Cloud Computing has been around for a very long time, since 2006 to be exact. Since then, it has enabled users and organisations to thrive with improved business efficiencies, cost benefits and increases in productivity.

With these benefits, it was already estimated for the cloud computing market to grow by 18% every year. However, the impact of Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of Cloud services by three to five years.

If businesses weren’t ready for this challenge beforehand, the realisation that they could continue their operation remotely with the Cloud – it was a no-brainer to migrate.

Now, 94% of all enterprises use Cloud Services in one way or another and 60% of corporate data is stored in the Cloud

There are a variety of options when moving to the Cloud, but whichever method you choose, it is always important to know how it can benefit your business.

Here are 10 reasons why organisations are turning to Cloud Computing.

1. Cost Efficient

Due to all your Data being stored off-site, Cloud Computing excludes most expenses on hardware and, minimises setting up costs – as well as general ongoing maintenance and much of the energy consumption required to run servers in data centres and server rooms on-site. The cost of hardware adds up over time.

2. Multiple Options Available

Cloud Computing comes in many forms; therefore, you do not need to have specific criteria in order to be able to migrate to Cloud. Depending on your business needs you can get one of the following options; Public Cloud, Private Cloud or Hybrid Cloud. If you’re looking for something a little more unique, you can make it your own.

3. Flexible and Scalable

One of the best things about Cloud Computing is that not everything is set in stone, so there’s no fixed cost. If your business needs change over time, you can easily scale up or down depending on the amount of resourcing you’re using. For example, if you need to use more resources, you can easily and quickly scale up. Not only that, but you’ll be able to access your data from any location, at any given time.

4. Speedy Processes and Agility

Cloud Computing is provided as an on-demand platform, delivering a vast amount of data within minutes. This offers businesses further flexibility within their day-to-day routines and removes the pressure of capacity planning. Also, with all employees being able to quickly access data, they will become more productive and efficient within their job roles.

5. Less Environmental Impact

Moving to the Cloud isn’t an entirely selfish act, it can help the environment too.

By storing your data in the Cloud, you’ll most likely reduce the amount of physical hardware. This will reduce the power you are using, CO2 emissions and electronic waste.

Also, with the option to scale up and down on the resources, you can eliminate the risk of wasting energy powering unused hardware.

6. Disaster Recovery

Data loss is one of the most pressing concerns for all organisations, along with Data Security. Cloud Computing almost always has its own data storage, that is backed up and encrypted, ensuring that you can quickly access or recover your data in the event of a disaster.

However, while the Cloud does ensure data is safe in its current state, for data retention, it is important that you follow the 3-2-1 backup strategy, to ensure fast recovery of your data in any scenario.

7. Completely Automated

Most Cloud computing options are hosted with a Cloud provider, a few you may recognise are Microsoft Azure, Dropbox or Amazon Web Services. These providers ensure that the systems you are using are working as intended whilst protecting your business and its data. They will handle everything on the back end including system updates, so you can spend more time focussing on running and growing your business.

8. Increased Collaboration

Cloud Applications improve the use of collaboration by allowing you to store, edit and share information in real-time, in any location. Now you won’t end up with 20 different versions of the same document.

9. More Control of Data

We all know having control over our data is vital, and the last thing we want is for our data to end up in the wrong hands. Cloud Computing enables you to have complete visibility over your data, managing who has access and how they use it, as well as often allowing the ability to audit data access and usage. For example, only those who have been specifically authorised to access a certain piece of data will be able to access it and alter it. They can then work together in real-time from anywhere in the world on the document or file, securely and efficiently, increasing both data security and collaboration within the workplace.

10. Increased Security

Last but certainly not least, Cloud Computing offers advanced security features that abide by GDPR regulations. We know that there are major concerns regarding this in many organisations but let us put your mind at ease with this important feature.

Not only is there a baseline for security, but Cloud providers also implement extra protection for the data they store and process, including but not limited to, multi-factor authentication, access control, access auditing, monitoring, alerting and encryption. Set up correctly, Cloud Computing makes it incredibly tricky for those with malicious intent to access and take your data.

Steps to Migrating to the Cloud

If you’ve made the decision to migrate to the Cloud, your business has made the first step to delivering better on-demand services.

The next step is creating a clear migration strategy, ensuring that the transition is smooth with limited downtime. For example

1. Define the business purpose for migration
2. Evaluate your migration costs and needs
3. Assess the environment and applications
4. Choose cloud environment, model and architecture
5. Research and choose a Cloud Partner to help
6. Review data, systems, software, applications and any other components
7. Transfer, domain, IP’s, data systems and additional components where necessary
8. Test applications, databases and required components
9. Conduct security testing to ensure no vulnerabilities exist

Looking to migrate or change your Cloud Computing Strategy?

Cloud Computing is a big part of how we work and will continue to be for years to come. With so many options available, it can fulfil all business requirements no matter how big or small.