While there may be a few businesses that don’t need to embark on cloud migration, they’re really more the exceptions than the rule. If you’re still pondering on whether it’s already time to move to the cloud, here are some tell-tale signs your company is ready for it.
-
You have a fast-growing business
Growing businesses always require more computing resources. To meet future requirements, companies used to forecast years ahead and then invest heavily in the needed IT infrastructure. The problem with this approach was that that infrastructure would remain underutilised for a long time while cash flow already suffered due to the huge capital investment.
A cloud infrastructure, on the other hand, allows you to avoid expensive upfront costs and, instead, enables you to spend in proportion to your computing needs. This transformation of your compute spend from a CAPEX to an OPEX model can free up your cash flow and allow you to fund other business operations.
-
You have geographically dispersed staff
When your teams operate in different parts of the country or the globe, it can be a challenge to maintain and update the software on their devices. It can also be difficult to facilitate online collaboration. If you leave them to their own devices (no pun intended), your people can resort to insecure shadow IT practices just to meet these computing needs.
Cloud solutions like hosted desktops make it easy to maintain, secure, and update the desktops and business applications on your team’s PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, regardless of their location (as long as there’s a decent Internet connection). In addition, SaaS cloud solutions like Office 365 enable online collaboration in a secure environment.
-
You encounter seasonal business peaks and dips
One of the strongest characteristics of the cloud is scalability. It’s the ability to expand or contract computing resources on-demand. This can be very useful in industries whose business activities surge and plunge at certain times of the year.
So, for example, during peak months, retailers have a need for more PoS systems, workstations, and servers to handle the workload. But immediately after, the demand drops. In fact, if retailers could temporarily scale down their IT infrastructure and save on costs, they would. Cloud solutions allow them to do that. With a cloud infrastructure, you can ramp up or cut down spending on computing resources as needed.
-
Your business can’t afford downtimes
In today’s highly competitive business landscape, your company simply can’t afford unscheduled pauses due to server failures, overloaded network devices, and other similar IT issues. Downtimes can impact productivity and cause delays in the delivery of goods and services, which can, in turn, irritate customers as well as trading partners.
One way to minimise or totally avoid these downtimes is by applying redundancy to various network components and servers. This can be costly if you do it the traditional way, i.e. purchasing the needed hardware. Cloud infrastructure is better because, not only is it more affordable to apply redundancy (again due to pay-as-you-go billing), it’s also easier to add or remove redundant nodes as needed.
-
You’re looking to improve disaster recovery capabilities
Whether for regulatory compliance or practical self-preservation purposes, organisations are now starting to realise the importance of disaster recovery and business continuity. If you’re still scouting for a DR solution, you should highly consider a cloud-based one.
A disaster recovery site is essentially a replica of your main IT infrastructure. And so, traditionally, such a site would likewise entail a huge capital investment. Because disasters don’t come very often, the ROI of that site won’t be realised right away.
Cloud-based disaster recovery is more cost-effective because you don’t have to build a replica of your infrastructure. You just need to backup your data, applications, and perhaps a few virtual machines. Only when you need to do disaster recovery will you have to spin up virtual servers and pay for the corresponding cost.
-
You develop your own applications
Enterprises who build their own line-of-business (LOB) applications require development and testing environments that can support busy workloads. Because of their inherent elasticity, cloud environments make them the perfect fit for these extremely demanding Dev/Test projects. To simulate peak capacity, for instance, computing resources can be provisioned in large numbers and then de-provisioned once testing completes.
Also, since typical cloud infrastructures support self-service features, your developers can build their own test environments without bothering IT staff. This will enable them to test prototypes much faster and more often than usual.
-
You operate in a highly competitive market
In a cut-throat industry, innovation and agility can give you a competitive advantage. Cloud computing can provide you both. Its Dev/Test-friendly environments will allow you to test out ideas in a cost-effective manner, while its rapid provisioning capabilities will enable you to build the computing infrastructure needed to roll out products and services much faster than you used to.
We understand your reluctance to embark on a cloud migration project. Many of our customers felt exactly that way too. How about giving us a few moments of your time? We’ll be happy to answer your questions and help you assess your readiness for cloud migration. Contact us now.