Cloud computing services provide the ability to store data and other workloads in remote repositories over the Internet rather than at the company’s onsite servers and hardware. These capabilities are offered by third-party service providers for an annual fee, which can eliminate the expense of buying and deploying hardware as well as managing the infrastructure on site.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is the kind of cloud computing most commonly used in business environments. SaaS applications are easy to use, provide high availability and can be used on any device that supports a web browser or app. They are typically purchased on a per-seat or per-user basis, which eliminates the need to buy and install a software program for every employee and provide the hardware that supports it.

PaaS (Platform as a Service) is another cloud computing service that offers application development and deployment on the cloud. It allows developers to build apps, test, deploy and manage whole apps in one place. Microsoft Azure, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and Google App Engine are all noteworthy examples.

IaaS is a cloud computing version that offers basic infrastructure capabilities including servers, data storage and hardware. This allows businesses to host large platforms and applications without the need for large physical infrastructures. IaaS providers include virtual data rooms DigitalOcean and RackSpace.

Automated software updates: Cloud applications automatically update and refresh themselves, reducing time that IT departments have to spend to conduct manual system upgrades organization-wide. PCWorld reports that this can help save IT departments and budgets money by cutting out unnecessary IT cost for consulting. Cost uncertainty: Pay-as–you-go subscription plans and the necessity to scale resources to accommodate demand for workloads that fluctuate can make it difficult for businesses to estimate their final cloud costs.