I was speaking to a few managers and directors recently at a networking event and after making initial introductions and mentioning my line of work, they started saying how all they seemed to hear about nowadays was the cloud. Whether it was in business headlines or trade headlines or online campaigns. They were reading about it every day and everywhere.
It’s clear that there is an increasing buzz from organisations of all shapes and sizes about the varying possibilities and advantages that the cloud can give businesses.
[easy-tweet tweet=”The #Cloud buzz is building says @TheRealFahdKhan of @zsahLTD” user=”comparethecloud”]
Although many companies are now realising the multiple advantages of cloud technology, there are still many businesses who have uncertainty and doubts over moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud as well as an element of fear related to making such a change within the company.
Even some IT veterans can be overwhelmed by the huge variety of services and advantageous features each company provides along with the numerous cloud providers in the industry.
Whether a company wants to move to the cloud to help drive its business growth, cut hardware costs or increase their own accessibility for their employees there are still many questions that I’ve experienced organisations asking when considering making the leap. Some of these questions are left unanswered and IT teams can often be left without a guiding hand after moving their Infrastructure over to the cloud.
[quote_box_center]
There are many questions I’ve answered relating to cloud technology in the past but the questions that keep coming up again and again in conversations include:
- How does migrating my companies Infrastructure to the cloud improve my business productivity?
- Our businesses main focus is its customers, will they see any positive change or benefit from making the move?
- How will I stay ahead of my competition?
- Apart from scalability and reduced costs what else can the cloud do for my business?
- Will the cloud help resolve my business continuity challenges
[/quote_box_center]
All of these are valid and important questions to ask in order to gain a better understanding of what the cloud can offer your business. How your company will benefit from the virtualisation of its infrastructure and what this means for the future of your customer’s and the future of your company. These questions provide a basic understanding from a business perspective to help you make a calculated and informed decision before you make the inevitable move.
We will explore the common questions asked above which should provide you with a better understanding and give you the initial confidence in making the leap onto the cloud!
How does migrating my companies Infrastructure to the cloud improve my business productivity?
As with many aspects of the cloud there are several beneficial points to take into account.
When you are moving your IT infrastructure to the cloud you are virtualising your servers, depending on the cloud option you choose some more so than others. The cloud offers the ease of access and flexibility that can help future proof your business by providing accessibility to a level that you will not have experienced before. Whether you’re having a coffee in Starbucks or enjoying a holiday abroad the cloud strongly supports working remotely and this allows your team to be working from anywhere with internet access rather than being dependent on being in the office. This is especially beneficial in situations where a member of your team is unable to make it into work or when workloads are high and deadlines need to be met, rather than long hours in the office they can opt for a change of scene or the comfort of their own home and continue to work thanks to the accessibility that the cloud provides.
When you are moving your IT infrastructure to the cloud you are virtualising your servers
Lastly, in the past when companies have been dealing with any expansion or changes to their servers it can take days and weeks to set-up a new server whereas with cloud services not only are such changes cheaper and more affordable; but making major changes to the servers can be done in minutes as opposed to the lengthy time consuming processes older and more traditional methods would take.
Our business’s main focus is its customers, will they see any positive change or benefit from making the move?
An essential part of maintaining a good relationship and high quality of service with your customers is to ensure that you have good responsiveness and can ensure you maintain a high level of service to all customers.
There are a number of ways to maintain this, one of the ways of doing this is by meeting and changing customer requirements over time by updating and evolving technologies and current trends.
Also having minimal issues and a smooth and secure business supported by the cloud means your team can dedicate more time to customers and less time to internal issues. Cloud companies who provide a managed service like zsah can take care of minimising any potential issues your systems may face creating more time for your team to dedicate its focus towards driving the business.
How will I stay ahead of the competition?
the cloud is everywhere
As previously mentioned, the cloud is everywhere and it is the fastest growing trend that’s revolutionising businesses and the way we work.
Businesses that are successful in any market are the ones that are ahead of the game and cutting edge, whether they are constantly developing their services or taking the company into new directions and new markets, one thing to remember is that they are ever changing and the key to this is to be and always remain open to changes. In today’s market for any forward thinking company it’s not a case of “should we move onto the cloud” and more a case of ensuring they have taken the right steps and made the best choices for “when” they make the move. By migrating your IT infrastructure on to the cloud you make sure your organisation is keeping up with essential game changing trends in the market and it does not stop there considering the numerous ongoing benefits of moving onto the cloud.
[easy-tweet tweet=”By migrating #IT infrastructure on to the #cloud you are keeping up with essential game changing trends”]
Apart from scalability and reduced costs what else can the cloud do for my business?
One of the key factors why businesses decide to make the transition on to the cloud is due to the reduced costs, scalability and business agility it provides, but apart from these factors there are many others.
A well-established cloud infrastructure provides dynamic storage, processing and memory.
Most cloud services are typically pay as you go, so aside from initial Capex overall expenses are considerably low thus saving companies money in multiple areas from security to software updates and licensing costs.
Increased security is another benefit that many companies worry about and this is an area that quality cloud providers spend vast sums of money to insure they have the highest security features to protect themselves and their clients from any potential security breaches.
cloud computing is more eco-friendly
An aspect that many companies do not take into account is that cloud computing is more eco-friendly. Businesses on the cloud only use the server space they need which decreases their carbon footprint. Using the cloud has resulted in at least 30% less energy consumption and carbon emissions than using on-site servers. This is something SMEs get the most benefit from as the cut in energy use is even greater.
Will the cloud help resolve my business continuity challenges?
Business continuity is an absolute priority for any company, especially for web based businesses. Of the many innovations in business cloud computing has provided, business continuity is one of the greatest with a range of services that help maintain continuity via Disaster recovery, mirrored servers and health checks.
Time has proven that the next evolution for businesses is taking place right now, on the cloud. Future proof your business and make the transition now.
Fahd Khan, Account Director, zsah Technology Group
Fahd Khan is an experienced Account Director within the IT industry. Providing a host of Managed IT solutions for businesses by consulting and diagnosing with the aim to improve the day to day running of a company
Comments are closed.