There’s Nothing to Fear in Migrating to the Cloud

More and more businesses are adopting cloud infrastructure and services. However, some people still feel a little nervous about the idea of entrusting their data to an outside entity. Let’s look at why companies are taking this route, along with one executive’s argument that cloud is no longer optional but necessary.

• 87% Either Using or Open to Cloud
• Why Businesses are Choosing Cloud
• Why Cloud is a Secure Necessity for SMBs
• Secure IaaS Cloud Hosting

87% Either Using or Open to Cloud

Cloud is now a day-to-day part of the modern world. Massive, widely used systems such as iTunes, along with websites and databases of all sorts, use the cloud to allow for reliable real-time delivery, with account accessibility from any device.

Although the cloud has become a part of our lives as consumers, many business leaders still remain skeptical about whether it’s the right choice for their organization. That’s clear from the 2015 Pulse Survey by The Alternative Board (TAB), which found that one-third of business owners have not implemented any cloud solutions for their firms. A smaller percentage, 13%, said that they would not explore the technology for use in the future.

Although many business owners say that they are opposed to the cloud, those who do deploy cloud tools end up happy with them – with seven out of eight (88%) rating their level of satisfaction as above-average.

Although not everyone is convinced, let’s look at why so many businesses are moving to the cloud and why it’s an essential step for your business.

Why Businesses are Choosing Cloud

The top reason why companies have integrated  cloud services is that they want to enhance productivity, according to peer advisory network The Alternative Board (TAB). “By embracing the cloud, business owners are able to allow their workforce to be more mobile,” says TAB, “as they can easily access data that is crucial to their position no matter where they are in the world.”

Also, the cloud makes it possible for companies to create multiple redundancies within their systems so that any type of IT failure will be resolved behind the scenes, without interrupting workflow. Small businesses often don’t invest sufficiently in redundancy. Cloud is not just redundant in the sense that it’s an external system. It’s also a network of physical machines that is itself multiply redundant, with tasks shifting immediately to other servers in the case of any part failures or other issues.

Why Cloud is a Necessity for SMBs

Technology can make a major impact on the level of success that a small business achieves. By the end of the decade, nearly four in five American small businesses (78%) will have completely transitioned to Cloud Servers, according to Louis Columbus in Forbes. Many rapidly expanding startups have realized that taking full advantage of the cloud is positive on numerous levels: reducing expenses, relieving the IT department of day-to-day technical minutiae, and giving the company greater agility (i.e., not having a huge datacenter to run, trusting that task to a qualified third party).

Businesses always like to cut costs and to find opportunities for growth. Just as the rise of the Internet made it easier for businesses to  market themselves, the emergence of cloud provides direct access to safe, efficient, and affordable high-speed computing.

Still, and somewhat incredibly, almost half of American small businesses don’t use cloud storage, according to a featured survey by Russ Fujioka in Inc. The companies that do use cloud are better able to collaborate on projects, access files, and affordably back up their websites and databases.

“More than anything else, there’s a knowledge gap here,” says Fujioka. “[P]eople fear what they do not understand.” The fact is, Fujioka adds, we have known for quite a while that the cloud is safe: Microsoft and Google agreed in 2014 that true cloud technology should be considered secure.

Here are three ways in which cloud is becoming essential for SMBs:

#1. Security

Everyone is concerned about security. The idea of data being virtualized and distributed can sound horrific to a business. However, that’s not the experience of those who currently use cloud: 85% of small businesses that have adopted cloud services say they believe it’s a fundamentally secure environment.

For SMBs, security is not a major point of concern. That’s a problem, because 60% of the 5 million+ businesses that get hit with a cyber-attack each year are bankrupt within six months, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance.

Cloud providers invest in security because an important part of their brand is the extent to which they focus on preventing intrusions.

#2. The mobile workforce

Cloud allows your business to effectively move around with your employees and with you, immediately accessible.

Cloud allows you to have full computing power immediately. All you need is a web connection. In contrast to on-site systems, you can get into whatever files you need, collaborate, and edit documents from any location.

#3. Costs

Consider these convincing figures highlighted in Inc.: businesses that use cloud spend 40% less on consultants and 25% less on in-house support. Plus, it’s quicker to get a cloud-based project off the ground, and you don’t have to keep investing in your own computing infrastructure.

Secure IaaS Cloud Hosting

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