IT departments aren't different from other business units as they are exploring options to improve productivity at lower costs. More and more, they are looking to reach these goals and this means taking a closer look at business drivers.
Every modern business is trying to get more from less these days and in these situations there is a growing expectation to increase return on investment (ROI) with every new IT project. This phenomenon started in the 2007 recession as the majority of businesses were trying to minimize expenditures but now, even after economy is recovering, it has become a norm.
Similarly, IT departments aren't different from other business units as they are exploring options to improve productivity at lower costs. More and more, they are looking to reach these goals and this means taking a closer look at business drivers.
It is a well discussed fact that there are a number of technical reasons for an organization to move to the cloud. What many have been missing is a closer look at the various business reasons for cloud migrations. Here are some of the most important reasons for a company to make a move to the cloud.
Cost Savings:
No surprise there, cost is the reason most businessesmentioned a move to the cloud. It is certainly not the biggest reason but with the endless quest for cost savings, it is forever going to be the most cited reason.
There are certainly many reasons why the cloud is inexpensive, the most evident is that cloud providers benefit from large economies of scale and therefore, are able to provide more computing resources at lower costs. However, this isn't the only driving aspect for cloud popularity, a major reason for cloud computing is the shift to utility based billing whereby customers only pay for what's being used and not for unused services. The fact is that no executive would pay for something that's unnecessary or overpriced.
Integration:
In the past few years there's been movement away from isolated or stand-alone applications and towards more integrated solutions.
The most prominent example of this strategy is from Microsoft. They have made Cloud OS a key component of their infrastructure services. Office 365 is a good example of how a single consistent cloud platform can be used to combine key services.
Scalability:
One of the toughest challenges for many organizations is how to cope with the ups and downs of demands. For example, a business winning new projects simultaneously or facing seasonal fluctuations test the limitations of current infrastructure. A few years ago, company executives would have to organize their IT infrastructure to handle peak traffic. Now, cloud-based infrastructure is helping organizations to cope with these challenges with greater ease and flexibility.
Easier Updates & Upgrades:
Maintenance of software is one of the headaches that IT departments have to suffer. Numerous studies have shown that a large portion of employees' time is consumed by these updates, leaving behind very little time for any business planning.
The role of IT in business is very challenging and is enabled with self-service, automation and deep levels of management. The task of introducing and integrating updates is streamlined through enterprise management tools like Microsoft System Center. System Center enables system administrators to have one view of all critical assets, physical and virtual, along with defining policy and process for IT, having thorough understanding of the applications within the business sphere. Rolling out updates through System Center Configuration Manager, a module of System Center 2012, a system administrator can stay ahead of all these requests and manage more proactively and efficiently.
Flexibility:
The time is long gone when employees accessed business and company information solely from their workstations. In modern establishments, employees are able to access company data from a variety of devices and different locations.
Flexibility is only made easier by adopting cloud technology. Cloud services allow customers' IT environments to be dynamic and adaptable. The Cloud also gives them the ability to integrate new businesses, introduce new services and respond to the ever increasing customer requirements and illustrate how flexible IT can help businesses adapt to changes. This type of flexibility allows us to adapt and deliver the right message and services to customers and employees at the right time.
Speed:
Speed might be just the most noticeable and important factor in switching to cloud. The time required to allocate, configure and implement services is usually in days if not weeks, while an organization can now get its services functional within hours with help from experienced cloud providers.
In today's market, development or production teams don't have to wait 3 or 4 months for the IT department to get a new server and make it operational while they can easily order a virtual server and make it operational, instantly. This is the type of change companies, especially SMB's, around the world have seen with the rise of cloud services.
Security:
When the concept of cloud computing was first considered by enterprises, there was a justified concern around security. After some time, many IT executives within these enterprises realized that their fears were misguided and that reputable cloud providers can even deliver much higher levels of security than on-site resources.
The fact is that there are a lot of factors to consider when moving to the cloud; security, or the lack thereof should not be one of them. Cloud providers can provide much higher levels of security than on-site infrastructure typically can, due in part to a more specialized staff and greater emphasis on physical security and controls.
This assumption is based on facts and research; according to survey by Microsoft in 2013, companies who migrated to the cloud actually spend 32 percent less time managing security than those who don't. 35 percent of companies polled said that they have high levels of security and spend less time fighting off malware.
To summarize, there are a lot of reasons to migrate to the cloud, and it depends upon the requirements of every company and how they do business. For one it might be cost savings, while for others it might be the flexibility that the cloud offers. The important things are to develop a thorough plan to migrate to the cloud and then partner with a service provider that understands your business.The Cloud is not a one size fits all solution, nor is it an all or nothing proposition.With a deep understanding of your needs, Cloud Innovators Group can help you migrate to the Cloud!Give us a call today: 855-695-4437.