The previous year was one of change for businesses, and 2021 doesn’t seem to be letting up. Many business owners were forced to transition their employees to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that they needed to change their approaches to work, as well as the technologies used to keep employees busy and connected. Businesses that were not able to make the transition effectively often were forced to lay off or reduce the hours of many employees, and some were even forced to shut down operations entirely.
Perhaps one of the most important components for a business owner to consider when upgrading their systems is the cloud. According to 18% of No Jitter survey respondents, a business’s ability to adjust to changing markets is the most compelling reason to switch to a cloud system. And certainly, the markets are changing right now. With that in mind, we’re exploring the benefits of transitioning to cloud systems below. The more you know about the cloud, the easier it will be for you to discuss this system with your managed services provider and see if it’s right for you.
1. Security
When discussing your options with your managed services provider, you need to consider not only the convenience of your system but networking and security solutions as well. It can be remarkably to maintain online security in this day and age. It’s all too easy for hackers to break into businesses’ online systems, not only stealing information but potentially dismantling networks. This is one reason why the cloud is extremely appealing to business owners today. In the past, it was typical for important information to be stored on hard drives. This meant that the information itself was almost equivalent to a hard copy, and could be more easily stolen.
When important files are kept on the cloud, however, a laptop theft does not necessarily equal information theft. The cloud is an online space through which important information can be stored, which means that thieves still need their identities to be authenticated before they can access that information. Furthermore, thievery isn’t the only issue that the cloud combats. If a system is shut down accidentally or information is lost due to a systems failure, the cloud can act as a backup. This is why many managed services providers recommend the cloud to those that aren’t overly concerned about hackers. Theft isn’t the only problem you should be concerned about, and it’s certainly not the only problem that the cloud solves.
2. Increased Performance
Every business owner wants their employees to be a bit more productive. But productivity has as much to do with the performance of technology as it has to do with the performance of employees. The cloud allows employees to get more things done more efficiently. Employees can collaborate with each other on a global scale when they’re working through the cloud. When attempting to establish a unified communications system, the cloud is easily the best option for most companies. It suffers from far fewer service interruptions, and employees can save time that would usually be wasted when an outage occurs.
Additionally, the cloud can collect a broad range of data in one space. This is one reason why managed services providers often prefer the cloud for clients. It’s more of a one-stop-shop, while other technology solutions often force employees to move from one center to another.
3. Cost Efficiency
There are a lot of benefits to transitioning to the cloud, but perhaps one of the most key components of this kind of system is its cost-efficiency. Servers and hard drives can be incredibly expensive. Cloud systems are not only often either comparable or less expensive outright; they also don’t require server racks, which means that those that use the cloud save a significant amount of money in energy costs.
Furthermore, because hardware doesn’t have to be used, it also doesn’t have to be maintained. This lack of maintenance costs is also significant.
There are a lot of issues that business owners need to consider when upgrading their systems. But one thing is clear: the cloud is not only more up to date, but superior in general.