Business intelligence, artificial intelligence, data storage, and Internet of Things connectivity all run on cloud infrastructure. It comes as no surprise, then, that 90 percent of organizations rely on the cloud — but the fact that a striking 67 percent defaults exclusively to public cloud services should. Overlooking the benefits of managed services, they miss alternatives better suited to their compliance, security, and performance needs. Many other organizations are reluctant to let go of outdated on-premises solutions, not understanding the agility cloud services would give them.
Inefficiencies result — and no organization can afford inflated costs, rigid scaling, and missed opportunities to remain competitive in a market where the cloud is fast becoming a necessity.
Efficiency That Scales: Why the Cloud Gives Organizations a Decisive Advantage
Flexibility and efficiency are advantages that organizations can’t afford to ignore as they evaluate cloud computing and cloud storage. On-premises infrastructure forces businesses to attempt to forecast their needs months or years ahead, with the risk of running into either costly over-provisioning or painful shortages. Cloud solutions are elastic. They allow organizations to scale up and down on demand, allowing them to pay only for the computing power they need.
Managed cloud services make solutions even easier to implement. As they take charge of provisioning, security patches, performance optimization, and more, managed cloud services let in-house IT teams turn their focus elsewhere. To strategic priorities. That changes everything for resource-strapped SMBs. In fact, surveys show that adopting cloud-based infrastructure allows them to grow, on average, 21 percent faster.
The benefits of cloud services extend beyond cost and scalability. Global accessibility, centralized security, a reduced carbon footprint, and rapid deployment give businesses a hidden advantage that competitors refusing to move on from legacy systems cannot replicate.
To migrate or not to migrate? That is no longer the question. The question has instead become, how to optimize deployment?
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Choosing the Right Cloud Provider: Key Criteria IT Leaders Shouldn’t Lose Sight Of
Deciding to move to the cloud is simple. Deciding which cloud computing provider to trust with your data and apps? That is an altogether more difficult process, which is where IT advisory expertise becomes indispensable to plan compliance and evaluate providers.
The points that organizations choosing their cloud services partner evaluate should always include business health, responsive service, and rock-solid security. Look at:
- The provider’s financial stability. The right cloud computing provider has a proven, long-term track record.
- Your cloud provider should be backed by proven compliance with standards like the GDPR or SOC 2.
- Clear Service Level Agreements should guarantee the service you need, and your cloud partner needs to have a reputation for uptime and responsive services.. Cloud providers should offer real-time performance metrics, configuration management, and automated billing.
- Hybrid cloud options, support for standardized APIs, and ironclad security (data encryption, identity management) all need to be part of the core service.
Enterprises rely on IT consulting teams to navigate this process. Rigorous evaluation helps SMBs with fewer resources choose the right cloud storage or computing provider. Ask questions. How does this cloud provider deal with peak-load scenarios? What happens when we suddenly need to scale, and will this cloud provider keep us compliant with industry regulations? Is the managed services provider we’re considering backed by third-party security certifications?
These questions need answers — ask them point blank. A cloud services provider isn’t a routine vendor like a janitorial service or temp agency. It’s a strategic partner that can either accelerate growth or derail your entire migration.
Evaluating Your Organization’s Cloud Storage and Computing Needs?
Cloud services are scalable and efficient. They let enterprises reduce their overhead, while giving small to medium-sized businesses and startups opportunities to grow where legacy systems would be prohibitively costly. Over 90 percent of all organizations — from enterprises right down to mom-and-pop ecommerce stores — have adopted cloud computing or cloud storage precisely for those reasons. More than giving businesses the flexibility they need, however, cloud-based infrastructure is both easy to use and fast to deploy.
That’s why so many organizations turn to IT consulting and IT advisory services to advise them on vendor selection and compliance. IT managed services provide the support businesses need to scale safely and efficiently. The right team makes all the difference, particularly when looking toward cloud computing for small business needs.
