As a direct result of increased adoption by SMBs in the region, the cloud computing market is estimated to be worth over USD40 billion by 2025. However, before businesses can truly reap the benefits of cloud, it is important to understand what cloud computing is and how businesses of all sizes use it. 

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services through the internet. This is commonly done through the use of cloud-hosted or cloud-native software. While these two terms are often used interchangeably, they are distinctly different.

Cloud-hosted software involves legacy applications that are developed within a company’s IT infrastructure and are subsequently ported to the cloud. This is useful for businesses that depend on legacy systems to deliver a consistent customer experience but wishes to reap the benefits of moving to the cloud.

Cloud-native software, however, refers to applications that are developed and deployed for the explicit purpose of being available through the internet. SMBs normally access cloud-native software through offerings by the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Businesses thus have access to a range of services such as website creation, data storage, and application deployment. 

SMEs can utilise cloud services through the public or private cloud.

Public cloud is a cloud solution where a service provider “rents space or computing resources on its cloud servers to multiple customers". Services such as email, data backup, and human resource management are common examples of public cloud deployments that SMEs have used to run business functions on a daily basis.

On the other hand, private cloud services are entirely reserved for the use of a single organisation. The organisation would have the ability to self-service user interfaces, security protocols, and policy-based management. This type of cloud service is generally used by organisations that have to deal with highly sensitive data, have extremely high workloads, or are required to do so by regulatory bodies, such as in the cases of healthcare and financial institutions.

A third option is a mixture of both, known as hybrid cloud. The hybrid solution gives SMEs the ability to store sensitive data in the private cloud while running day-to-day services like email in the public cloud. It gives SMEs the flexibility to create a solution based on business needs.

According to a recent report by BCG, investment in public cloud among SMEs has grown steadily in Asia Pacific in the past five years and will continue to do so in the future. In 2016 respondents were spending just 3% of their IT budget on cloud with current trends suggesting this figure will rise to 10% by 2023. This rapid growth can be attributed to the business agility and cost effectiveness that migration to public cloud can deliver to SMEs across the region.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed SMEs the importance of maintaining agility in all business operations. As many businesses faced fluctuating demand, it was crucial that they were able to scale and adjust their operations quickly.

Recently, Tueetor, a Singapore-based online portal for tutors and trainers, was able to use AWS’ cloud service to scale their business to meet an increased demand for their service in other Southeast Asian markets. With public cloud, businesses are able to ramp up or scale down quickly without making any risky investments.

This flexibility also delivers financial savings when operating on a tight budget as businesses only pay for the resources tthey need at that moment. Without the need for any additional hardware or maintenance, SMEs can ensure that they avoid unnecessary business downtime and ensure service reliability.

Public cloud represents a major opportunity for small businesses to embrace digital transformation while keeping initial investments low.