Presently, the entire globe in under the firm grip of the novel Corona Virus. With prevention as our only defense against Covid-19, we are experiencing a lockdown of global proportions. Some countries are well into their fourth or fifth week of shutdown.
Although Covid-19 is neither the first, nor the last pandemic to hit us but the sheer scale of this disease is unprecedented in modern times. Currently, the number of infected people has surpassed 2.5 Million, with thousands of deaths.
The massive lockdowns in place have brought the whole world to a screeching halt. Offices, businesses, educational institutions, markets, parks and other public places have been shut down indefinitely. Given the global tally of infections, things are likely to remain closed.
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How has Covid-19 Changed the World?
This global pandemic has completely changed our ways of life. This equally applies to both our personal and professional lives. The term “social distancing” is the gift of this disease and all of us are coming to terms with the new “normal”.
Businesses across the globe have been forced to shut down in a bid to curtail the spread of this disease. The only viable option for businesses right now is remote connectivity but this is a challenge in itself, given the limitations.
Most organizations and businesses were not well prepared to tackle a remote work contingency of this magnitude. We were used to just an odd coworker taking a work from home due to some personal commitment.
However, Covid-19 has thrust the entire workforce of companies to work remotely from the safety of their homes. The in house infrastructures of most companies were neither configured nor prepared for this massive workload.
Cloud as the Savior in Covid-19
Over the last two decades, cloud computing solutions have proven their mettle in a multitude of scenarios. The defining characteristics of the cloud make it an ideal fit for coping with the post pandemic challenges.
Remote Connectivity
With offices shut down, employees need a remote work platform to execute their tasks and workloads. Commuting to the workplace and using the physical office infrastructure is simply ruled out at the moment.
Take the example of cloud hosted virtual desktops, which the user can access from the safety of their homes using multiple devices such as a tablet, laptop or desktop. All you need is an internet connection and you are fully productive over the cloud.
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Cyber Security
Even in these testing times, cyber criminals are on the loose and constantly attacking corporate and government networks to exploit the slightest vulnerability. Cloud solutions are inherently secure as Cloud Service Providers (CSP) adopt a multi pronged approach.
CSPs have put in place virtual firewalls, multi factor user authentication, malware protection, data encryption and various other tools to secure your data and workloads executed over the cloud.
Scalability
In extra ordinary circumstances such as this, instantly scaling up your in house IT hardware is not an option. This is yet another area where the cloud shines as you can instantly scale up the number of virtual desktops using your CSP’s architecture.
Business Continuity
The cloud has proved to be a highly robust Business Continuity (BC) solution amidst these times. It has enabled businesses across the globe to sustain critical operations remotely using the robust cloud infrastructure.
Healthcare and Telemedicine
The Covid-19 pandemic has put unprecedented strain on healthcare services all over the globe. Many patients that otherwise needed important medical attention or advice in a safe manner have resorted to using cloud powered telemedicine platforms.
Using these platforms, medical consultants can offer consultation and advice to patients from the safety of their homes as they no longer need to turn up at clinics or hospitals, thus reducing the risk of contracting this deadly virus in the process.
Entertainment
In these times, people all over the world are locked in their homes with ample time to spare. In this scenario, entertainment can be a major source of relief and biding time. Cloud powered entertainment platforms such as movie streaming and gaming are a blessing.
Conclusion
Regardless of where we look, Cloud powered solutions are playing a leading role in our coping mechanism with this global pandemic. The capability and capacity that Cloud Service Providers have demonstrated amidst Covid-19 is truly commendable
We can expect the cloud to continue playing a leading role even in the post Covid-19 world as the new “normal” may be quite different from what we have left behind, at least in the near future. A big shout out to cloud computing for saving the day for many of us.
