Businesses will continue to move to the cloud in droves for years to come. And while many businesses have begun taken their first steps, some are still unsure whether or not they should invest more. It’s always good to weigh your options before deciding to integrate new technology into your business, but it is also unwise to wait too long before making a decision.
Technology is evolving by the minute, and it’s easy to get left behind by being complacent. Here are three sure signs that you must move your business to the cloud as soon as possible.
1. Your IT infrastructure needs to scale up
Technology can hinder a business from achieving its potential when it isn’t able to adapt to a company’s growth. For example, if you have a steady influx of clients but your IT infrastructure can’t handle the increased demand for computing power and network speeds, then technology becomes a problem. You need technology that moves forward with you -- technology that continues to deliver as your business expands.
Moving your business to the cloud removes the limitations of having all your infrastructure on-site, such as bulky energy-hungry servers, storage hardware that’s never enough, and desktops that always seem out of date. The cloud offers limitless scalability. When you need more of an IT resource, you put in a request and it’s ready within the hour.
2. You need to save on operational costs
Technology isn’t cheap. Aside from purchasing expensive hardware, you need to pay the people who will maintain it. Simply downloading and installing software patches can cost thousands of dollars in human resources. Add in training costs for end-users, the costs of physical space, utility bills to power everything, and pretty soon you have a financial situation on your hands. Worse, this can turn into a cycle that goes on as long as your business keeps growing and technology keeps evolving.
Migrating to the cloud stops the cycle. The cloud is cheaper than than in-house IT, since it eliminates upfront capital expenditures such as servers and lifetime software licenses. Instead, you can move to the cloud to spread those costs out over several years, paying a fixed monthly amount to your IT services provider for top-of-the-line technology. Better tools, simpler finances.
3. You need more IT expertise to manage your data
While big businesses usually have an IT department full of data management and cyber security experts, small- to medium-scale businesses don’t. Having no IT department or undertrained IT staff is a ticking time bomb, because sooner or later, your business will run into security issues. Many things can go wrong: you may encounter natural or manmade disaster that paralyzes your operations, your systems can become infected by malware, or your state may suddenly announce stricter data privacy laws.
Cloud solutions offer outsourced IT support, so you have an external team of IT experts making sure your data is managed properly and is protected from cyber attacks 24/7. A managed services provider (MSP) can also develop custom applications for your business. For example, application development for the healthcare industry gives practices of all sizes affordable options for web-based solutions ranging from secure Medicare-Medicaid document management to Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) tools.
By migrating to the cloud, you will have access to the latest infrastructures, lower overhead costs, and a team of dedicated IT professionals managing your data and security. And with all these taken care of, you’ll have more time for non-IT business tasks, or just more time away from work.
Need a hand in migrating to the cloud? Let our team of IT experts at MXOtech help you through the process. Let’s talk business technology today.