The benefits of Cloud technologies for high-tech greenhouses

Nowadays, the modern technologies have become an essential part of our lives. They make our every day’s life much easier, more comfortable and much more efficient.

For example, a few decades ago when we needed to store some data, we had to buy additional storage units such as hard drives, CDs or flash drives. The problem was that amount of data was and still has been expanding exponentially and storage facilities we had were never enough. Moreover, the data could easily be lost and corrupted if data carrier was damaged.

Cloud technologies appeared in our lives to solve those problems. Cloud computing is penetrating each and every industry: from entertainment to banking sector, from oil and gas industry to education and health care.

The greenhouse industry has always been considered very conservative, so cloud computing is something new here. However, the process has already started and is gaining momentum. High-tech greenhouses are increasingly turning to the cloud for their data management needs.

Here's why:

There are numerous digital sensors in modern greenhouses which generate tremendous amount of information in real time. It is hard and sometimes even impossible to handle all this data manually. The cloud allows growers to manage their data more efficiently, giving them valuable insights into their operations and showing things which were hidden before. Data analytics can help growers optimize their production, saving time and money. And more and more growers turn into data analysts themselves using opportunities provided by cloud computing. Additionally, the cloud provides growers with a secure backup of their data in case of equipment failure or other disasters. This is also an important benefit nowadays because information is a new gold.

The following paragraphs will explore the three main benefits of using the cloud for high-tech greenhouse data management.

One of the most important benefits of using the cloud for high-tech greenhouse data management is efficiency. The cloud allows growers to collect, store, and analyze their data more efficiently than ever before.

Growers can use data analytics to gain valuable insights into their operations. For example, they can use data to track plant growth, identify problems early on, and optimize production. They can also detect climate anomalies in real time to prevent significant damage to the plants. Time is quite a limited resource – especially for a chief grower – and spend it for monitoring your climate settings all day and night long is impossible. Cloud computing is what solves this problem completely 24/7.

Additionally, the cloud makes it easy to share data with colleagues and customers. Remote work from anywhere is something which becomes a ‘must’ for every industry. With cloud-based technology horticultural industry successfully joins this trend.

Another benefit of using the cloud for high-tech greenhouse data management is security. The cloud provides a secure backup of growers' data in case of equipment failure or other disasters. Unfortunately, no greenhouse is proof against unexpected power failures. And since a modern high-tech greenhouse is full of digital sensors, devices and systems, even a short power disturbance could lead to the important data lost, in most cases without ability to restore them at all. When storing data in cloud, such situation is excluded.

Furthermore, the cloud is more secure than on-site servers because it uses state-of-the-art security measures, such as encryption and firewalls. Additionally, cloud providers have teams of security experts who are constantly monitoring their systems for potential threats.

Using the cloud for high-tech greenhouse data management can also help growers save money. Cloud providers offer pay-as-you-go pricing models that allow growers to only pay for the services they use. On-site servers, on the other hand, require a significant upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs which could be of the same level with paying for cloud facilities. Additionally, the cloud is scalable, so growers can easily add or remove users as their needs change. This flexibility can help growers save money by avoiding overage charges from their service providers.

Cloud computing is revolutionizing how high-tech greenhouses operate by providing them with a more efficient way to manage their data. The cloud also offers growers increased security and disaster recovery capabilities while also helping them save money. These benefits make it clear that the future of high-tech greenhouse data management lies in the cloud. And when we look at the key players in the industry, we see that for them it is not about future but about an essential part of their every day’s activity.