Chances are that you already have, at least partially, but for what reasons? Most people wait for others to take the initial lead and learn from the issues faced. If they are then convinced that it is a trend in their industry, they take the leap.
So the question really is whether the move to he cloud is justifiable for good business reasons, or is it just something we do because everyone else is doing it?
Let’s talk about the reasons you should take the leap!
Here are 4 reasons that are most important to consider:
Cash is the life blood of any business. We do all we can to improve cash flow. In the past, technology expenses, both hardware and software, always comprised of a large initial payment, followed by a stream of continuous, and somewhat unpredictable on-going expenses. Going to the cloud does involve an initial investment, but once done, the on-going expenses are quite predictable and low! Going to the cloud REDUCES cash flow expense on technology!
Security is top of mind for most business owners today. All we hear is secure government servers being hacked, credit card companies being hacked, individual companies being held to ransom, and a host of other situations. Now, all the organizations concerned spend HUGE amounts of money on security and are still not immune to intrusion. Given that fact, is there any way a small/medium size business can even begin to put in place the level of security needed to run the business? My response to that is no! This is the primary reason we have to relinquish security of data to big cloud providers like Microsoft who have the deep pockets and expertise to continuously stay on top of security. The cool part is that you get this as part of your subscription to cloud services!
The combination of Cloud, improved PC and tablet reliability, and managed services just about eliminates the need for highly competent, in-house support personnel. The skill level, and therefore cost of technology support goes down with moving to the Cloud. A good managed service takes care network issues before they become a problem, and the elimination of the need for server and related power, software licenses and maintenance adds to cost saving! Business owners need to give serious and immediate consideration to this dimension.
If one is using vendor provided applications in the cloud, then the vendor typically has very robust backup and recovery processes in place. It would be prudent to have some kind of independent backup of key business data, which would be different for each business. Here’s an example for a CRM system. It may be judicious, although not necessary, to have a policy whereby key account and contact information is saved to an Excel format file at some given frequency. The key weak point would be last mile access to the Internet. What this means is the connection between a given computer/device, and the closes point where the data connection interfaces to the main Internet highway (Point of Presence in telecom lingo). If this connection is compromised or not working, then the device is truly dead in the water. But beyond that, there is so much redundancy in connections today, that even if an undersea trans-continental cable gets cut, it is still business as usual. To get a sense of this cable network, go to http://www.submarinecablemap.com.
In conclusion, if do not have an initiative in place to move to the cloud, don’t think, just do it! We can help. Call us at 610-355-1978.