Discover the benefits of cloud innovation for businesses. Cloud computing offers cost efficiency, scalability, robust security, and access to cutting-edge technologies. Embrace the growing trend and gain a competitive edge by migrating to the cloud.
The cloud has changed many aspects of business and IT that, for a long time, was the set-in-stone standard. A prime example is the shift away from on-premise infrastructure. Many businesses have yet to migrate to the cloud, however. We spoke with TechQuarters, a provider of IT support London businesses have been working with for years to keep at pace with the state of business technology. According to them, the cloud is a pathway to many new opportunities for businesses.
Modern businesses face many challenges in the realm of IT – such as:
- Infrastructure complexity can come to be a headache for organizations. It occurs over the space of several years, when organisations integrate different applications, platforms, and systems into their IT stack. This can be exacerbated by the inclusion of legacy technologies.
- Data privacy is especially important in modern business. The proliferation of online identities and personal identifiable information (PII) means businesses have a heightened responsibility to safeguard their customers’ privacy.
- Technology trends can be difficult to keep at pace with. As business becomes increasingly reliant on technology, the advancement of technologies puts pressure on businesses.
These are just a few examples of the IT challenges modern businesses face. But how can the cloud help organisations overcome these challenges?
Why Cloud Computing?
The cloud is a revolutionary way for businesses to leverage an enterprise-grade infrastructure layer remotely – from which, they can build all of their systems, platforms, applications, and workloads. Most businesses access the cloud through public providers like Microsoft Azure; they may also have assistance with setting up and managing their cloud usage – for example, the managed IT services London providers like TechQuarters offer are frequently tied together with cloud migration projects.
Below are some examples of what cloud computing can do for businesses:
- Cost Efficiency
Cloud computing can help businesses cut costs on their IT spend in a few different ways. Firstly, it requires a lower upfront expenditure for businesses to build their cloud environment; as well as this, ongoing operational expenses are cheaper with cloud environments. Hardware costs can also be slashed because there is no need for servers or on-premises datacentres.
- Scalability & Flexibility
On-premises infrastructures require a certain degree of redundancy – for example, datacentres need to have extra capacity to account for growth; servers running workloads need to have extra resources to account for fluctuations in demand. Businesses are responsible for investing in this excess.
With cloud computing, however, resource redundancy is not the responsibility of the user, as it is built into the infrastructure layer. This means that businesses can quickly and easily scale their cloud usage in a very cost-effective way.
- Enhanced Collaboration & Productivity
Collaboration and productivity can also be improved using cloud computing. This is because the cloud supports a type of remote access known as software-as-a-service (also known as SaaS). As an experienced IT support company, TechQuarters confirmed that SaaS is an increasingly common model for software vendors, and eventually most, if not all software will be cloud-native. There are many examples of SaaS productivity and collaboration solutions – for example, Microsoft Teams for communication and collaboration, and Microsoft 365 for workplace productivity.
- Cutting Edge Technologies
As mentioned before, technology drives modern business, which means that keeping at pace with the cutting edge of technology is important for organisations. Cloud computing can help with this, as many modern technologies can be accessed via the cloud. For example, platforms like Microsoft Azure have AI and machine learning services available on them, and big data analytics tools, too.