In recent years, cloud technology has increasingly become an integral part of doing business and has revolutionized the way companies operate. Many organizations have embraced the cloud because it addresses their security, big data, and flexibility needs. The cloud offers robust security now that cyberthreats are more common than ever; competition drives businesses to seek insights from big data that cloud analytics can provide; and the cloud can host mobile apps that have become necessary for businesses to thrive.
Many companies, however, are still on the fence, unsure about the right time to embrace cloud computing. If your organization is experiencing one or more of the following concerns, it's time to consider cloud adoption.
Downtime
Any business knows that downtime is costly. Even an hour of halted productivity can cost thousands of dollars. And if downtime affects delivery of your products or services, customers may become dissatisfied and leave you for your competition, with your image tarnished.
Recurring downtime can be traced to a number of causes, such as hardware failure, insufficient maintenance, and human error. Cloud migration can mitigate downtime by taking a proactive approach. Furthermore, a cloud-based infrastructure is more reliable, since maintenance is regularly administered by experts. Cloud-based data storage and disaster recovery that come with redundancy plans also ensure uptime for your data and applications.
Aging and obsolete hardware
There isn’t a component in your IT infrastructure that lasts forever. Each one has a useful economic life, preserved through regular updates, consistent backups, and maintenance — but only up to a point. As these hardware components start to age, more issues occur and more maintenance is needed.
Before the cloud was an option, companies usually invested in replacing hardware components. But servers and the like are huge capital investments that many organizations can’t afford without making budgetary sacrifices. By embracing cloud services, your organization can fill those hardware requirements — even expensive data centers — by simply paying a monthly operational expense.
Unpredictable IT expenses
Managing on-premises infrastructure comes with unpredictable expenses due to IT issues. For your business to be truly efficient, you need to minimize these unforeseen problems that lead to inflated IT costs. Manage your expenses by migrating to the cloud.
At a predictable IT fee, cloud services can proactively and remotely keep an eye on your data and infrastructure. Unexpected IT problems and their accompanying surprise expenses will be significantly reduced. Via the cloud, a managed services provider (MSP) can address hidden issues before they cause business disruptions.
Limited IT expertise
Ensuring that daily IT operations run smoothly typically needs in-house IT expertise. For small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), hiring in-house IT experts can be demanding or just impossible in terms of costs and other resources. Fortunately, cloud service providers (CSPs) and MSPs with cloud services can provide 24/7 expert consultation, management, and optimization of client systems in a way that matches your budget and with a level of dedication and diversity that in-house teams can’t offer.
Cyberthreats
The current security climate of frequent phishing, data breaches, and malware attacks on businesses should convince you to embrace the cloud. No business can afford to ignore the risks of a security breach, which may include revenue loss, reputational damage, noncompliance penalties, and business shutdown.
Entrusting your data and infrastructure to a reputable cloud service provider comes with several benefits, not least of all security plans they have in place to protect all of their clients.
If you want to maintain a competitive edge over competitors, you can’t ignore the benefits of cloud technology. Still unsure if your business needs cloud services? Talk to us today. Here at Roebuck Technologies, we’ll clearly communicate the cloud advantages and requirements specific to your organization, then carefully plan out cloud adoption at a pace that’s right for you.
