If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that technology plays an incredibly important and growing role in the success of business today. Thank goodness for the technologies that were available to us during the crisis! Specifically, we're thankful for cloud-based remote collaboration technologies that enabled our teams to connect and collaborate in new ways, allowing us to facilitate remote work for our employees like never before.
Unfortunately, many companies had to scramble at the outset of the pandemic to procure the necessary services, train their employees, purchase the right hardware, and so much more. You might have been one of them.
Luckily there were cloud-based services ready to take on the challenge. With technology proving to be such a key piece to success for business now and in the future, it is important that we make sufficient investment in the technology that enables the new world we live in.
In this blog, I'll be elaborating on why the cloud is such a big deal, what it means to "move to the cloud," when the cloud makes sense for your business, and provide you with the opportunity to take our free cloud readiness assessment to see if your business could benefit from using cloud-based solutions.
Let's dive in!
Why is cloud such a big deal?
I often get asked, "Why should my business migrate to the cloud? What's the big deal?" And the simple answer is this:
Cloud is a big deal because of what it does. It enables cost-optimized, rapidly deployed services that provide your organization features and capabilities previously only dreamed of.
Having lived in the IT world for over 20 years, I can tell you that if the COVID-19 pandemic had hit us 10 years ago, the impact would have been significantly more catastrophic. Gone are the days of having to purchase hardware and software, then wait for the setup – Today we simply click a few buttons and login to our new service. Cloud services have changed everything, and it is simply waiting for businesses to fully leverage the power.
Learn how your business can benefit from the cloud.
Click here to get started by downloading our free Cloud Readiness Assessment!
What does it mean to "Move to the Cloud?"
Now that we established why having the cloud in your business is such a big deal, let's talk about what it means to "move to the cloud."
Moving to the cloud means something different to each business. Sometimes, not all services make sense to move to the cloud. We have to rethink how we work before we replicate our existing processes and ways of working in the cloud. Often we find that by adjusting some processes and ways of thinking, we can not only gain the security, resiliency, and cost-optimization gains of the cloud, but also gain new business efficiencies along the way.
To determine what "moving to the cloud" might look like, a business should begin with a cloud readiness assessment. This will let you know if moving to the cloud could be the right fit for your company. Click here to download our free cloud readiness assessment to get started.
Next, businesses considering moving to the cloud should create an effort/impact analysis quadrant to determine the best way to approach their specific cloud adoption. Identifying current business challenges and opportunities will help in directing a decision for where to start. For example, in most cases, communication and document collaboration are sore spots. In this case, beginning with a cloud solution that addresses those issues is a good place to start. Another common challenge is security compliance relative to a specific industry such as healthcare or finance. In that case, moving to the cloud may be the fastest way to ensure compliance with industry security requirements. Check out the example of an effort/impact analysis at the end of this blog.
Additionally, a successful move to the cloud is typically a multi-phases process. Not everything has to move all at once. In fact, most of the time it simply doesn't work out that way. Instead, taking a phased approach and moving the highest value, lowest cost items first is the best approach. This allows you to claim some quick wins, and provide a proof of concept, so to speak.
In the end, moving to the cloud really means moving to a new, more productive way of working, with more control over how you invest, and how quickly you can respond to changing needs and circumstances.
Think it's time for your business to move to the cloud?
Click here to download our free Cloud Readiness Assessment to find out!
Who is using the cloud?
Most businesses are already leveraging cloud, whether they know it or not. Chances are, your competition is in process of moving to the cloud and will be realizing the benefits. Here are just a few staggering statics around who is using the cloud already:
- 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by 2020
- 94% of enterprises already use a cloud service
- 66% of enterprises already have a central cloud team or a cloud center of excellence
- 94% of SMBs appreciate the upgrade in security that comes from adopting the cloud
Now is not the time to get left behind. If you want to take the first team in adopting the cloud, take our free cloud readiness assessment now to learn how you can benefit.
When does the cloud make sense for my business?
After taking a look at those statistics, you may be thinking, "Okay, a lot of companies are moving to the cloud, but when does moving to the cloud make sense for me?"
This question is not necessarily when does the cloud make sense, rather what services make sense for you in the cloud. Some of the services that come with moving to the cloud include:
- Easily work from anywhere: Your employees will no longer have to be at work to get work done.
- 24/7 Surveillance and Security: With the cloud, you'll receive practical security in just a few clicks. You won't have to get a whole new firewall to be protected.
- Cost control: Pay for what you need, when you need it, as much as you need. If you need additional resource space, pay for only what you'll be using.
- Speed of deployment of new features: Instead of it taking two months to deploy a new system or resources for your business, it will only take a matter of days or even hours!
- Always being up to date: The cloud consistently updates all of your latest resources, documents, files, and updates.
Do any of these services sound like something your company needs? If so, it might make perfect sense to migrate to using cloud-based solutions.
Click here to find out if the cloud makes sense for your business
by taking our free Cloud Readiness Assessment!
How can I get started with the cloud?
Now that we've reviewed why the cloud is such a big deal, what it means to move to the cloud, who's using the cloud, and when the cloud makes sense for your business, it's time to get started! There are three things that you can do immediately to get this process started:
1. Take our free Cloud Readiness Assessment. When you take this, you'll be able to see just how much your business could benefit from migrating to the cloud. Check here to take the assessment now.2. Build your own effort/impact quadrant to see which cloud services could benefit your organization, or add on to this one below!
You can add other items on this quadrant like:
- Migrating your accounting platform to the cloud (medium effort, high impact)
- Moving your existing servers to the cloud (medium effort, high impact)
- Implementing a cloud workstation file storage (Low effort, medium-to-high impact)
- Implementing a cloud ERP for line of business solution (high effort, high impact)
- Implementing a cloud phone system (medium-to-low effort, medium impact)
- Implementing a cloud collaboration and online meeting system (medium-to-low effort, high impact)
Don't get left behind. Establishing the cloud in your business will continue to be an important part of your business both now and in the future. Take these first steps today or click here to contact us and we'll help you get started.