A lot of businesses are. We’ve talked about the popularity of cloud computing for businesses before.
Cloud adoption has also increased significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Even those businesses who hadn’t planned to move so soon were forced to accelerate their plans.
Let’s assume you’re now on the cusp of moving your IT to an entirely cloud based or hybrid solution. How do you do that and do it well?
To help, we’ve got some thoughts here as well as a refresher on the benefits of the cloud.
What are the benefits of cloud computing?
We’ve talked about the benefits of the cloud before. One of the big ones is the security it can provide.
Your data is constantly being backed up, so in the event of an accident or breach, you can take your system back to a previous version with ease. You’re also not responsible for the maintenance of the servers storing your data. That’s being looked after by your cloud provider.
Other benefits include space being freed up by removing physical servers, the flexibility of doing your job remotely, the easily scalable price and the flexible plans you get from cloud providers.
Should Your Business Move To The Cloud?
We get asked this a lot. Is it right for my business to move?
For many businesses, moving to the cloud is a cost-effective solution. It’s scalable and consists of a smaller manageable regular cost as opposed to a huge initial outlay. But there are still businesses who would rather have a bespoke onsite solution. They’re happy to pay for something which matches their exact needs, and it does have some benefits. For example, they may feel they can have better control of their security if they keep things on site.
However, the evidence in favour of the cloud being safe and secure is about as strong as ever. Most of the biggest data breaches exploit traditional computers not data stored in the cloud. Gartner estimates that 99% of cloud security failures will be the fault of the customer not the vendor, by 2025.
Ultimately, cloud is the way everything is heading. The cloud adoption rate in the UK stands at 88%, with more and more cloud based and SaaS products coming to market, it’s easier than ever to find what you’re looking for and the pros outweigh the cons for most businesses at this point.
Things To Consider When Moving Your IT To The Cloud
That’s not to say it’s as easy as flicking a switch. There’s a number of things your business needs to consider before you dive headfirst into a cloud first strategy.
You Will Still Need On-Premises Security For A Cloud IT Network
You don’t have to worry about looking after the actual hardware, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any security risks your end.
As we saw in our post on preventing Malware, the greatest risk to your company’s security is your people. All it takes is one dodgy link to be clicked on.
So, you still need to take care of your endpoints. That’s the end user’s computers and devices. Installing software to protect users from incoming attacks and preventing serious threats from reaching them, as well as providing training for staff, is still essential.
Internet Connection Is Vital On A Cloud Network
Cloud computing is essentially IT services delivered via the internet and Software as a Service is usually accessed through a browser.
As such, the quality of your internet connection is important. Are your staff going to be able to access what they need, at all times, assuming there’s no major internet failure?
Make your internet a priority so that the tools you’re using always work. If it’s going to cause problems, perhaps because of the location of your office, consider whether you might benefit from an onsite solution.
You Will Need a “Cloud First” Mentality
Once your stack of programs, servers and infrastructure is in the cloud you need to make sure that whenever you’re implementing a new system or software, that it coexists with your current programs.
One of the great things about the cloud is that many programs work concurrently and interact with each other. But don’t make life hard for yourself by having one side of the business that has no way of interacting with the other.
Moving To the Cloud Can Be Gradual
Don’t worry if you’ve got a on-premises solution that works perfectly well. Making the move to cloud doesn’t have to happen in one go. Generally speaking, signing up to cloud services couldn’t be any easier.
Most vendors make it incredibly straightforward to sign up and so you could always move one part of your business, whilst you’re still running operations from the old system. Fortunately, most cloud solutions are just an internet-based version of what you’re using already, so the change shouldn’t be too complicated.
You want as little downtime as possible, and you should be able to achieve that, assuming you and your staff know where you’re going.
Moving To The Cloud May Not Cut Costs – But It Will Be Worth It
A cloud solution for certain sizes of company, won’t necessarily be any cheaper than what you have currently. If it does, great, but don’t expect it.
It will be cheaper in the short term, but the costs will sure add up over time. Still, you are paying for convenience and the management of hardware that you now don’t have to worry about.
And that’s what people move for, along with a load of other reasons we stated above. Successful business plans aren’t solely focused on saving pennies, they’re driven by improving the business and making it more profitable.
What Are You Going To Do With All That Space?
Another thing you may not have thought about, when moving to the cloud, is the space you now have, that used to store on premise hardware, stationery and more.
This will vary depending on the business, but the combination of physical servers no longer taking up as much space and the move away from as much dependence on paper, may mean you have a fair bit of space on your hands.
Could you downsize? With more staff sometimes working from home, more offices are going to get smaller which could end up saving you some money after all.
Moving To The Cloud Has Never Been Easier
We hope these thoughts will help make your move to the cloud go smoother. It’s popular for a reason and it may be that now’s the time to make that move if you haven’t already.
You don’t need to struggle of course. If you’re not sure what software solution is best for you or what storage provider to go with, you might want to get the experts involved. That’s where we come in. Give us a call.
