You may be familiar with the concept of the cloud. Even if cloud computing isn’t a concept you’re comfortable with and isn’t a part of your business at this time, you’ve likely used it in your personal life. If you’ve accessed a music app or used a file-sharing site, you’ve utilized the cloud.
Some businesses have used software as a service (SaaS) solutions to subscribe to a cloud-based version of an application and experienced some of the more common benefits associated with initial cloud usage:
- On-demand scalability offers enterprises the flexibility to spin up new users without the involvement of IT.
- Cloud solutions can be accessed through any connected device, providing end users the option to work from a phone, tablet or laptop.
- Multi-tenant resources enable enterprises to create cost savings while keeping data and systems secure.
- Updates and maintenance are part of the subscription cost, eliminating invoicing surprises and freeing up in-house IT talent.
As enterprises discover the impact these benefits have on their organizations, many decide to prioritize cloud investments, improving customer experiences and employee satisfaction through broader cloud computing. A few of the ways in which cloud computing further expands benefits to the enterprise are:
- Flexibility and productivity improve with cloud computing because employees are better able to collaborate in shared workspaces and access resources from anywhere.
- If one server goes down, cloud computing offers automatic failover by automatically transitioning to another server.
- A move to the cloud means easy access to cloud backup and recovery.
- There’s little to no hardware investment, no upgrade or maintenance costs, and IT teams are freed up to focus on broader business objectives and how technology can equip lines of business.
There are some considerations that every business must keep in mind when choosing whether to implement a cloud computing strategy:
- Network speed should be tested to determine whether the existing infrastructure can handle the bandwidth requirements and other specifications of a cloud solution.
- Cloud providers should be carefully evaluated to ensure that their security policies, support, and company culture align well with your own.
- A clear timeline should be developed that includes multiple rounds of testing before fully deploying any cloud computing solution. Some enterprises find it helpful to roll out cloud solutions by location or by department so that the implementation is more manageable.
When it’s time to explore the full potential benefits of cloud computing for your organization, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you determine how best to use technology to drive business objectives, as well as guide you through choosing the right solutions for your specific enterprise environment.
Hybrid cloud adoption continues to soar at alarming rates. In fact, Business Word recently reported that hybrid cloud usage will triple in growth by 2018. This is due to the ongoing demand of companies seeking better reliability, availability, and security for file storage and data sharing. While elasticity is also playing a key role in centralized and streamlined cloud communications, providers are also offering manageable cost structures that effectively meet client budgets and financial concerns.
The cloud can be many things to many companies. In some ways, the cloud offers a multifaceted revolution that mirrors the way outsourced data years ago changed how IT departments operate.