Cloud computing is one of the revolutionizing technological trends that’s been around for some time now. Even though many businesses are familiar with the cloud and its benefits, not all companies have embraced it yet. One of the main reasons is unawareness.
Many companies are still not sure about what cloud computing actually is or what does it do and how will their company benefit from it. Simply put, cloud computing is one of the most ideal ways to digitally transform your business.
Aside from that, the cloud offers a wide variety of services and benefits your company can use to greatly improve its efficiency, productivity and overall performance. What’s more, let’s not forget the fact that the cloud is very convenient. That being said, here are a few reasons why you’d want to move your business operations to the cloud.
Cost reduction
Every company strives toward reducing their operational costs while maintaining an exceptional product or service quality. This is oftentimes quite difficult to achieve but the cloud can actually make it quite seamless.
Reducing costs with cloud computing is not only possible but also very available. As an example, let’s have a look at software licensing before the cloud was introduced and after.
Before cloud
- The software was purchased on physical data storages, such as CDs or DVDs.
- Each device required a separate software license, meaning one key per device.
- Oftentimes, upgrades would require re-purchasing the software all over again.
Cloud computing
- Software is available as an online service (SaaS).
- Individual purchases are replaced with a subscription model.
- Once subscribed to software, it becomes available on every device and at every location worldwide.
- Upgrades, patches and fixes are available to users at all times (no extra costs).
Business scaling
One of the greatest challenges many companies have faced in the modern market is the dynamic environment. In other words, the market itself tends to change often, thus forcing the companies to adapt quickly or risk losing their competitive edge.
This made business scaling more difficult. Aside from various software solutions the cloud has to offer, companies today can scale their entire infrastructure with proper cloud services. What this means is that you no longer have to rely on in-house hardware as server computers.
Instead, everything is available on the cloud and accessible by virtual machines. Entire infrastructure solutions ranging from startup business requirements to enterprise-level needs can be subscribed to or unsubscribed from at will. In other words, your company can scale everything from business operations to hardware requirements as soon as your business needs to do so.
Global accessibility
The fact that the cloud enables global connectivity and accessibility probably isn’t emphasized enough, which is why so many companies are just starting to integrate their business operations with the cloud.
This global accessibility doesn’t just include having a remote office somewhere in the world that is seamlessly connected with the main office and can utilize its resources. As a matter of fact, the cloud enables so much more. For instance:
- Data gathering and business information are shared across all offices worldwide.
- Documents, files and other resources can be stored at a single location, as well as made available to all employees and on all devices across the world.
- Business analytics from all remote offices can be compared and analyzed in real-time to produce more informed and strategic decisions.
- Data backups and recovery solutions are available to all and can be executed remotely.
Simply put, companies can operate on any market, anywhere in the world without the need for extensive costs of establishing a physical presence in a foreign country or on the global market.
Improved business security
Every company that operates in the online world is concerned about cybersecurity. Cloud solutions have integrated measures of business cybersecurity that not only protect business data but also protect all cloud-based services that companies utilize. The entire cloud security consists of a few well-designed measures. For example:
- Cloud security controls, such as deterrent, preventive, detective and corrective controls.
- Security and privacy, which includes identity management, physical security, personnel security and privacy.
- Data security, which includes confidentiality, integrity and access control.
- Encryption.
- Compliance.
- Penetration testing.
Cloud services ensure seamless cybersecurity that will prevent cyber attacks and protect business information and sensitive data. However, if an incident does occur, cloud controls are in place to help mitigate, as well as minimize the damage.
More importantly, cloud services are constantly being monitored and penetration testing is conducted regularly to identify any potential vulnerability within the system so that any weaknesses can be adequately remedied.
Digital transformation today pretty much involves opting for a cloud-based solution ideally suited for your business needs. Cloud has many advantages to offer to companies of all shapes and sizes. That said, having your business operations in the cloud means more flexibility, efficiency and of course, better performance.
