Thinking of moving to the Cloud? Here are 5 things that’ll convince you.
What once was something that only very large, fortune 500 companies did, now has become a very widely used strategy for the expansion and increased efficiency of small to medium sized businesses everywhere. Chances are that you’ve heard the phase “we’re moving to the cloud” but what does that even mean? And why should you do it too?
“The cloud” essentially just means not hosted on a physical server or computer. Think of Google Drive, OneDrive and Drobox, all secured places on the internet for you to store files to be accessed from your phone, company workstation or home laptop. This kind of accessibility is what is commonly referred to as being “in the cloud”. There are a ton of benefits to moving to a cloud infrastructure from a physical one, and we’ll outline some of these below to convince you to begin the switch today!
- Cost -
By moving operations to the cloud, you’re eliminating costs typically associated with on-premise systems such as the cost of new hardware, storage, upkeep and expansion. A cloud environment is both easily scalable and managed, cutting down your costs and IT headaches. No need to worry about that hardware being damaged in a disaster either, a move to the cloud equals less worries for your disaster preparedness team.
- Security -
The days where security was the most questionable part of cloud technologies is gone and past. Cloud infrastructure is now notoriously even more secure than on premise, because a cloud environment can be totally locked down within layers of enterprise-specific security policies. With most on premise environments, a critical data breach can happen as easily as someone forgetting to lock the door on the server room.
- Accessibility -
All you need to access a cloud environment is an internet connection, that means no need for storing critical files on any workstation. Users can safely access the tools to work efficiency from any designated device, 24/7, with little to no downtime. Forget VPN-ing into your server environment and dealing with lagging, outages and slow speeds; with cloud technology, working efficiently has never been simpler.
- Data Recovery -
Ever worry about data loss? Who doesn’t? A critical data loss or breach can mean the end for a lot of small to medium sized businesses. In a cloud environment, backups can be automated and stored in the cloud as opposed to the conventional hassle of multiple, rotating physical and electronic backups. Most cloud solutions offer robust and scalable backup options, meaning even if your office goes down, your network is still fully operational from the cloud.
- Manageability -
Minimal physical hardware and increased accessibility also means increased efficiency of management and less ground to cover for your IT Team. In a fully functioning cloud environment, automation, updating and monitoring across your entire network all become as easy as pushing a setting smart policies and pressing ‘go’. It’s time that technology starts working for you!
These are only a handful of the most common benefits seen by small to medium sized businesses that have switched to a cloud environment. If you’re still on the fence about moving, or are unsure how, give us a call. We’ll show you just how easy it is to make the move and give you a personalized walk-through of just what differences a move to the cloud could make for your business.