There is nothing wrong with having your business applications hosted on local servers or hosting providers. After all, local area networks (LANs) have been the mainstay of business computing for many years. Even so, there are some very persuasive arguments in favor of migrating business applications to the cloud. So, if you have been resisting the move to cloud computing, here are eight reasons why so many other businesses have done precisely that.
1. Cheaper
Cloud computing services are usually charged based on the amount of storage you need, the software you are using, and the number of users you require. So, you only pay for what you use. Hosting your applications on your in-house file servers is much more expensive because you must pay the upfront cost of hardware, and you have the ongoing cost of IT support, regardless of much of the available capacity you use.
2. Scalable
Increasing user numbers or the available storage space on a cloud-based solution is easy to do, and you can usually scale up your usage in small increments. This flexibility makes scaling up a cloud-based solution much more cost-effective and flexible than upgrading in-house software and buying new hardware.
3. Better Security
The data centers that host cloud services have far better security systems in place than a small company could manage. Having your data stored in the cloud also means that you are less at risk from the physical theft of file servers or laptops.
4. Greater Mobility
Cloud-hosted data and apps are accessible from anywhere, so employees can work from home or when they are traveling. Cloud computing also reduces the cost of the relocation of a business. And, it is likely to reduce the total number of workstations needed in the company as well.
5. Easier Collaboration
Cloud computing improves collaboration because it is much easier to share data. Employees will be able to work together on projects regardless of the employee’s physical location. Cloud computing also reduces the duplication of data because all the data is in one central location.
6. Simplified Software Support and Maintenance
The centralized location of apps greatly simplifies software support and maintenance. Support personnel will have direct access to data so they will be able to resolve issues faster. And, software upgrades are applied centrally, so there is no need to update each workstation.
7. Built-in Disaster Recovery
In the event of a disaster, such as a fire at the business premises, cloud computing will allow the business to continue running from another location far quicker than if the company was operating on local computers. The built-in disaster recovery aspect of cloud computing reduces both the disruption to the business in the event of a disaster and the cost of implementing disaster recovery strategies.
8. Easier to Enforce Policies and Compliance
Cloud computing makes the enforcement of company policy and statutory compliance much more manageable. Apps, data, templates, and even folder structures are all easier to control when a business migrates to the cloud.
Conclusion
As you will see from the above points, there are a lot of good reasons to migrate your business to the cloud. Cloud computing reduces costs, it can increase efficiency, and it’s not very difficult to do. You do not need to move your entire operation to the cloud in one go. You can gradually replace old legacy systems with cloud-based systems over time. As you migrate to the cloud, you are likely to find even more business benefits than those listed above.
Personally we are big fans of Amazon Web Services for cloud services. For Windows based applications we recommend Azure.
Contact us to help you migrate applications to the cloud.