How Businesses Can Benefit From Moving Their Operations To The Cloud

In the business world, maintaining a competitive and innovative edge makes all the difference. Still, as technology keeps devealoping at a rapid pace, it may not be clear in which direction you should move to actually start seeing results. 

We believe you don’t need to look far as you can start innovating ASAP by moving your operations to the cloud. While cloud technology isn’t exactly new, many companies are reluctant to move away from their legacy on-site solutions - all the while the most successful organizations have made the switch long ago.

Migrating to the cloud can assist you in overcoming many of the challenges currently affecting businesses of all sizes. Off the top of our heads, just consider the labor shortage and how easily cloud technology allows access to a whole new talent pool of remote workers, with no additional IT costs. It seems almost unreal, but it’s basically why companies are moving to the cloud in droves. 

Cloud Technology Explained

In simple terms, software and other services running on the internet (as opposed to a remote server) are referred to as the cloud. This tech can be utilized for pretty much anything, including (but not limited to):

• Data storage
• Hosting
• App deployment

Generally speaking, companies can redesign their existing back-end architectures, such as servers and databases, and move them into virtual environments where they can access business-critical data remotely. Moving to the cloud won’t require extra hardware or a physical server, meaning a worker only needs an internet connection to access all the required company programs and systems. 

Benefits Of Migrating To The Cloud

Moving key business operations to the cloud has the potential to not only enhance communication but also trim operational costs. Here are more details on why companies are moving to the cloud:

1. Cost reduction

Paying for on-site servers can cost a lot of money in the long run. With cloud technology, there’s no need to invest in hardware and software for on-site servers. Consequently, this comes with a cut in operational expenses as you no longer have to pay for the space or maintenance required to host an in-house server infrastructure.

2. Improved data recovery and security

Losing business-critical data can be devastating but with cloud computing, you don’t need to worry about it happening, for the most part. It’s easy to access files from anywhere, and almost all cloud service providers offer fail safes. For instance, data is stored on a secondary site, so when difficulties strike, disaster recovery can be done in a few minutes. 

The same applies to general data security. Every bit of information stored on the cloud is encrypted, and with cloud technology constantly evolving, companies are typically trying to implement the latest cybersecurity measures - making them exponentially safer than on-site solutions. 

3. Transparent data analytics and insights

Best decisions are data-driven, which is why many companies are moving to the cloud due to improved data analytics features. Furthermore, with cloud computing, you never have to worry about storage size, and you can leverage a variety of cutting-edge analytics tools. 

4. Scalability

Cloud providers offer a pay-as-you-go model, which allows companies to adjust their cloud computing requirements in accordance with the changes and growth of the organization. In other words, you can easily scale up during times of growth or pull back when needed. 

5. Remote work support

Since here at Griffin Global we help connect companies with tech-savvy employees from around the globe, we find this the most important feature. Not only does cloud computing allow workers to collaborate more efficiently (accessing files at the same time, version control, assigning tasks, etc), but it’s also the easiest way to support remote work. 

By moving your operations to the cloud, employees can access business data and information from anywhere in the world, thus opening up the possibility of hiring remote workers regardless of their vicinity to your physical location.

Amidst the ongoing talent shortage (especially in the tech field), supplanting your staff with remote talent is key in overcoming shortages and filling any skills gaps - and the cloud is arguably the easiest and most cost-effective way to do so. 

What Are Some Of The Most Popular Cloud Service Providers?

It’s clear why companies are moving to the cloud. To meet the demand (and get their slice of the pie), new cloud service providers are popping up every day. Granted, this makes finding a good provider a bit more challenging, but you really can’t go wrong with the big three of cloud computing:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS has been reigning supreme as the top cloud service since forever, and for good reasons: it’s cost-effective and within the budget for startups, but it’s also powerful for enterprises looking to make the switch to the cloud. With AWS, you can do almost anything, including launching apps and handling big data - you really can’t go wrong with it. 

• Microsoft Azure

As the second most popular cloud service, Microsoft Azure is mostly aimed at enterprises that need to handle complex workloads, including machine learning, virtual machines, and app deployment. One of the biggest selling points with Azure is access to Microsoft’s suite products, which now operate natively in a cloud environment.

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Google’s cloud offering is slowly gaining traction thanks its functionality and customization options. With included support for SQL and NoSQL databases, analytics, and plenty of other software, you can truly make GCP your own if your team knows what it’s doing. 

These three are the safest options, but there are many other robust cloud services available, all with their own set of strengths. Feel free to do your research and choose a platform that will gel well with your current setup.

For instance, if you’re using Salesforce products, Salesforce’s cloud offering is the obvious choice. There are even free cloud providers - many businesses such as Apple are using an open-source cloud software Apache Cloudstack for deploying their cloud services. If it’s good enough for Apple…

Reach For New Heights

Cutting costs and streamlining operations is a reality every business has to confront, as is the ever-persistent lack of talent. By transitioning to the cloud, most businesses can tackle these challenges proactively without requiring a massive budget or that much time.

More importantly, adopting a cloud-based approach to doing business will help you reach new heights and start evolving your business practices to keep up with the times. 

The cloud IS the future, so the sooner you make the transition, the quicker you can reap all the benefits it has to offer.