Here’s Why Your Business Should Already Be on the Cloud

Anand Srinivasan

February 19, 2015

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Nowadays, moving to the cloud is no longer just an option. For many, it is one of the important solutions in achieving efficiency. It is not just about cost cutting or about going along with the trend. While there are many reasons for transitioning to the cloud, the following are among the most important.

Note: Cloud here refers to both cloud services like Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365, as well as cloud computing platforms that enable businesses to run their own computing environments on services like AWS and Azure.

Economies of Scale - Cost Savings

The cost-profit advantage of producing big to supply multiple small needs does not only apply to the manufacturing industry. Cloud service providers are able to offer cheaper services because of the consolidation of infrastructure, hardware, software, and IT personnel costs to come up with one big system that can provide cloud solutions for small-scale needs. These companies are able to profit from the setup because they make use (sell as a service) of all the available resources (server capacity) they have put up.

On the part of cloud customers, there is the advantage of maximizing expenditures by not having idle or unused resources. It is very unlikely for any organization to be able to invest in just the right amount of server capacity. There will usually be an overage or surplus in resources, especially after investing on additional hardware to cover deficiencies. Surpluses in in-house server resources are usually considered as expenses or waste because they are associated with fixed costs. These costs don’t change even when the invested server capacity is only sparingly used. Moreover, it’s easier to switch to a different cloud service provider than selling server hardware when performance issues are encountered.

Cloud applications, moreover, demonstrate the cost efficiency of the cloud. Since all or most of the needed software are accessible on the web across different platforms, there will be no need to pay for separate software licenses. Maintenance costs can be avoided.

However, it’s important to bear in mind that the cloud may not always lead to cost efficiency. It is still important to carefully evaluate present and future needs. An organization may have unusual server requirements that may not be readily addressed by the typical public cloud. There might be limitations or restrictions in the consumer-oriented cloud services, and packages geared toward enterprise may entail hefty usage and management fees.

Flexibility and Choice

Another reason for considering the cloud is flexibility. There are many options available to suit varying requirements. For example, cloud-based productivity applications like ZeroPC, SyncDocs, and Zoho can improve how an organization works and collaborates. The likes of Microsoft Azure can be used by both startups and big businesses alike, in running their online computing platforms. For more basic needs, cloud storage service providers like Box and Dropbox are a good place to share files like photos and media.

Security

One common concern with cloud services is security, particularly the possibility of leakage of data or information to outsiders. However, in most cases, this should not be an issue. Keeping data in hard drives or laptop computers is even more dangerous, because these can be physically stolen. On the other hand, data or information stored on the cloud are protected from physical theft and are secured by mechanisms that should comply with ISO security standards. Another advantage compared with local applications is that cloud providers are expected to have the updated software, dependable hardware, and experienced personnel to be able to deliver satisfactory services.

Speed

Agility is one of the most important reasons for moving to the cloud. Cloud solutions can allow a company to get services up and running in a matter of hours. It removes the need for provisioning a new hardware for test and development. A virtualized environment can be provisioned, set-up and used instantly.

Cloud solutions also increase an organization’s speed in responding to unforeseen events. It takes away the responsibility of capacity and location planning, allowing an organization to focus on business changes instead of worrying about the technical aspects of server deployment.

More importantly, cloud solutions generally ensure speedy content delivery, because of the distributed nature of service provision. Cloud platforms usually work well in conjunction with technologies like content distribution networks, which deliver cached content based on geolocation and therefore lowest latency. In addition, load balancing technologies reduce server overloading by distributing traffic across different servers, and this can be in the form of a physical appliance, software or a cloud-based PaaS solution. More advanced load balancing technologies will even smartly distribute traffic based on packet content and current server load.

Disaster Recovery

Putting data on the cloud instead of on-premises storage is already a good precaution against possible disasters that can wipe out data. Cloud service providers, especially those geared toward enterprise use, will include backup or disaster recovery plans that can ensure businesses will never lose any valuable information. This can also include compliance mechanisms, especially for service providers that offer “litigation hold” – meaning even deleted data is kept on record for a certain duration, to ensure it can be retrieved in the event of legal proceedings.

Scalability

A business can never be sure when server load can rise and fall. Spikes in traffic during holidays or special occasions might be slightly predictable, but for the rest of the year, it’s never easy predicting the volume of visitors that will be pouring over a site. Likewise, a business cannot exactly predict when additional servers will become necessary to cope with growing customer traffic online. Cloud services can be easily upgraded to meet growing needs or downgraded when business activity is running low.

Businesses need to realize the advantages of cloud computing. It is not just some fad that is bound to fade away. On top of these technical and business benefits, cloud computing also simplifies licensing costs and reduces efforts needed for updating, thereby reducing IT management headaches. If your business is not already running on the cloud, it’s time to re-consider your IT strategy.