Stacy Shaw, IT Strategist for Small and Medium Business
Cloud computing seems to be all we hear about today in terms of current technology trends. And for good reason; industry experts expect that by 2025, 80% of enterprises businesses will shut down their data centers and shift entirely into the cloud. But does what about small and mid-sized companies? In fact, there are substantial reasons to consider a cloud computing strategy for your business, no matter what your size. Consider these benefits:
Lower Cost
Consider the old model of investing in information technology. You had capital investments for hardware and software. You had costs associated with installation, configuration, and ongoing maintenance of these assets.
Cloud computing allows you to forego the capital investment into hardware and software. Instead, you lower your costs by only paying for what you actually use in computational power, storage, and data transmission. Your cloud provider handles the purchase, installation, and maintenance of any hardware and software that you use.
Accessibility
When your systems are cloud-based, they are accessible from anywhere. As more and more of us utilize flexible work arrangements, the ability to conduct business from anywhere at any time facilitates company agility as well as employee retention and morale.
Scalability
Your cloud computing resources will scale up or down based on your demand in real-time. Not only is this a cost-benefit since you only pay for what you use, but it also means that you no longer are held hostage to intensive computer operations that cause recurring system slowdowns and inaccessibility.
Speed
Your cloud computing resources are always running on today’s state-of-the-art computer hardware. In addition, you can define your floor and ceiling in terms of computational power, giving you total control over your system performance.
Productivity
Traditional in-house systems required IT resources to set up and maintain. In the cloud, your cloud-provider handles hardware acquisition and maintenance, freeing up your IT resources to work on the tasks that propel your business forward.
Reliability
Traditional in-house networks are often riddled with single-sources-of-failure. If any one of your systems fails, your whole network can be down for hours or even days. Cloud systems are by design much more reliable because they are designed with redundancies throughout their operations.
Security
Today’s larger cloud providers employ any army of information security professionals that continuously apply a broad set of technologies and standards to ensure your data is protected by the best information security available.
Ready to talk with someone about how the cloud will benefit your business? Contact Firespark.IT today and let’s discuss your business environment, goals, and cloud savings opportunities.
