There is no way around it: In order for cloud applications and overall systems to function correctly, an organization must have the adequate bandwidth resources to support these projects.
As the cloud becomes an increasingly vital element of business processes, there is a considerable amount of buzz surrounding the connection between bandwidth usage and how it impacts cloud performance. In fact, Gartner predicted that by 2017, half of all prevailing large companies will leverage a hybrid cloud strategy that includes both private and public platforms, according to Citrix Blog contributor Krishna Subramanian.
However, as more content and mission-critical applications are stored and accessed in the cloud, network bandwidth becomes an increasingly important focus. There is no doubt about the fact that cloud performance hinges on available network bandwidth. Without enough broadband resources, a business may find itself in a particularly precarious position. Cloud materials and programs won’t function as they should, preventing employees from effectively carrying out their daily tasks. As the cloud has the capacity to boost productivity and collaboration among the workforce – both inside the office and for remote employees as well – this is quite the predicament.
Many individuals in the computing industry, including TechRepublic’s Brien Posey, are urging companies to limit their use of important cloud applications. Posey suggests, for example, reducing VoIP usage to conserve bandwidth. However, this only creates additional issues and does not solve the problem. While limiting the use of applications may improve cloud performance, if important programs are unavailable to employees, they are still unable to do their jobs in an effective manner.
Instead, business leaders should consider increasing their network bandwidth to support all the critical programs and cloud capabilities that their workers need. Many will argue that this could turn out to be an expensive project. However, by leveraging strategies like WAN virtualization – which includes the use of several WAN connections – organizations can provide the resources that their employees need in a cost-effective manner.
Besides, the price of increasing bandwidth more often than not outweighs the cost of lost productivity due to poor cloud performance. Just image what your workforce could do with lighting fast cloud programs made available by network bandwidth.