FEATURE : CIO STRATEGIES
adoption of cloud , small and medium sized enterprises were at a severe disadvantage compared to their larger competitors . This was due to the high cost of building and maintaining data centres at the enterprise level . For a smaller vendor , investments of this kind were extremely risky , as any chance of underutilisation would result in it being wasted .
One of the greatest benefits of cloud migration is the inherent flexibility that comes with utilising a cloud environment . The cloud allows businesses to increase and decrease their storage and computing power as and when needed , which enables organisations to be ready for changing requirements or unforeseen circumstances .
ONE OF THE GREATEST BENEFITS OF CLOUD MIGRATION IS THE INHERENT FLEXIBILITY THAT COMES WITH UTILISING A CLOUD ENVIRONMENT .
However , with cloud-based solutions , much of the guesswork is removed when deciding how much to spend on IT infrastructure . For example , if more capacity is required due to an increase in demand , it is possible to buy the extra space in the cloud .
Achieving the same with traditional infrastructure would require the organisation to buy new physical servers and pay for the installation . Utilising the cloud eliminates these extra associated costs .
Another way in which migrating to the cloud drives down costs is through a reduction in maintenance . The cloud partner or Infrastructure-as-a-Service ( IaaS ) provider takes on responsibility for the general upkeep of the server space , leaving more time and energy to dedicate to more valuable tasks .
Moving to the cloud also eliminates the need for constant hardware upgrades and the associated costs , as well as security patches and system improvements , ensuring you ’ re always on the cutting edge without additional effort or expense .
Be flexible and scalable
A great example of this is during the COVID-19 pandemic when the world suddenly shifted to hybrid and remote work . Many companies were able to ramp up their capacity to meet the surge in demand by tapping into cloud-based infrastructure . This level of flexibility is a great advantage to have and can also assist in the regular , ever-shifting tides of greater and lesser sales .
Cloud infrastructure also allows businesses to grow at a much faster rate , as migrating to the cloud allows organisations to buy as much storage space and computing capacity as they need , which is ideal for rapidly growing enterprises . This also aids expansion into different regions or overseas , which is a huge advantage for any company that has big plans for growth and expansion .
Protecting valuable data from all threats
Cloud platforms have strong security measures , including advanced encryption , robust access controls , and ongoing security intelligence monitoring . The centralised storage of business information in the cloud also provides a higher level of data protection . In the event of physical damage to on-premise hardware , cloud-stored data remains secure and accessible , enabling easy retrieval of the information which remains intact .
Utilising the cloud not only allows greater protection from hackers but also enables greater disaster recovery . By leveraging cloud computing , companies gain access to strong and secure storage solutions , ensuring data safety and quick recovery in case of unexpected events . In the cloud , data is not only backed up continuously but is also distributed across multiple locations . This dispersion of data mitigates risks associated with physical data centres , such as natural disasters or localised system failures .
The cyber landscape is constantly shifting , and there is no way to predict how storage needs will change from one moment to the next . One of the issues posed by traditional infrastructure is how rigid it can be , and what might be a great investment at one time could end up being a hindrance or turn out to be redundant later down the road .
Digital transformation is at the top of mind for many key decision makers and cloud migration is one of the key drivers in updating systems to be cutting edge .
The advantages of migrating to a cloud environment are numerous and delaying the process may lead to some organisations falling behind . p
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