Businesses have been making the switch to cloud computing for some time, and their reasons for adopting it are numerous. Cloud computing is Internet-based and even though this does require some on-premises infrastructure, such as firewalls and switches, the cloud does streamline business computing. Here is an overview of some of the major benefits business of all sizes can gain from switching to the cloud:
Save Money
Cloud services give businesses an opportunity to save money depending on how they’re billed. While it is certainly possible to bill the services per unit or per use, the most noticeable cost savings occur with prepaid solutions. However, “pay to use” payment models do enable companies to only spend money when necessary. The goal is for businesses of all sizes to find the cloud computing solution that best meets their needs and their budgets.
Adaptable
Cloud computing is also flexible, which gives businesses a chance to adapt quickly to change. This gives companies the option to either expand or cut back on their IT infrastructures as the need arises. In the past, making upgrades was a costly, time-consuming process, especially since it was often necessary to update the actual hardware. Also, because of the “pay to use” model, this also gives the businesses a chance to stay flexible because there’s no need to pay for what you don’t need while still allowing for future growth – simply add services when needed. The flexible nature of the cloud also allows for faster deployments, which means that when new IT services are added, it doesn’t take long for updates to be rolled out.
Security
Security is always something that companies should be concerned about, and cloud computing has many built-in security features that will benefit businesses of all sizes. While it may seem like a benefit to control all levels of security in-house with the old server-based model, it is also limiting. Internal security capabilities are only effective if your IT department has created a great security plan. With cloud-based companies, however, there are multiple levels of security in place that were designed by security experts. Internal security plans are a lot more vulnerable than people realize.
There are some clear benefits to switching to the cloud and for businesses that have yet to make the switch, it’s time to reconsider!
