While there was a lot of hype around cloud computing even five years ago, the technology is maturing. And, it makes a lot of sense for some businesses to use cloud computing. However, some business leaders are still not sure what is the right way to approach it.
Hosted applications are one of area where the cloud makes sense for many businesses. This includes things like email, CRM, and calendars. This can be valuable for several reasons: One, these critical applications do not go down even when there is a server outage or upgrade. Two, it can make it easier to access this information from many different devices. And finally, it is cost effective for most small and midsize businesses.
How does using a cloud application differ from hosting it on your own servers? A cloud application is a lot like renting an office. If wanted to own your office space, you could buy land, design a building, erect it and manage it. And at some point there could be cost savings when you filled it to capacity. However, there are two challenges: (1) You have to build a full building even if you only need a partial one currently and (2) You need to know how to build and manage a building for this to work out well.
Unless a company needs all of the square footage of a building, it typically makes a lot more sense to rent space in someone else’s building. That is basically what you are doing when you use applications in the cloud. While you could buy the software and a server, then hire someone to set it up and manage it for you, there are a lot of upfront costs. Plus, you are now in the IT business when that is not your core business.
So for most small to midsize companies, cloud applications make a lot of sense. And, one of the best times to consider migrating to a cloud application is when you are looking to add an application or upgrade your current solution. This is when you are most likely to realize significant cost savings.
Do you need some guidance?
While Skyriver IT does not offer cloud services ourselves, we do help clients choose the right cloud providers for their needs and handle the migration so it is seamless. We offer unbiased recommendations, because we are not a reseller of any of these services. Our recommendations are based solely on our client's needs. If we can be of assistance in helping you move to the cloud, please contact us.
