Is the cloud the best place to migrate when looking to replace existing and aging, in-house IT infrastructure? Unequivocally the answer to that question is yes! But for those who remain sceptics, let’s explain why…
“The global cloud computing market will grow from $40.7 billion in 2011 to more than $241 billion in 2020” – Stefan Ried and Holger Kisker – Sizing The Cloud
The rapid expansion of technology in our now consumerised society is creating extremely successful businesses. They are successful because they are using the cloud to elevate brand awareness, streamline tactical operations and make better strategic decisions.
A simple question – Do you really appreciate how much money, time and effort is being wasted trying to manage physical hardware and software rollouts from multiple vendors? Whether it’s your servers, your networks, your applications or your services, aging IT that resides in-house is struggling to keep up. Why?
Because of three major changes. 1) Social collaboration, 2) Mobile technology, 3) Cloud methodology.
For several years cloud platforms have been gaining traction as the major driver of business intelligence. In terms of daily operations and process management, and the strategic vision we have as information analytics helps us make better decisions. Cloud technologies today provide anytime, anywhere access to the tools we need in delivering better products, services, relationship management and support channels. In short every business should have cloud services firmly entrenched within their current IT strategy or at the very least on their IT roadmap for 2013.
Nothing to Fear
The adoption of cloud platforms and everything ‘as a Service’ is accelerating. Successful businesses are choosing HPC online systems that reduce costs, optimise communications and cultivate better awareness of external forces such as customer insights and market conditions. This is marginally achievable with in-house/stand-alone IT and it is a very heavy lift.
In the cloud, the sky’s the limit (no pun intended!)
However, many business leaders still have reservations about giving the keys to an external organisation who may not understand their business data or processes. Common myths include diminished levels of control, security concerns, system inaccessibility and downtime.
In truth the cloud is safer and more scalable than any IT structure we could possibly place in-house. Its ability to store more information and deliver insights in real-time is beyond compare. Consider how else you could possibly tackle mobile connectivity, analyse so many sources of ‘big data’ and collaborate with key stakeholders remotely, without embracing the cloud?
Cloud service providers are built on reputation and end-user confidence. If they aren’t securing business data, compliant with industry standards and continuously available and supported, they have no business!
The most efficient and cost effective companies today are running large parts of their business in the cloud. They know they must to stay in touch with staff empowerment, customer demand and market trends. Society has become consumerised by technology and globalisation of workforces has blurred both cultural and economic boundaries.
Your IT infrastructure is, or soon will start to creak. As cloud technologies galvanise every social and professional walk of life, choosing the right platform and SLA for your business is crucial. From private, to public, to hybrid clouds, the choices are great and don’t have to be expensive. What’s more, the opportunities these services present to your business are way beyond anything you currently are able to achieve in-house.