As a member of the C-Suite, you’ve likely heard plenty of hype around cloud computing over the years. It’s not uncommon to hear misconceptions about the cloud being unsafe, unreliable, or just plain unnecessary for certain types of organizations. You may have even heard that the cloud is only for large enterprises. However, the truth is that cloud computing is now a mature technology that can offer tremendous benefits to organizations of all sizes and industries, even yours!
If you’re not yet sold on the idea of embracing the cloud, consider these five reasons why you make a move: cost savings, increased flexibility, improved security, better collaboration, and access to innovative technologies. Let’s dive into each one.
1. Cost Savings
Moving to the cloud can save your organization significant money. By eliminating the need for physical hardware, maintenance, and upgrades, you can free up the budget for other essential initiatives. Additionally, managed cloud service providers often offer flexible payment models that allow you to pay only for the resources actually used.
MJ Insurance, an insurance brokerage firm*, needed to reduce the cost and complexity of its technology environment. One of its critical customer-facing applications was also one of the most expensive to operate. Because of its criticality, they had redundant ISPs, failover power, and geographic failover. As Braden Pitts, vice president of technology, explains, “The cost of maintaining this application was just astronomical. We lifted it up, re-architected it, and put it in the cloud. We simultaneously increased capability, reduced technical debt, and there were significant savings over the previous architecture.”
2. Increased Flexibility
The cloud provides unparalleled flexibility, allowing your organization to scale up or down as needed quickly. This is especially beneficial for businesses that experience seasonal spikes in demand or are growing rapidly.
Mike Butler, the former chief technology officer of First Merchants Bank and now the chief data officer for CSprint, talks frequently about the flexibility leveraging the cloud can provide businesses of all sizes. “When I show them a list of all the data services you can access on Azure and prototype something for $25 versus spending years trying to build just a few of the same services on-prem, the conversation shifts. The cloud is a significantly cheaper place to try something and kill it off and try something else than anything you can do on-premises. The flexibility and the access to innovation is a huge selling point.”
3. Improved Security
While some organizations are concerned about the security of the cloud, the reality is that managed cloud service providers invest heavily in security measures to keep their customers’ data safe. Many managed cloud service (MCS) providers have more robust security measures than the average on-premises setup.
Matt Belanger, senior vice president of service delivery for Denison Parking, has spent the last several years addressing the security backlog of the organization. He knew spending the money necessary to go it alone was out of the question. He turned to the cloud, “In terms of security, some of the best security talent in the world work for the cloud providers. It doesn’t guarantee that it’s more secure and the responsibility is shared, but having a co-pilot is certainly helpful. Cloud providers spend exponentially more on security than I could ever imagine.”
4. Improved Collaboration
The cloud enables easy collaboration across teams, departments, and organizations. With cloud-based productivity tools like Microsoft 365 or G Suite, employees can work together on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in real-time from anywhere.
Collaboration isn’t just limited to internal employees and their collaboration. Moneytree Software saw an increase in customer satisfaction brought about their migration to the cloud. Managing director Pat Spencer explains, “In a DevOps environment, we were spending a lot of time on infrastructure. Moving to the cloud freed up time to start taking more client feedback on enhancements and product improvements. All of a sudden, we were starting to see clients’ satisfaction ratings go up because the clients felt like we were listening to them.” The increased focus on the client allowed them to establish an advisory group of clients, dramatically improving collaboration with their clients.
5. Access to Innovation
Cloud computing has enabled many organizations to innovate and disrupt their industries in new and exciting ways. By embracing the cloud, your company can gain access to cutting-edge technologies like AI, machine learning, and big data analytics, which help you stay ahead of your competition.
Every one of the tech leaders we spoke with talked about the ability to tap into services that help them to be more innovative. For example, data is exploding. Having access to tools like machine learning or artificial intelligence can cost thousands of dollars if not tens of thousands. This puts it out of reach for most small businesses. Accessing these services in the cloud puts that power in your hands. As Mike Loggins, vice president of information technology at Ultimate Technologies Group, muses, “Being beholden to building something on-premises in like bringing horses to the Indianapolis 500. They technically can get you around the track, but you are in no way competitive, and you are liable to get run over by the competition.”
Myth Busted
The cloud is not just for tech startups or large enterprises – it’s for everyone. Whether you’re a small business looking to streamline operations or a multinational corporation seeking to innovate, the cloud can provide the flexibility, cost savings, security, and collaboration tools you need to succeed.
With InterVision as your managed cloud services provider, you can focus on your core business operations while leaving the management of your cloud infrastructure to our experts. Our personalized solutions and attentive customer service set us apart from other companies in the industry, ensuring that your organization receives the highest level of service and support.
If you’re a mid-sized organization and have questions about the Cloud – let’s talk.
*Companies mentioned in this post have roughly 300 employees or less.
