Difficulties in the economy are pushing clients to migrate to the cloud, fortunately, in recent years, businesses have become sufficiently familiar with this model of IT consumption. At the same time, the uneven development of various sectors of the economy leads to a bias in the structure of the Russian cloud market in favor of the sale of “raw” IaaS infrastructure to large companies. In developed countries, the main cloud commodity is off-the-shelf (SaaS) applications consumed by SMBs. However, in the next few years, Russia and the leading markets will “change trends”: IaaS will develop more actively in the world, and SaaS in Russia.

While the global IT market is stagnating, the cloud segment continues to develop at a high pace. According to Gartner, in 2016 the cloud market will grow by 16.5% from $175 billion to $203.9 billion. IDC analysts predict approximately the same dynamics: in their opinion, global spending on public cloud services in 2016–2019. will grow by 19.4%, which is six times faster than the dynamics of the global IT market. In total, $70 billion was spent on cloud services in 2015, and in 2019 this figure will exceed $141 billion, according to IDC.

The difference in the absolute figures of the two analytical agencies is due to the fact that Gartner interprets the concept of public cloud services much more broadly and, in addition to traditional IaaS, SaaS and PaaS, also includes income from cloud advertising($79.4 billion in 2015), security and cloud management services ($5 billion), as well as BPaaS (“business process-as-a-service”, $39.2 billion). Unlike SaaS, when the software that a company employee works with is rented through the cloud, BPaaS involves the complete transfer of the process to outsourcing with the dismissal of internal employees. If we consider only IaaS, SaaS and PaaS, then Gartner data indicates a market size of $51.4 billion in 2015, with its growth of 26% to $66.7 billion in 2016.

Global cloud market size (SaaS+PaaS+IaaS), $ billion

Source: CNews Analytics, IDC, Gartner, 2016

The key point is that experts agree on the pace of development of the cloud market. The main driver for migration to the cloud is economic feasibility. As a rule, it is cheaper for enterprises to rent software and hardware as needed (pay-as-you-go model) than to invest in building their own IT infrastructure.

In addition, the cloud, like any IT, allows you to optimize internal business processes and increase efficiency. “For example, in the field of electronic document management, the cost of producing and delivering an electronic document is approximately 10 times less than a paper document. Moreover, this gap continues to increase, as postal rates and prices for paper and printing are rising, and prices for sending electronic documents are decreasing,” says Igor Zelenko, Director of Retail and Distribution Department at Corus Consulting CIS. – The possibility of accelerating business, given the vast distances of our country, also plays an important role. For example, it is possible to exchange a signed legally binding agreement electronically between counterparties in Moscow and the Far East within a working day, but in paper form it will take at least a month.”

It is also worth noting the growing trust in clouds from customers. If previously the key factor in the implementation of public services from the clouds was security issues, now clients are more concerned about cost savings and optimization of business processes. “Security concerns remain, but many companies are successfully overcoming them. Therefore, now this is not a dead end, but a completely working situation. We are all already accustomed to cloud office applications, online and mobile banks. The achieved level of security allows you to use them without significant risks,” says Alexey Degtyarev, General Director of the electronic trading platform B2B-Center.

Everything is like people

Growing trust in clouds and awareness of their economic benefits are characteristic of the whole world, including Russia. According to Katerina Kostereva, CEO of the Terrasoft group of companies, this is influenced, among other things, by the rapid development of the technologies themselves.

“Intelligent business processes, predictive analytics tools, integration with IoT are technologies that require powerful resources and the ability to quickly scale to meet ever-growing business requirements. Of course, not all enterprises can afford to support the necessary infrastructure locally. While the cloud provides the company with the necessary resources, relieving headaches regarding service performance and availability, security and scaling speed,” states Katerina. In addition, in the domestic market, an additional incentive to move to the cloud is the crisis, which forces businesses to increase efficiency and reduce costs. “Almost all companies have sequestered investment budgets in the last two years,” states the head of the department cloud technologies Softline Leonid Anikin. – There are fewer projects to build our own data centers and/or massive purchases of server equipment in Russia. On the other hand, clients still need to launch new projects. These projects, in turn, require equipment. Since it is not always available, we have to rent a ready-made IT infrastructure.”

The growth rate of the Russian cloud market is, according to various estimates, from 20% to 35% per year in ruble terms. " Russian market cloud services, as not mature enough, shows growth of 25–30% annually,” believes the Mango Telecom expert. Andrey Kozlovsky. According to him, an objective assessment of the volume of the cloud services market in the Russian Federation is difficult due to the lack of classification agreed upon by market participants and analysts. “We agree with the majority of analysts who in 2015 estimated the Russian cloud market at 16–18 billion rubles. In the next three years it will increase by 20–25% annually,” says Andrey Kozlovsky.

What factors determine the development of clouds in Russia?

	Positive factors	Negative factors
1	“Clouds” have become an understandable technology, and customers no longer need to explain the principles of their operation. Customers know the main cloud services, understand what they include, and are aware of the cost	Inertia factor: many companies remain wary or negative about the cloud, especially in terms of security
2	Due to the crisis since the beginning of 2014, companies are optimizing budgets for the purchase and rental of equipment by migrating to the cloud	Negative information background regarding data leaks from clouds (especially in the public sector), for example, in connection with the activities of Edward Snowden
3	The rapid development of clouds on an international scale, Russia is part of the global market and is exposed (albeit sometimes belatedly) to all the key trends of this market	A number of industries have strict service requirements information security, which do not allow certain data and applications to be placed in the service provider’s cloud
4	Increased quality and reliability of cloud services, availability of a large number of successfully implemented cases	Increasing capitalization. Companies deliberately keep a large amount of equipment on their balance sheets in order to maintain high capitalization.
5	Requirement for storing personal data on the territory of the Russian Federation, which leads to migration from foreign clouds to Russian ones	Lack of uniform standards - differences in the classification of services, in the interpretation of actual and “paper” SLA among market participants
6	Integration of cloud products with each other. If previously isolated products were sold, now from cloud applications it is possible to build a unified ecosystem	In Russia, the process of modernizing legislation in the field of information security is actively underway, which negatively affects the timing of the introduction of new products
7	Distribution of broadband access in regions and development mobile internet, deployment of 4G networks	Lack of cloud-savvy IT talent

Source: CNews Analytics, 2016

Which clouds grow the fastest?

In the global market, the dominant model for consuming cloud services is SaaS (Softaware-as-a-Service, software as a service), that is, the rental of remote applications when the program is accessed through a browser. According to Gartner, the SaaS segment accounts for almost twice as much revenue as IaaS services, which represent the second key group of cloud products (IaaS - rental of virtualized computing power in a remote data center).

In recent years, many software developers have switched to the cloud-first model, according to which preference is given to development based on the SaaS/PaaS platform rather than in the format of traditional boxed software, says senior vice president of IDC Frank Jens(Frank Gens): “This means that with the next software update, enterprise customers will be offered SaaS solutions as the preferred option.”

Global volume and dynamics of revenue of cloud services market segments

	2015	growth in 2015	2016	growth in 2016
BPaaS	39,2	2,7%	42,6	8,7%
SaaS	31,4	15,5%	37,7	20,3%
PaaS	3,8	16,1%	4,6	21,1%
IaaS	16,2	31,9%	22,4	38,4%
Cloud management and security services	5	20,7%	6,2	24,7%

Source: Gartner, 2016

At the same time, demand for IaaS will grow at a faster pace than SaaS. Gartner predicts that in 2016, revenue from SaaS shipments will increase by 20.3%, while the IaaS market will grow by 38.4%. “The IaaS segment remains the fastest growing as large companies refuse to expand own data centers and move their infrastructure to the public cloud,” comments Gartner Research Director Sid Nag(Sid Nag).

SaaS? Dont need it, thanks

The structure of cloud sales in Russia differs from the global picture: the largest part of the cloud “pie” is accounted for by IaaS. The reason is the underdevelopment of small businesses, which are the main consumers of software as a service. At the same time, large enterprise-class enterprises are more interested in renting computing infrastructure and storage capacity, and business processes within companies are not always standard and can be satisfied using standard SaaS applications.

From this point of view, Russia is even ahead of the world market, because domestic companies are already actively migrating to IaaS, believes the head of the marketing department of SKB Kontur. Maxim Nakhabo: “It’s just that in Russia this trend appeared earlier. Large companies are abandoning their own data centers in favor of IaaS. This gives them access to any infrastructure for agile and rapid innovation and allows them to grow quickly to bring to market and support any volume of new products and services.”

“In Russia, IaaS dominates the cloud structure,” states the CEO of DataLine Yuri Samoilov. – Large businesses remain the main consumer of cloud technologies. With the help of IaaS, such companies solve the problems of scalability and optimization of IT costs. At the application level, they most often use their own developments or highly customized vendor solutions. SaaS services with limited customization capabilities cannot always be adapted to established business processes. PaaS and SaaS will gradually grow, but this growth will be slow.”

“As one would expect, SMBs buy more public SaaS services, and the corporate segment buys private IaaS,” notes Andrey Kozlovsky. “Although today more and more large companies are turning to SaaS services.” According to him, in the future the pattern of development of SaaS and IaaS will remain the same. Head of the virtual data center "Croc" Maxim Berezin is more optimistic than his colleagues and expects an increase in the share of SaaS in cloud budgets: “Gradually, as confidence in the cloud grows, customers are showing more and more interest in SaaS services, and we expect that this area will grow noticeably faster than the entire cloud services segment "

I agree with him and Katerina Kostereva, CEO of the Terrasoft group of companies. According to her, more and more enterprises, including those in the domestic market, prefer the SaaS model. If earlier companies were ready to invest several years in developing their own CRM solutions, today they understand that this does not bring the expected result. The world is changing rapidly, processes are becoming more complex, business requirements are growing. In these conditions, it is more effective to use ready-made solutions from the vendor. “This year we switched to delivering new functionality to cloud clients once every 2-3 weeks. All our clients receive an update package, which allows them to use the latest developments to manage their business,” shares Katerina. “The benefits of SaaS are obvious, so their popularity will only grow.”

There are too few small businesses

According to IDC, more than 40% of cloud provider revenue comes from small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees. It would seem that from this point of view Russia should have excellent prospects, since as of August 2016 there were more than 4 million commercial enterprises in the country legal entities, as well as more than 4 million registered individual entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, the SMB segment accounts for more than 20–30% of revenue, according to the opinion of cloud solution providers surveyed by CNews. The reason is the more difficult conditions for running a small business, and, as a result, its lower solvency.

“In Russia, at best, 20% of the revenue of cloud providers comes from SMBs, and 80% from large companies. Our SMEs are not always solvent. Small and medium-sized businesses are struggling and low-tech, making it difficult for small companies to part with money on cloud subscriptions. Plus, the price of cloud subscriptions is often high for them,” explains Maxim Nakhabo. However, even in such conditions, there is a certain margin of growth, because it is the cloud that makes it possible to achieve higher efficiency and optimize IT costs, so in the future we should expect a gradual increase in the share of SMBs in the cloud market.

Industry structure of cloud customers

Cloud Solution Provider	Cloud Product Class	List of major industries that are purchasing cloud solutions
B2B-Center	Electronic marketplace (SaaS)	Metallurgical, engineering, energy companies; nuclear industry enterprises; telecommunications, transport and oil service enterprises
DataLine	IaaS	Banks, retail, media, internet services
Softline	Software distribution various manufacturers(Microsoft, Google, Kaspersky Lab, etc.) according to the SaaS model	Retail, distribution, consumer goods (FMCG)
Stack Group	IaaS	Internet projects, online retailers, IT insourcers, finance, public sector
Servionics	IaaS, SaaS (1C)	Retail, telecom, holding companies, transport and logistics
Corus Consulting CIS	Electronic document management (SaaS)	Retail, telecom, resource suppliers (water utilities, energy sales)
Krok	IaaS, sale of third-party SaaS	Retail, IT solution developers, financial sector, manufacturing enterprises
Mango Telecom	Cloud telephony	Retail, wholesale trade, online stores, IT, manufacturing
SKB Kontur	Tax reporting, accounting, electronic document management (SaaS)	retail and wholesale trade, services, IT, real estate, manufacturing

Cloud services have become popular among Russian users only recently, but their advantages are undeniable. Firstly, they save space on the computer’s hard drive, secondly, and more importantly, the user gets access to personal data anywhere in the world where the Internet works, and, finally, he has unlimited possibilities for data encryption.
The above advantages apply to any cloud service, but each of them has specific features. For example, Yandex.Disk makes transferring data from one mobile operating platform to another an amazingly simple and fast task. Moreover, you can transfer almost everything, including call history and bookmarks of your “native” browser.
In this review, we will talk about the most popular Russian cloud services and consider the features of each of them.

Dropbox- the most popular cloud service in Russia. When installing the program on your computer, a special folder is created that is synchronized with the cloud. Dropbox keeps download history, which helps you recover data after files are deleted from the server. In addition, the service has a convenient and pleasant interface. The service works with Windows, Mac OS and Linux, and also has mobile versions for iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry and even Bada platforms. The disadvantage of this “cloud” is that it provides very little free space - 2 GB, and if the user needs to save some documents, this storage size is quite suitable, but if we are talking, for example, about photographs, 2 gigabytes is not so much and more.

"Yandex.Disk". This cloud service is made in Russia. It appeared quite recently, but quickly managed to gain popularity. The advantage here, firstly, is that the service does not require additional registration if the user works with any applications from Yandex; and, secondly, the opportunity to get up to 10 GB of free storage space. Initially, the user is provided with 3 GB, but three simple steps are to invite friends, use other Yandex services and scan files with Dr.Web antivirus. - makes it possible to get as much as 10 gigs. "Yandex.Disk" works on Windows and Mac OS, as well as with the most popular mobile platforms - Android, iOS, Windows Phone.
Google Drive also known as "Google Drive". When working with this service, the user also does not need to go through the registration process if he works with some applications from Google, however, there is more free space here - 15 GB. However, the main difference between Google Drive and the services described above is the fact that its web client makes it possible to view about 30 file formats through a browser, including video. The user can, for example, make a presentation online and simultaneously exchange comments and suggestions with other users. In addition, the service can store the history of changes to files and recognize the text of downloaded documents. Google Drive supports Windows and Mac, and for Linux users it is possible to work with the Internet version through a browser; there are clients for owners of iOS and Android devices.
"Cloud Mail .ru". This is another Russian product, but it is not as attractive as Yandex.Disk and other competitors, it has very few features, and, in addition, the service works on the principle mailbox, if no one visits the repository within three months, the account is deleted along with the contents. However, Cloud Mail .ru has one very big plus - the user can get up to 100 GB of space in the cloud for free. The service works with Windows and Mac OS, as well as mobile platforms

Users and businesses will continue to move away from bulky and expensive servers and instead choose the cloud to store files. Given the variety of storage options available, you should choose carefully.

Lifehacker suggests paying attention to services that provide maximum free space with reliable data protection and high-quality service. Prices shown are for starter plans only.

• Price: 2GB free, 1TB for $8.25 per month. The standard Dropbox Business subscription costs $12.50 per month per user.
• Applications:
• Russian language support: There is.

Initially, this cloud storage giant only gives you access to 2 GB of free space. But it can be expanded up to 16 GB without much difficulty: just link your accounts to in social networks and offer a referral link to several friends.

With a Dropbox Business subscription, you can use your business account to collaboration, and also gives unlimited space for personal account. Moreover, you get a number of advanced features like file recovery and customization of access levels.

• Price: 15 GB free, 100 GB for 139 rubles per month.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
• Russian language support: There is.

One of the most obvious options for owners of devices running Android control, since the application is initially installed on smartphones and tablets based on Google OS. However, due to the considerable amount of free storage, the service may also be attractive to owners of other devices.

Among the disadvantages is that the interface of the browser version is not the simplest. But Windows users and macOS can download a much more convenient application.

3. Mega

• Price: 50 GB free, 200 GB for 4.99 euros per month.
• Applications:
• Russian language support: There is.

Another service with a generous free plan and a drag-and-drop interface. Mega has a convenient mobile app for downloading files, as well as desktop clients for synchronizing them.

According to the company, all data is encrypted on your device before it ends up on the servers. Source Mega client is available on GitHub and can be reviewed by any expert. Therefore, the statement inspires confidence.

• Price: 10 GB free, another 10 GB for 30 rubles per month.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, LG Smart TV.
• Russian language support: There is.

The cloud from Yandex works quickly and stably, and is constantly acquiring new functions. The service has a high synchronization speed. Platform capabilities are built into some third party applications.

Despite the presence of clients for all popular desktop and mobile platforms, the Yandex.Disk browser interface is also very practical. The service also has very good opportunities to expand space through partnerships with companies. For example, if you are a Muscovite and use the OnLime tariff plan from Rostelecom, then the disk capacity increases by 100 GB.

• Price: 5 GB free, 50 GB for 140 rubles per month, 1 TB for 269 or 339 rubles when you sign up for a personal or family subscription to Office 365, respectively.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Xbox.
• Russian language support: There is.

The former SkyDrive is built into the standard Windows Explorer 10. There is no need to download the application - everything is already downloaded for you.

Built in operating system The Photos app can use OneDrive to sync all your pictures between devices.

When installing a client for macOS, there are some things to consider: positive reviews about him.

In addition to the regular pricing plans, Microsoft has Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home. Both subscriptions include 1 TB of cloud storage, full versions Office applications for Windows and macOS and a whole host of other benefits. The second option gives 1 TB to five users at once.

• Price: 8 GB free, 64 GB for 69 rubles per month.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone.
• Russian language support: There is.

The closest analogue of Yandex.Disk in terms of available features, web version interface and supported platforms. Loses to its main competitor due to its extensive referral program. Among the advantages is a larger amount of free storage.

Among other things, the service has a tool for quickly creating and saving screenshots in the cloud.

• Price: 5 GB free, 50 GB for 59 rubles per month.
• Applications: Windows.
• Russian language support: There is.

5GB of free space may not be enough, but iCloud is the most convenient way create backups photos from iPhone.

The service is integrated into Finder on macOS - the desktop of all MacBooks. Documents created through the iWork office suite are also saved in iCloud and can be synchronized between devices. The platform has official client for Windows, with which you can keep files on your PC up to date.

8.Box

• Price: 10 GB free, 100 GB for 8 euros per month. Business subscription costs 12 euros per month.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
• Russian language support: There is.

The platform quickly gained popularity and is supported by a number of popular work services, such as Google Docs and Office 365. Box desktop clients allow you to not only synchronize, but also edit files.

The company is actively promoting business subscriptions. It is the one that appears in the center of the screen when you click on the registration button. Tariff plan Gives you access to advanced collaboration features and unlimited cloud space.

• Price: free setup and usage, space prices vary by hosting providers. Nextcloud Box costs 70 euros.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
• Russian language support: No.

The company itself is not a cloud storage provider, but does offer free software for setting up the cloud on your own server. The main advantage of this option is speed. You can also enable encryption and not worry about files leaving your home network.

If you do not have experience in setting up servers, you can buy a pre-configured option - Nextcloud Box. Inside the device - HDD for 1 TB. It easily connects to an inexpensive single board computer. True, in order to get your hands on a mini-server, you will have to use the services of third-party companies: there is no direct delivery to Russia and the CIS countries.

• Price: 2 GB free, 250 GB for $9 per month.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
• Russian language support: No.

Another English-language platform that has long operated under a zero-knowledge protocol. It was implied that the company interacts with user data without disclosing its content in any way. Recently it turned out that there are some caveats here, and SpiderOak abandoned its main feature. But this did not stop us from striving to provide files.

The repository has clients for all popular desktop and mobile platforms. You can use the web client, but for privacy advocates this is the least preferred option because it gives away your password to SpiderOak employees.

• Price: 5 GB free, 2 TB for $52.12 per year special offer, then - 69.5 dollars.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone.
• Russian language support: No.

The product keeps all your files in constant sync - even those stored on network drives. The web interface allows you to share data by mail, Facebook and Twitter.

The advantage of IDrive is that files deleted from the computer from the cloud do not automatically disappear. The company also has a service called IDrive Express: if you lose all your data, they will deliver a hard drive to you for quick recovery.

• Price: 10 GB free, 500 GB for $3.99 per month, pCloud Crypto encryption price: $3.99 per month.
• Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
• Russian language support: There is.

The service has restrictions on the speed of downloading files, but there is no limit on their size. The storage can be used from any platform - through an application or website.

The company is registered in Switzerland, a country known for its strict privacy laws. For an additional amount, you can use the pCloud Crypto service to encrypt individual files.

Cloud providers

Classification of cloud providers in which two are distinguished: large groups: platform cloud providers (IT companies offering hosting based on their own software) and cloud service providers that use software from other companies to create services. The first group of suppliers is divided into three subgroups: Google, Microsoft and other large companies (IBM, Apple, as well as Yahoo!, EMC, HP/EDS, Amazon, Facebook, Adobe, etc.). The second group of cloud computing providers includes independent service providers providing services to external clients, as well as internal corporate providers serving branches, departments and subsidiaries, as well as employees and partners.

There is competition between platform and service providers of cloud computing - despite the great potential of IT giants, hosting services will soon be in demand in the context of cloud computing. This is also facilitated by the fact that medium and small businesses, in search of reducing IT costs, are moving to the use of hosting computing resources and at the same time looking for the cheapest offers. In this market development scenario, the cost of services will not be the only advantage of independent service providers - the important thing is that hosters will show greater flexibility and efficiency in working with clients.

Other factors that hinder the development of cloud services are gradually becoming a thing of the past. Thus, along with a very significant increase in the reliability of networks, companies’ fears associated with the potential ability of the cloud service provider to control sensitive enterprise data are also decreasing today.

Let's look at the most popular providers that provide access to their clouds.

When designing highly loaded Web services or Web sites, there are typical tasks that are completely within the capabilities of a service from the cloud, so Microsoft developers, having analyzed the experience of developing loaded systems, proposed their solution for such typical tasks. We are talking about a model for renting service hosting of high-load sites, a service for executing arbitrary client code, a data storage service, as well as a service for linking other services with each other. The result was the AzureServicesPlatform, which provides four main services: WindowsAzure, .NET Services, SQL Services ( SQL Server in the cloud) and Liveframework.

WindowsAzure is a platform for scalable hosting of Web applications, the use cases for which can be very different, from an Internet store to video hosting or a service for scientific and technical tasks.

NET Services solves the problems of linking services to each other, managing access to service methods, and supporting workflows. This class of solutions is called InternetServiceBus (by analogy with the term EnterpriseServicesBus). .NET Services is a scalable notification service. For example, an airline can provide a notification service about flight cancellations and new ones. In general, an unpredictable number of people can subscribe to such notifications: travel agencies from all over the world, ordinary passengers, transport companies, etc. Also in .NET Services there is an access control function AccessControl, which allows you to connect authorization services, collect them in one place and control access to service methods through InternetServicesBus.

WorkflowService is a scalable service in the cloud that executes custom workflows defined declaratively using the WindowsWorkflowFoundation platform, which has been part of .NET since version 3.0. The service works as an agent that manages the interaction of various services with each other, and thanks to development tools in Java and Ruby, it allows you to connect heterogeneous information systems into a single whole.

An interesting component of AzureServicesPlatform is Liveframework, built similar to services such as: LiveMesh, which allows you to synchronize files and folders between devices distributed, including in the clouds. What does all this give in practice - for example, it is possible to write an application for playing chess, run it from your computer or directly from the LiveMesh CTP website, invite a friend who can also run the application from the cloud or from his computer, and the LiveFramework infrastructure will ensure data synchronization .

The WindowsAzure platform provides: tools for developing services or websites; a data center that executes the code of the developed solution; scalable data storage; local emulation of the service, allowing you to fully debug applications on the local machine; a portal where you can deploy developed solutions, manage allocated capacities and change the service configuration on the fly.

The “facade” (front-end) processes Web requests, and a highly loaded service may require several instances of the “facade”, so there must be a load balancer. It follows that a data store separate from the “facade” is needed, while the “facade” should not save state. In fact, we can never predict which of the identical instances of the “façade” will fulfill the user’s request, so the “façade” itself may only have a cache. In the case when it is necessary to launch complex and long-term application, you need to be able to run code in background(individual services, processes, daemons, threads, threads). In Fig. Figure 5 shows a diagram of a typical solution on Azure.

Requests for a website come from the Internet (or WebRole is part of an Azure project), and several identical instances of your application are running in the cloud on an Azure data center. The load balancer (LB) selects a site instance and routes the request to it. Since it is impossible to predict which instance will be launched, sites must (as is usually the case with highly loaded sites) be designed in such a way that they do not contain a history of their work.

A website can access one or more storages available through a load balancer. Storage containing queues, tables or unstructured data, large binary objects (BinaryLargeOBjectS, BLOBS), can also be accessed over the Internet from other sites.

In the background of this entire process, an application may be running that performs special tasks, such as processing images in response to the actions of a user visiting the site. This application (worker role, or WorkerRole in Azure terminology) is not accessible from the outside and usually receives tasks from a queue.

Connection cost: Microsoft will charge 12 cents per hour of computing, 15 cents per gigabyte of data on the server, and 10 cents for every 10 thousand transactions. As for using the network channel, 10-15 cents per gigabyte will be charged.

Economies are very much a function of scale. Clouds are constantly evolving to improve reliability, service levels and reduce costs. One example is James Cameron's Avatar project. During the filming of this film, a whole virtual world, in which every blade of grass, every angle and take was digitized and documented. The volume of data in this world has exceeded petabytes.

"Avatar" is the largest commercial information project, the implementation of which involved thousands of people from the USA to New Zealand. Over all the years of work on the film, not a single failure occurred in its information system, not a single byte was lost. The data was stored and managed by a Microsoft cloud solution.

GoogleAppEngine is a hosting service for websites and web applications on Google servers. Using the service Google accounts allows you to quickly start working with the application; there is no need to separately register credentials on each site. This also allows the developer not to worry about implementing another user registration system specifically for his application. The AppEngine platform is tightly integrated with applications and imposes some restrictions on developers. Competing environments allow you to operate with multiple software created under *NIX systems, while AppEngine requires the developer to use the Python or Java programming languages ​​and save information in its own storage (Datastore).

AmazonWebServices (AWS) this infrastructure provides many services to provide various services such as: data storage (file hosting, distributed data storage), rental virtual servers, provision of computing power, etc. Provides several services such as: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), etc.

AmazonElasticComputeCloud (Amazon EC2) is a web service that provides computing power in the cloud. The service is part of the AmazonWebServices infrastructure. The service’s simple web interface allows you to access computing power and configure minimal costs resources. It provides users with complete control over computing resources, as well as an accessible work environment. The service reduces the time required to obtain and load a new server.

AmazonSimpleStorageService (Amazon S3) is an online web service offered by AmazonWebServices that provides the ability to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the network, so-called file hosting. Amazon S3 provides high scalability, reliability, high speed and low-cost storage infrastructure.

AmazonSimpleQueueService (Amazon SQS) -- The service accepts message queues for storage. When using Amazon SQS, developers can simply move data distributed between components of their applications that perform different tasks without losing messages. At the same time, high scalability and reliability are achieved.

Cloud computing in Russia

Cloud computing is gradually penetrating into Russia. The first-born among commercial cloud SaaS services was the Softcloud project of Softline, a domestic distributor of licensed software products. Softcloud's technology partner is Parallels, a global developer with Russian roots. software solutions for virtualization of IT infrastructure and automation of services. Availability and security of services is ensured thanks to hosting in distributed network Data centers located in Russia, Belarus, European countries and the USA.

Don't know how to choose a cloud service for your business? Which option is better to go with - paid or free? Alina Safronova, marketing manager at Onlanta, explains why to pay for storage for corporate documentation and which service is best for small and medium-sized business owners.

What is the difference between paid services and free ones?

Free services differ from paid cloud storage in limited functionality in the following parameters:

Limited volume

With a free subscription, the available storage capacity usually does not exceed 20 GB. This volume is not enough even for a small company that operates “light” files, for example, accounting documentation.

Limited functionality for the corporate segment

Target segment free services- ordinary users, not corporate customers. Free repositories do not provide functionality such as integration with the OS directory service and user directory, or functionality for the department. For example, a log to track the movement of documents and data backup.

Information security

The user agreement for free services contains a clause stating that the company reserves the right to provide access to your information stored in its cloud upon request from government authorities. Corporate cloud services provide for differentiation of access levels: when correct setting your information will not be visible to any cloud storage employee. You can even store your data encrypted.

If you want to use cloud storage exclusively in the form of a “virtual flash drive”, you can also opt for free options. But if you intend to integrate such solutions into your business and care about security, then you will have to pay for advanced functionality and ease of use. And here the next question arises.

Paid cloud services: minimal functionality

What should be the minimum functionality of paid cloud storage:

Storing unlimited amounts of information

A paid service must have a function for quickly expanding the available storage volume to the required size, as well as a mechanism for flexible configuration of the necessary user quotas. This is important even for small businesses that subsequently plan to scale.

Storing unlimited amounts of information is necessary for companies that store document archives for at least several years. This functionality is critical for businesses that work with “heavy” files (for example, if your company provides software services).

Integration with information systems

Cloud storage can be integrated with corporate information systems, for example, CRM, ERP, EDMS: files are automatically transferred from the cloud storage to the required system. Next, the files are processed in accordance with the company’s business processes. Simply put, it is absolutely not necessary to upload a file to your computer in order to then load it into 1C; it is enough to immediately place it in the desired folder in the cloud.

Backup all stored information

Guarantee that all the documents you worked with are saved in the cloud: employees will not be able to accidentally or intentionally delete them, and if an error was made in the saved changes, they can always roll back to previous version file. Some services not only save copies of documents, but also the entire folder structure that users are used to seeing on their computers.

Sync data between devices

The number of gadgets we use in Everyday life, growing: computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones. We often use devices from different manufacturers with different software filling. To quickly solve business problems, you need to have access to up-to-date working documentation from any device from different manufacturers.

Technical support

Some companies not only provide technical support 24/7, but also a manager for each project, who can be connected to promptly resolve serious incidents. Russian services have an undeniable advantage, as they provide support in Russian.

What else should you pay attention to?

We recommend choosing several cloud storage services for a test period and seeing in practice how convenient a particular service is. It is convenient to work with some of the services on a PC, but mobile version cut down and unsuitable for full-time work. Other cloud services do not allow several employees to work with the same document at the same time: they have to download files via a link, make changes, upload them again to storage, and so on.

In some cloud storage systems, it is not clear how to keep a log of records and control access to documentation - this is critical for the company’s security service, which must know what changes were made, by which user and when.

During negotiations with clients at business events and conferences (National Award for IT solutions “Digital Peaks”, BIT-2017 in Kazan, conference “Clouds 2017: Main Trends”), as part of an internal study, our managers interviewed entrepreneurs and owners of medium and small companies businesses from retail, telecom, energy, construction and public sectors. We wanted to find out what other needs and wishes there are for the functionality of the service for working with corporate documents.

What we asked:

Does the organization use file hosting services?

What functionality does he consider most important in this service?

Is the company willing to pay extra for security?

The following opportunities turned out to be the most attractive for entrepreneurs:

Safety

The differentiation of access rights should be carried out in accordance with the company's information security policy or at the discretion of managers. In addition, it is preferable that the reporting settings allow you to record all access to files and track any manipulations with them.

User interface

A truly friendly, modern and intuitive interface: to work with it you will not need any specific skills, no technical knowledge, no familiarization with the user manual and training of employees.

File versioning support

The ability to start working from any previous version of a document, even if it has been modified many times. Additionally, this function allows you to solve human factor problems, for example, in situations where files are deleted by one of the users accidentally or on purpose. From a security point of view, versioning allows you to protect data from attacks by ransomware viruses. You just need to go back to the previous version of the file.

Convenient collaboration

Editing documents or other manipulations with files without downloading or clicking on links. Full-fledged work with data online should be carried out using access rights to edit, add new files and other functions.

Backup

As a rule, services allow you to save in the cloud only those documents that are stored in a specific folder. Companies want to choose any way to store a document file: at least specify the entire computer (the main thing is not to touch system folders or files with a specific extension) for automatic backup and synchronization. Backup will help resolve the issue of safety of all employee documents and facilitate their transfer to a new employee.

Comparing paid cloud storage

We selected 10 paid services for storing corporate documentation and compared them by functionality. It is worth noting that we included the last two - “My Office” and WorksPad - in the table despite the fact that they only partially perform the functions of cloud storage, but clients regularly ask about them. "My Office" is a Russian-made office suite, similar to Microsoft Office, has a built-in file storage that can only store files of a given office suite. WorksPad positions itself as a mobile workplace.

Despite the fact that our table presents both Russian and foreign services, we recommend that businesses first consider domestic cloud solutions.

Russian companies have greater expertise in fulfilling legal requirements, for example, the law on personal data FZ-152, according to which this information must be processed in Russia. Events in the geopolitical arena are unpredictable, and sanctions can turn out in the most bizarre ways; it is important not to depend on foreign corporations in your work.

Table of comparison of functionality of cloud solutions. Note 1: green - available, pink - partially provided, red - absent. Note 2: comparison by parameters is a subjective assessment of the authors of the text; it is also worth considering that the functionality of each product may change over time.

Businesses need to understand why they need the cloud

We have compiled a list of questions, the answers to which will help you make a choice in favor of the right cloud storage for you.

How is the security of information stored in the cloud ensured?

How can you control who does what, when, and with shared files?

Is the cloud safe itself securely protected?

How “friendly” is the interface to solve all administration issues quickly and easily?

How to solve a problem if something suddenly goes wrong?

Our review shows that the functionality of paid cloud storage is quite similar. Companies for which savings are important and the security of stored information is less critical can choose such popular services as Google Drive or Mail.ru. By the way, OneDrive and Google Drive provide free cloud space to corporate clients.

Niche services are focused on maximum security of stored information and ease of use, but their solutions are not always budget-friendly.

Thus, VALO Cloud is one of the few products that can create backup copies of user devices and allows integration into third-party applications. OwnCloud also has the latter option. They are most suitable for large corporate customers and government agencies.

The most important thing for a business is a clear understanding of what cloud storage is needed for and what data will be stored in it. Having answers to these questions, you can choose the optimal service in terms of price and quality.