and analyze this information, you’ll need the right tools.

In such cases, this is where Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR) can come in handy. 

AWS or EMR – Pros and Cons

Amazon’s EMR is nearly unbeatable in terms of cloud-based services, especially when combined with some of its other web-based services. While its benefits are self-evident and numerous, it does have limitations.

Below is a summary of some of Amazon Elastic MapReduce’s pros and cons.

Pros

Physical Infrastructure Costs are Reduced

With EMR, organizations no longer have to purchase and maintain physical servers. Instead of monthly fees, it charges you per second for the features you use.

Time-Efficient

By eliminating the need for in-house servers to handle big data computation tasks, EMR can save time for system administrators. With Amazon EMR, you won’t have to worry about most of these details because it will reduce the amount of time your company spends on administrative tasks.

As a result, you won’t have to spend time manually provisioning computations and storing resources since AWS EMR automatically scales them.

Optimized Resource Utilization

Storage and computing are decoupled in EMR. It enables automatic scaling up and down of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances and clusters as required. As soon as you are finished with resources, you can release them.

High Level of Customer Service

Amazon EMR provides 24/7 customer service by default, and fast spin-up times for EC2 instances are another benefit. In essence, this is an EMR service that can be run on an AWS Virtual Private Cloud. This way, data security can be increased.

Cons

Complex Interface

This complaint seems to recur with most Amazon Web Services products. Beginners may find the interface confusing. To migrate their resources and configure Amazon EMR, organizations often hire certified professionals or pay for training. 

Online documentation and tutorials are quite limited, and the service may require you to first spend some time getting used to its intricacies.

Only Available on Amazon Cloud Storage

Amazon EMR cannot analyze or mine data stored on other cloud storage platforms. In the event that you already store your data with another cloud provider, you’ll need to move it to one of Amazon’s cloud storage or database solutions. 

There are other limitations to AWS or EMR that are service-based. As an example, Amazon Elastic MapReduce studio is only available in certain regions, such as the East US, West US, Asia-Pacific, Canada, and EU. There can be only one Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with a maximum of five subnets per EMR studio.

Nevertheless, you may create multiple EMR studios and assign them to different VPCs and subnets.

Let Your Cloud Journey Begins with Laminar Consulting Service!

AWS or EMR can help you manage Apache Hadoop hassle-free and replace your rigid in-house cluster infrastructure. Additionally, it can significantly reduce the time it takes to process data. The pricing, however, can be a little confusing, as with most AWS products.

Migrating critical application workloads to AWS cloud services requires the assistance of cloud experts. With cloud technologies becoming more prevalent, staying competitive will only become more difficult. Learn how cloud migration can benefit your business by connecting with our team.For more information about cloud migration services, contact us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting Service today!

A cloud-based security system combines technologies, controls, processes, and policies to protect systems, data, and infrastructure in the cloud. Essentially, it is a sub-domain of computer security, and in a broader sense, it is a concept in information security. Now, the responsibility rests with both you and your cloud migration services provider.  

Protecting your data, adhering to regulatory compliance, and protecting the privacy of your customers are all factors in creating a cloud security strategy. In this way, you avoid data breaches’ reputational, financial, and legal repercussions for your company.

Nevertheless, businesses need to do more than adopt these solutions. To get the most out of cloud security, you should also follow the best practices. The following are a few steps you should take in 2023 and beyond. 

Invest in a Trusted Provider

In order to ensure the security of your cloud computing environment, you should select a trusted service provider. Ideally, it is wise to partner with a cloud provider that provides high-quality security protocols and industry-leading best practices. Your deployment’s security is further enhanced by a company that offers a marketplace of partners and solutions. 

Security compliance and certification are the hallmarks of a trustworthy provider. It’s something every good provider makes public. All leading providers, for example, offer transparent access where you can verify their security compliance and certification.

Learn About the Shared Responsibility Model

Partnering with a cloud service provider and moving your data to the cloud means sharing responsibility for security implementation. In order to implement best practices, it is essential to review and understand your shared responsibility.

Learning which security tasks you will still be responsible for and which charges the provider will handle is a great practice to keep in mind. This, however, may vary depending on whether you are choosing Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), or in-house.

Establish Identity and Access Management

Identity and access management (IAM) plays a crucial role in protecting enterprise systems, information, and assets in a heterogeneous technology environment.

Cloud environments can be effectively secured using authorization, authentication, verification, and storage solutions provided by IAM. Additionally, it has settings that control how much data an individual can see or change once he has access to it. 

Protect Data with Encryption

If you upload data to the cloud, you should ensure that it remains secure through encryption—especially during transit. Translating your data into another code or format can prevent unauthorized users from accessing it.

These encryption services can be facilitated by managed cloud security providers. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that you choose encryption options that fit your existing workflow, so you will not need to take any additional compliance precautions.

Secure User Endpoints

To use cloud services, users must log in through a personal device and a web browser, and deploying an endpoint security solution is crucial to protect end-user devices. Security can be initiated at the client’s end, and users will have to update their browsers regularly to keep their data safe.

Invest in a tool that offers internet security measures such as mobile device security, antivirus, firewalls, and access verification solutions. The use of automation tools can also assist in the provision of endpoint security. If you have any questions about this, speak with your service provider. 

Hacktivism, supply chain attacks, information-stealer malware, and one-time password (OTP) bypass services are among the emerging cyber security threats. As such, make sure your employees are also skilled in cybersecurity fundamentals.

Educate Your Users

In secure cloud computing, your users are your first line of defense. They can make the difference between protecting your system and opening it up to cyberattacks by knowing and applying security practices on their end.

To ensure secure cloud practices, train all your users — staff and stakeholders — who access your systems. Educate them on malware detection and phishing emails, as well as the risks associated with insecure practices. Consider industry-specific training and certification for advanced users, such as administrators, who are directly involved in implementing cloud security.

Set Limits for User Access

Cloud security best practices also include controlling user access through policies. You will be able to manage the users who attempt to access your cloud services this way.

By starting at zero trust, users should only be able to access the systems and data they need. Establish well-defined groups with defined roles to only grant access to specified resources to avoid complexity when implementing policies. This way, users can be added directly to groups instead of individually customizing their access.

Make Sure Your Cloud Services are Visible

Cloud services can be used in many different ways and for a variety of purposes. It is common for organizations to use multiple cloud services across multiple providers and geographies. 

Your cloud environment suffers from blind spots as a result of this behavior. You can’t secure something if you can’t see it. Consider implementing a security solution that offers visibility across your entire ecosystem.

Using one single portal, you will be able to manage and protect cloud usage across all your disparate resources, projects, and regions. By gaining this visibility, you can implement granular security policies and mitigate risks across the board.

Create a Strong Password Security Policy

No matter what service you access, maintaining a strong password security policy is the best practice. An essential aspect of preventing unauthorized access is implementing the most robust policy possible.

It is recommended that both upper-case and lower-case letters, a number, a symbol, and a minimum of 14 characters should be included in all passwords. It should also be enforced that users update their passwords every 90 days and ensure that the system should remember their last 24 entries.

Cloud Security Services by Laminar Consulting Service​

It takes planning and an understanding of the cloud security best practice to implement vulnerability management. Before selecting a platform, you should understand the top challenges to consider.

The information presented above will provide you with a good starting point for developing a process to manage vulnerabilities within your cloud environment. We are able to assist your organization in achieving this goal.By carefully planning your cloud strategy, you can ensure that data security and privacy are protected. For a free initial consultation about cloud migration services, email us at contactus@laminarco.com or contact us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting Service today!

Cloud migration services are being used by companies across all industries and sizes, even a remote work environment cannot exist without them.

A revolution in business technology has been brought about by the rise of the cloud, and numerous business operations rely on these applications and services. It all starts with managing infrastructure and ends with the development of software. Today, cloud computing is used for more than just tools. 

Increasing agility, business continuity, profitability, and scalability are key objectives for companies in their digital transformation journey. All strategies to achieve these goals will rely on cloud computing technology.

A shared pool of configurable computing resources is made available on-demand through the internet using cloud services, which has evolved into a key computing paradigm.

How Cloud Computing Has Benefited Businesses

Global data volumes have increased exponentially in recent years. Personal and professional data are constantly processed, manipulated, shared, and created. A hugely disrupted competitive landscape requires businesses to deliver timely insights from their data, as well as maintain their competitive advantage.

In response to the rapidly changing environment, businesses are reevaluating the resources they have at their disposal, focusing on areas where they can deliver the most value in the shortest time frame possible. Traditionally, businesses provided employees with desktops and other physical office tools, but now they are providing Desktop as a Service (DaaS). 

Scaling and adapting quickly is made possible by cloud computing technology, which facilitates innovation, enhances business agility, streamlines operations, and reduces costs for businesses. In the future, cloud computing will transform the perception of most businesses as just a development platform.

A major component of business creativity will be cloud computing, which will not just share apps.

The Future of Cloud Computing in 2023

It is likely that all major business problems will be solved by the cloud in the near future. In order for businesses to succeed, they need to take advantage of technology.

The adoption of cloud models by organizations has been increasing rapidly, and thus the models themselves have evolved at the same time. Cloud technology has therefore grown significantly in recent years, and using cloud computing for widespread accessibility and usability will be possible in 2023.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is touted by most experts as a crucial technology for the future of business, but many don’t realize it requires high bandwidth and processing capacity. AI-based tools cannot be run on an average business network because the network does not have the necessary resources.

The cloud data center fills this gap, and in order for AI platforms to generate training data, cloud-based data centers increase computational power and bandwidth.

Advanced Security

Security risks are eliminated in cloud environments through innovation. In the cloud, machine learning and artificial intelligence are integrated security. By automating the threat detection and prevention process, it helps reduce the risk of malicious attacks.

The use of machine learning in cloud-based transactions facilitates the analysis of global data points. The use of AI will result in more accurate time and function indicators. A robust and resilient cloud will be the norm in the future.

Multi-Cloud

It refers to a situation in which there are multiple cloud services present, and there are different cloud vendors offering the service.

It is primarily used for shifting workloads between public and private clouds, offering you greater flexibility. It offers advanced features such as Software as a Service (SaaS) features, consistent server reliability, improved security, and customizable features. 

Quantum Computing

The world of business is being transformed by quantum computing in unprecedented ways, and an example is the use of supercomputers.

With quantum computers, complex algorithmic calculations can be performed, and large data sets can be processed quickly. By utilizing a supercomputer, electronic communications can be encrypted, and networks can be made more secure.

Edge Computing

Reducing latency, improving security, and increasing resilience are all benefits of edge computing. The cost of traditional cloud-based solutions can also be lower in many cases.

The future of IT will be increasingly shaped by edge computing as businesses continue to deal with cloud-based challenges. 

Serverless Computing

With serverless computing, users pay based on how they use the cloud—and not on the number of servers or bandwidth they consume. Consequently, businesses are able to spend more time focusing on their products and projects instead of their backend.

In the future, business leaders should consider switching to serverless cloud services to stop wasting time and money on an outdated model.

Automation

Businesses can significantly increase their productivity by automating processes. In addition, this can be done in a short period of time and with minimal effort, and a number of automation tools are available to address errors in the business environment today.

As a result of choosing the cloud, you will be consuming more data. By automating these processes, daily operations can be conducted more efficiently. 

Enhanced Storage Capacity

Cloud technologies are projected to have a bright future. Businesses can now store their data in the cloud at a much lower cost than ever before as data storage capacities continue to increase at an unprecedented rate.

Due to a large amount of competition among cloud providers, it is predicted that more data centers will be available at a lower price since so many businesses are embracing cloud computing.

Cloud-Native Apps

A cloud-native application runs on a single hardware or software hub, which is a step ahead of conventional cloud applications.

Developing, testing, and delivering new software to customers has become much more dynamic thanks to cloud-native applications. In addition to speeding up the process, it enables iterative updates to features and capabilities—and creates seamless changes to functionalities.

Green Cloud

Cloud computing significantly increases the environmental impact of a business due to the extensive infrastructure, electricity, and cooling necessary. Increasing the efficiency of hardware and software is constantly a priority for cloud providers. Energy savings can be achieved even by small changes and improvements here.

Make the Most of Cloud Migration for Your Business Infrastructure

In light of the increased benefits of cloud computing, more organizations are looking for more efficient ways to transfer years of workload and data.

Providing seamless and fast cloud migration services is our top priority. Migration from your existing infrastructure to the cloud can be frustrating and fraught with pitfalls, so let us help you avoid those frustrations.

A detailed cloud migration plan will be developed by our team of cloud services experts. Our team will also ensure that your post-migration experience is as smooth as possible.To learn more about the future of cloud computing, get in touch with our team by emailing us at contactus@laminarco.com or calling us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting Service today!

One significant challenge startups often face is finding the right custom app software development service they need to rapidly scale without blowing their budget. In most cases, resources are limited, and in-house software development expertise is nonexistent.

Straining matters more, startups are usually working as quickly as possible to adapt to changes in the market.

Although custom software development presents a challenge for startups, it can also be a strength. To better understand how startups can outshine the competition using custom application development, it’s key to focus on four main challenges of the process.

Limited Resources and In-house Expertise

Almost always, startups have limited resources, which makes it hard to invest in custom software development services. Often, startups wind up relying on off-the-shelf software or open-source web applications. But keep in mind, that custom software can sometimes provide a critical advantage for startups.

Leaders at startups may have a great idea but lack the in-house expertise to develop the software to make it a reality. In these cases, finding outside services for software development provides an ideal solution.

Flexibility and Adaptability

One of the biggest advantages startups can have is the ability to quickly adapt to changes in the market. This involves pivoting quickly when new ideas arise to experiment with better solutions.

The problem is that a rapidly changing business with a limited staff needs to focus on its core offering or service rather than allocating those resources to the custom application development process.

If custom-built software applications are key to meeting customer needs or the needs of users in the company, seeking the services of an outside development team can help balance resource allocation when the startup needs it most.

Time Limitation

Another major challenge startups face is time. Often, startups have only a small window of opportunity to achieve product-market fit. Spending precious time on custom app development means time taken from product development.

Expenses and Budget

Allocating budgets to custom applications is frequently a challenge startups must deal with. Keep in mind, however, that customized software can deliver cost savings over time by making workers more efficient at task completion.

Software that’s tailored specifically to the business can also help startups avoid purchasing unnecessary software features.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some of the most frequent questions that come up for startups who need custom software to run their business?

Why is software development so stressful?

Software development can add much more stress than necessary to the startup environment. For employees that don’t create custom applications regularly, this task can seem insurmountable, especially in the face-paced startup environment.

What is the Most Difficult Part of the Software Development Process?

Matching needs with solutions are often the most difficult part. When deciding whether or not to go with a custom software solution, startups should examine their business needs and goals.

If the software serves a mission-critical purpose or could offer a significant competitive advantage in their space, it could be worth the investment.

What are the Types of Application Development?

Application development comes in many forms, including web apps, mobile apps, artificial intelligence software, and applications that help integrate data across multiple systems within an organization.

Overcome Challenges With Us

Outsourcing the custom application development process can provide the edge startups need to succeed.

If your business can’t invest in training or hiring full-time employees for creating business applications, choosing an expert like Laminar Consulting can make all the difference.

Reach out to our team today to get started.

It is crucial to be aware of the security risks in cloud computing because business owners of all sizes rely on o these platforms.

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting enterprises that use the cloud to share resources and deliver software, with half of all corporate data now being stored there. As data becomes more accessible, widespread, and interconnected—many threats can reach it.

In spite of the many advantages of the cloud, businesses still face security concerns. Although it offers many advantages, data security risks do exist in cloud computing, which has been rapidly gaining popularity.

Understanding the consequences of letting these things happen inside your system is one of the major problems with assessing the security risks in cloud computing.

What is Cloud Computing?

The concept of cloud computing refers to a network of remote servers that are shared by multiple entities. Data is managed in the cloud instead of on local servers because it is hosted on the internet.

Network devices can access data anywhere via a shared space. While cloud computing has only been on the rise for about two decades, the concept isn’t new. Most businesses today have at least one application or part of their infrastructure in the cloud.

Cloud applications allow businesses to access software over the internet without investing in expensive hardware and software. Due to the nature of a remotely hosted server, this ability may pose a level of vulnerability to users, but they are not more vulnerable to cybercriminals, attacks, or security threats.

Is Cloud Computing Secure?

Security and maintenance reviews are conducted regularly and consistently by the vast majority of cloud service providers (CSPs).

Breach issues and risks in the cloud are shared responsibilities of service providers. As a result of this model, they are responsible for cloud security, and customers are responsible for the safety of their data. It is the customer’s responsibility to protect their information and files from threats and control access to it whether they use Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

Data security and regulatory compliance measures help ensure a strong level of data protection, but ultimately it is the responsibility of businesses to ensure their provider meets their specific requirements. In order for cloud services and systems to be secure, both providers and customers must maintain and protect them.

What are the Security Risks of Cloud Computing?

Cloud providers deploy sophisticated tools to ensure that both outsiders and insiders are prevented from accessing their systems. The network’s data security is a combination of policies, practices, and principles designed to protect information and data.

There is a great deal of risk associated when it comes to cloud computing security. In most cases, the problems stem from the data that users put in the cloud, whether it is a lack of visibility of data, an inability to control data, or theft of data.

The only thing you can do is manage risk and not completely eliminate it. You will be better prepared to handle common risks if you know them ahead of time. 

Data Privacy

Using the cloud to store information raises many concerns regarding data security and privacy. It is inevitable that the control over the end user’s privacy and security will pass to cloud service providers (CSPs) when confidential information is hosted on the cloud.

A cloud computing provider should be aware of certain security rules and regulations when sharing confidential information with an outside party.

DDoS Attacks

The threat of distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks in cloud computing settings can be particularly dangerous due to the overloading of servers with fake requests.

When data is lost through DDoS attacks, attackers charge a substantial fee for regaining it. Business downtime and revenue losses can be caused by persistent disruptions.

Compliance Issues

In order to remain compliant with industry, geographic, and regulatory requirements, organizations need to maintain diligent compliance. Due to federal and state laws surrounding data privacy, some businesses are required to keep tight reins on the personal information they collect.

Businesses may find themselves out of compliance and fined if a cloud service suffers a breach leading to data exposure.

Limited Visibility

Part of the data that you shift from one source to another will also be managed by your cloud service provider, which will now fall under their responsibility—that was previously yours.

The result is an inability to see how network operations are performed, how resources and services are used, and how much they cost. Monitoring cloud security configurations require additional tools to ensure the organization’s cloud services are being used correctly.

Cybercriminals

Malware delivered via cloud-based applications accounted for more than half of all malware attacks in 2020. The use of cloud-based applications allows modern attackers to circumvent older security measures based on emails and websites. 

It is important for organizations to remain aware of the ever-evolving threat landscape as cybercriminals continue their savvy attack techniques.

Insecure Interfaces

A CSP often provides its customers with a number of application programming interfaces (APIs). Customers of CSPs can generally use these interfaces because they are well-documented.

When a customer’s cloud-based infrastructure interfaces are not properly secured, this can create potential problems.

Insider Threats

Generally, small and midsize businesses don’t expect to encounter this security risk, but it can certainly occur. The majority of insider incidents occur as a result of negligence or a lack of appropriate training rather than deliberately and maliciously harming the business.

Cloud-Based Infrastructure for Your Business

By analyzing the benefits of moving to the cloud from a strategic and operational perspective, you can determine whether this is the best choice for your business.

Estimate the results of switching to a cloud-based server based on a review of the pros and cons of your current setup. Laminar Consulting Service can help you smoothly transition into the cloud from legacy infrastructure.You can migrate seamlessly from inefficient legacy systems to cloud computing with our team of experts. Our cloud migration services can help you make the switch. Feel free to contact us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting Service today!

A cloud-first strategy is becoming increasingly popular among organizations of all sizes worldwide. Low-code applications are now being offered through Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions, allowing organizations to no longer have to host these platforms in-house.

Additionally, cloud computing providers are now offering on-premises software and infrastructure as cloud-based services—providing economies of scale, easy collaboration, reliability, and visibility of your technology stack.

Many organizations have chosen to adopt a cloud-first strategy as a result, and if you are still not using the cloud for your business, discover a few reasons why you should consider it.  

Cloud First Strategies: What are They?

This approach means choosing cloud-based solutions before considering on-premises options. Instead of building your own technology stack, you can use cloud-based software or platforms. Instead of relying on in-house operations, you can take advantage of the service provider’s infrastructure and receive high-quality services.

It is not necessary to host all of your infrastructure in the cloud. Still, when you are assessing your tech stack, you should consider implementing new elements in it whenever possible. Additionally, to get the best performance from your on-premise solutions—it is vital to identify which of your current solutions should be migrated to the cloud.   

In most cases, organizations will use a combination of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). In essence, they are: 

Cloud First Strategies for Businesses: The Benefits

Our modern world increasingly relies on the cloud, so many businesses are considering integrating this approach into their IT operations. Rather than building and hosting your own storage facility, systems, etc., cloud-first strategies take advantage of shared infrastructures, which are publicly hosted, but password-protected.

Cloud-first strategies have multiple benefits, including cost savings and productivity improvements. The following factors may make you consider implementing this within your company.

Reduced Costs

It is incredible how much money can be saved by adopting a cloud-first strategy. Building and managing your own hardware for your applications takes time, money, and resources. With upkeep comes equipment and employee costs since these always need to be updated, replaced, or repaired.

Taking advantage of a third-party provider will incur a monthly fee. However, this is usually less than the amount of time and resources spent on managing applications and servers internally. Thus, businesses that adopt a cloud-first strategy see a reduction in hosting, equipment, and licensing costs.

However, before moving your data to the cloud, make sure you use de-duplication software to eliminate duplicate files. This way, you won’t waste storage space or pay twice for storing the same data.

Scalable Approach

With the growth of businesses and the increase in data volumes, scaling becomes more critical. Scalability is one of the factors that distinguish a thriving business from one that is overwhelmed and unprepared for growth. The issue of scaling, however, becomes more complicated, time-consuming, and expensive when data and applications are managed internally.

It can be a huge undertaking for your IT department and your budget to scale from the inside by purchasing equipment and expanding your infrastructure design. Cloud computing offers businesses the advantage of scalability and flexibility—without requiring infrastructure redesigning.

Businesses or enterprises can, for example, secure their data with third-party cloud services that automatically create copies of their entire systems, back up changed and created files, and upgrade their storage plans as their needs increase.

Streamlined and Coordinated

Cloud-based data management is just more straightforward. Backups are made to one location, and restorations are made from the same location. This lets you access all of your backed-up and stored data rather than retrieving it from multiple devices.

Suppose one of your computers loses all of its data, you can just purchase a new computer and restore your data exactly as it was using cloud solutions without going through lengthy and tedious processes.

Additionally, due to the cloud’s accessibility and storage of data, global operations can even be improved and streamlined since files are kept in the cloud and accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.

Enhanced Recovery Abilities

By storing and backing up your data in the cloud, you can recover your data at any time. Whether your data is lost due to a computer failure, hardware failure, natural disaster, theft, computer virus, or another event, cloud storage will enable you to retrieve it, unlike physical device storage. Even if you’re confident your data is saved and backed up in all the right places, you may not be able to recover it as soon as you need to to keep your business up and running.

The loss of data isn’t the only problem you’ll have to deal with when files are deleted; your business will also suffer productivity losses and reputational damage. With the help of a cloud-first strategy, you can recover your data quickly. In fact, you can even restore your data without any downtime if you cannot risk losing your time or money.

Take Your Business to the Cloud with Laminar Consulting Service

It is imperative to create a cloud-first culture and encourage employee cooperation to achieve a successful cloud-first strategy.

It is important for employees to feel comfortable asking questions throughout the entire process. By being transparent about cloud-based decisions, you can clarify the importance of your strategy and educate your staff about how moving their workload to the cloud simplifies their tasks. 

Embrace cloud environments with Laminar Consulting Service and transition seamlessly from your existing technology stack. Migrating applications from an existing infrastructure to a cloud-native environment can be frustrating and complicated—we can help you avoid these pitfalls and frustrations.Experience the difference expert advice can make when you utilize cloud migration services with us. For a free cloud migration services assessment, contact us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting Services today!

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