Cloud computing is becoming a great, cost-effective way to get your business up and running quickly. While using some form of cloud computing is gaining extreme popularity, it may not be right for your business right now. Don’t worry though, we are here to help you figure out if your business is ready to move to the cloud.
Cloud computing is becoming a great, cost-effective way to get your business up and running quickly. While using some form of cloud computing is gaining extreme popularity, it may not be right for your business right now. Don’t worry though, we are here to help you figure out if your business is ready to move to the cloud.There are several ways you can utilize the cloud in your business as well, we broke it down in a recent post. The post mentions three main areas you can use the cloud for your business, which are computers & servers, software, and documents. Each can have its own set of advantages and disadvantages, but today we will concentrate on the pros and cons of all three together instead of individually.
Benefits of Cloud Computing
Work from anywhere
One of the biggest advantages of utilizing some form of the cloud in your business is the ability to access that system or data from anywhere in the world. This not only allows for employees to work from home regularly, it can help people check in when they are sick or away from the office.
Low hardware costs
When you are just getting your business started, server and workstation costs are really expensive. Paying a subscription fee monthly instead of a huge sum up front can be much easier to swallow. Instead of purchasing a file server and a database server and an email server, cloud services can do the heavy lifting for your business so you can concentrate on what your business does best.
Easier disaster recovery
When hardware fails on a server or other system within the walls of your business, your company could be dead in the water. Productivity can take a massive hit while you wait for repairs. It can also be really expensive to fix or replace. Most cloud services have redundancy built into their systems, so you experience very little downtime if any.
Disadvantages of Cloud Computing
Need internet access
Whereas the need for internet access is usually a good thing, and you can get internet access just about anywhere, if the internet goes down at your office, you will lose productivity. With an onsite server, you may be able to still perform plenty of your job functions without the internet. So, while not having internet access is a rare circumstance these days, it can happen. When it does happen it can bring your entire business to a screeching halt.
Security concerns
With the ability to access your company’s data from anywhere, comes the ability for anyone else to also attempt to access your company’s data. Trusting your customer information to another provider can be a big ask for people. Your business might not be big enough for an attacker to go after, but a big name company that holds several other company’s data can be an attractive target.
As you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each system, also evaluate your current situation. Are you going to need to upgrade or repair any of your hardware soon? Are you just starting out? How much maintenance is required to house the systems onsite? All of these questions are important when determining a course of action for your business. It may be beneficial to ease into a cloud computing environment small pieces at a time.
We recommend, however, not making any final decisions until you have discussed it with a managed IT support provider. They can guide you in your decision and work out the best implementation plan for you.