A lot of businesses are confused about how cloud computing can fit into their current ways of working. Cloud computing can sound daunting but in basic terms it means your data is stored offsite in someone else’s data centre. This takes the pressure off your onsite IT setup and doesn’t require any additional staffing requirements.
Some of the biggest providers of cloud computing in the industry are Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, SaaS Players, Amazon AWS among many others. Businesses are able to rent access to software, storage and servers from a cloud service provider.
Regardless of your company size, cloud computing can offer many benefits to your business. Small businesses that can’t afford the initial infrastructure, using cloud services is more affordable and easier to manage.
What Does Your Business Need?
Depending on what your business demands from its IT infrastructure could decide what kind of cloud service you go for. If you’re a software developer looking for an easy way of creating test environments or maybe you’re looking for an easy way of securely backing up your businesses important data. A cloud computing service would suit in both of these situations and would be much cheaper than setting up in house.
You need to look at your current IT infrastructure and evaluate the set up to understand what benefits you will receive by moving to a cloud based service.
Is your current service acceptable from your on-site IT system? Is it secure and reliable or is there room for improvement? These are a couple of questions you should be asking yourself as a business owner when deciding whether to switch to a cloud service.
Another big factor in deciding to go with a cloud service provider is the cost. This could be either the cost of your current system or how much it would cost to upgrade in the future. Would those costs be reasonable when scaled up? If the answer is no then a cloud service might be for you. Running an onsite data centre can be costly especially when experienced staff are needed to run and maintain the servers installed.
When to Switch to a Cloud Service?
For the majority of businesses a shift towards a cloud computing service usually makes sense. The benefits outweigh the initial setup time of switching to a cloud service. The initial setup time doesn’t have to be a long process and depends on what is required by the customer.
Using a cloud service makes sense when you can’t afford an on site IT infrastructure or simply don’t have the room to do so.
If your current system is outdated and requires extensive maintenance or upgrading then a switch to the cloud would be a cheaper alternative. Upgrading an out of date system is usually more costly than making the switch to a cloud based service depending on how old the system is.
Backing up to the cloud is one of the most common uses of it in industry today. Huge data losses can be easily prevented with a cloud backup solution which is stored off site in the event of an accident. A loss of data can cost a business a significant amount of money and can run into the tens of thousands or sometimes even more.
If you are thinking of making the switch to a cloud based service then contact us and we would be happy to help with any enquiry you may have. We have a range of services to any size of business who are looking for a cost effective cloud computing service.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any topics mentioned in this article, please email hello@leapit.co.uk.
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Leap IT is here to take your businesses IT to where it needs to be. We have been delivering IT Managed services throughout Birmingham, The West Midlands and across the UK for over 20 years and on behalf of more than 250 businesses. We work closely with you to really understand what your business needs so that we can make sure you always receive the best advice and achieve the best value.
With a breadth of solutions spanning IT Support, Communications, Cloud Computing and Print we see that you IT is completely covered from end to end.