Five Benefits of Moving to the Cloud

As a CIO, you’re likely always looking for ways to help your organization save time and money, become more agile, and drive strong ROI. One of the best ways to achieve these goals is by moving your business to the cloud.  Here are five key benefits of making this switch:

  1. Cost Savings: One of the most significant benefits of moving to the cloud is cost savings. With cloud computing, you only pay for what you use, which can be more cost-effective than buying and maintaining expensive hardware and software. You also won’t have to worry about the costs of maintaining a physical data center, including power, cooling, and rent. According to a study by Nucleus Research, cloud applications deliver 1.7 times more ROI than on-premises applications. *
  2. Scalability: The cloud provides a high level of scalability, allowing businesses to quickly and easily add or remove resources as needed. This makes it easy to respond to changes in demand and helps companies avoid overprovisioning. For example, if you’re running a promotion that results in a sudden surge in traffic to your website, you can easily scale up your resources to handle the increased traffic. Once the promotion ends, you can scale back down to save costs.
  3. Agility: The cloud allows businesses to be more agile and respond quickly to changing business needs. With cloud computing, it’s easier to develop and deploy new applications and services, as well as test and quickly iterate them. This can help businesses stay ahead of the competition and quickly adapt to changing market conditions.
  4. Security: Security is a top concern for most organizations, and the cloud provides enhanced security features, such as data encryption, access controls, and regular security updates.  These features help protect your organization from cyber threats and ensure compliance with regulations. Working with a managed cloud service provider for security assessments is proactive risk management, identifying and addressing potential misconfigurations before they can lead to a security breach.  A managed cloud service provider can not only identify misconfigurations but also implement the fix and establish the guardrails and monitoring of these to ensure environments do not drift into misconfigurations in the future. Additionally, managed cloud service providers typically have more resources and expertise than most individual organizations, allowing them to invest in the latest security technologies and best practices.
  5. Access to Advanced Technology: With the cloud, organizations can access the latest technologies and innovations without needing large upfront investments.  This helps organizations stay competitive and drives the business forward. For example, many cloud providers offer machine learning and artificial intelligence services that can help businesses gain insights and make better decisions.

When considering whether to use a managed cloud services provider or manage the transition in-house, it’s essential to consider your organization’s needs and resources. A managed cloud service provider can help you navigate the complex world of cloud computing, optimize your cloud resources, provide ongoing support, and ensure that your organization fully leverages the benefits of the cloud.

For example, companies thinking of moving existing workloads to the cloud need to select a partner that has done this before to ensure success and keep the project on budget. These types of projects can often overwhelm the internal IT teams and cause unexpected hiccups. Many internal teams fail to implement a disciplined approach and can over-provision and fail to turn down temporary and unused resources, driving costs up. Working with a partner like InterVision, which has a deep bench of expertise, can take on these projects in efficient and cost-effective ways.

Moving to the cloud can be a game-changer for your company, providing improved scalability, cost savings, increased agility, enhanced security, and access to advanced technology.  By considering the benefits and working with a trusted partner, you can successfully transition to the cloud and achieve long-term success.

* The study by Nucleus Research can be found on their website under the title “Cloud Delivers 1.7 Times More ROI”. The study analyzed the ROI of cloud-based applications versus on-premises applications across various industries and company sizes. Their findings showed that, on average, cloud-based applications delivered 1.7 times more ROI than on-premises applications.