“The cloud”
Sounds like a trendy tech term? Doesn’t it?
A lot of entrepreneurs who have just started out with their small establishments probably have heard of this term before landing on this page but are still a little confused what exactly it means.
Simply put, the cloud is a virtual place, partitioned in a secure area on a physical server in a commercial data centre where you can store your data or host an application. Instead of a business owning and operating large power hungry servers and the cost of IT personnel to support them, cloud infrastructure allows you to run business applications and programs on the internet securely.
Integrating the cloud into your business means you can store, access and manage your data from anywhere, at any time and in general through any internet connected device.
If you are a small or medium-sized business, you must have come across thousands of articles, blogs, posts and online advertisements on the web that encourage readers to “move to the cloud”.
But why is it important for small and growing businesses to make the transition? Why are so many businesses moving to the cloud?
Reasons to adopt cloud computing may vary from business to business. Some companies are dealing with security issues with their existing in-house IT infrastructure while others are looking to modernise their workspaces with the advancing technology. No matter the reason, with the right knowledge every business that switches to the cloud is certain to find value and better return on investment.
For most companies, the biggest challenge faced with hosting data and applications in-house, is affordability. Growing businesses have a major focus on cost containment, but it is often difficult to set-up and maintain server hardware and network effectively in a small-scale organisation.
Though in-house servers are a seemingly convenient option for companies that are just starting out, in-house hosting requires a substantial initial capital investment which can be broken down into costs of professional IT staff and expenses associated with software upgrades, maintenance and licensing. Not to mention, these expenses keep rising over time.
Besides excessive costs that go into setting-up and managing on-premise servers, it is important to maintain appropriate physical conditions, temperatures and humidty control for in-house servers to work efficiently. This is where small companies often face problems and make the decision to move their business operation to the cloud.
No wonder why so many small and medium-sized organisations in Australia are being attracted to cloud hosting services.
Now let’s glance at some common warning signs that indicate it is time you take the plunge and upgrade your on-premise server infrastructure to the cloud.
So, your monthly IT bills are constantly soaring.
If you have been spending a significant amount of money in repairing and upgrading your IT software, maintaining database and IT resources to support your growing business needs, it is a silent indication that you should move to the cloud.
Not only does switching to the cloud stop the epidemic rise of IT costs, but it also eliminates the hassle of maintaining and upgrading IT software as your business scales over time. This in turn reduces troubleshooting server downtimes while improving overall server performance.
There could occur a power or network outage due to a construction mishap or you might face a large-scale DDOS and in rare cases you might face a natural disaster which could take all of your infrastructure down.
All we want to imply here is server-interrupting events are unpredictable and can cause much more than a little inconvenience. If you don’t have a well-defined, tested disaster recovery plan in place to keep everything in control for when things go awry, you must outsource cloud hosting right away.
Our cloud solutions come with an effective disaster recovery plan that is designed to do much more than backing up and recovering data in case of a disaster. Our highly tested and managed disaster recovery plan helps to get your business up and running with little to no downtime and significantly reduce costs associated with RTO (recovery time objectives) and RPO (recovery point objectives). Moreover, we provide you a customisable recovery plan which can be altered to suit your specific business needs.
As your business is growing, you notice that it is becoming continually difficult to host and manage applications and data on your current in-house IT infrastructure.
You often find yourself squeezing files and data to fit into the limited server space. Maintaining and updating IT infrastructure has become a regular headache and you are spending more time on resources and areas that shouldn’t require much attention. In short, you are faced with frequent IT failures, downtimes and your server performance is constantly eroding.
By investing in our cloud services, not only do you allow your business to operate in a highly flexible and secure virtualised environment, but you also reduce the energy and cooling costs, incompatibility issues and imminent failures.
If your business is on the verge of growth and you’re planning on setting up offices in remote locations, it is the perfect time to migrate to the cloud.
Business expansion means your organisation will have to invest in extra workforce, technologies and tools which will block a lot of your budget that you could use somewhere else. Software upgrades, maintenance and licensing are other aspects that will take a large bite out of your IT budget.
Cloud computing services offered at Amaze allow you to easily upscale or downscale your existing IT resources to accommodate the changing needs of your rapidly changing business without having to worry about outrageous maintenance costs.
Additionally, businesses with a mobile workspace that involve a lot of remote work or companies that operate in multiple locations can benefit from our cloud hosting services.
If any of the above-mentioned situations sound familiar, you might want to upgrade your IT infrastructure to a cloud server.
Still confused whether to switch to the cloud? Or maybe none of these situations have presented themselves to your business yet?
Let’s delve straight into sure-fire benefits of cloud migration which will help you make a more informed decision and be prepared for the future.
When you use cloud computing to store your data and run varied business applications, you can limit your costs around hardware installation, IT maintenance & repairs and frequent software upgrades.
In addition, cloud computing instils efficiency into existing software and hardware while reducing server performance declines and saving big on your IT budget.
Virtualisation of IT infrastructure allows your employees to perform at peak efficiency.
When your employees are able to connect remotely with clients and other team members, they tend to perform better and deliver more. Cloud-based network & technology helps them to access, share and edit necessary documents and data in real-time from anywhere without the risk of server failure.
By virtualising your hosting, you add a whole lot of flexibility to your business. Employees working on the cloud are encouraged to think differently about their traditional workflows and work differently to maintain their work-life balance, which in turn spurs innovation.
The cloud is flexible, cost-effective, scalable and it offers a multitude of ways to meet your ever-changing IT demands and business needs.
The best part about cloud networking is that it doesn’t confine your business and employees to a physical workspace and hardware connected with in-house IT infrastructure including servers, wires and software.
Wouldn’t your employees love to work in an environment like that?
With a dedicated team of qualified cloud hosting professionals, Amaze can help you harness the potential of leading cloud technology and ensure maximum functionality and security around your business.
