Our 10 top reasons to move to the cloud

Cloud computing is everywhere these days, isn’t it? It seems like barely a day goes by without the launch of some hot new cloud-based app or service. Once dismissed by IT traditionalists as a passing fad, the cloud is rapidly becoming the new normal for businesses of every size and in every sector. And no wonder. Tried and tested technology, it can now do more than ever before – not just transforming the way we all store and share information, but the way we work.

If your business isn’t already using cloud-based services, chances are it’s something you’ve thought about. So what’s stopping you? Here are our top 10 reasons to move to the cloud – and how your business could benefit:

1. Work more flexibly

Over the last few years, remote working has become ever more popular. Both with businesses looking to boost productivity and people looking for a better work/life balance. And in today’s post-COVID 19 landscape, enabling your staff to work from home isn’t just an optional extra, but a necessity. The cloud gives your employees the freedom to access their work apps and files anywhere, any time and from any device. Whether they’re working from home or on the move. So your employees are happier and your business is faster and more agile.

2. Become more productive

It’s well established that remote workers, free of office distractions, are more focused and productive. But cloud services also boost productivity within your office, by giving your staff faster, easier access to everything they need, and by minimising downtime caused by hardware issues. And if you’re storing everything in the cloud, data no longer goes missing – meaning your employees don’t waste time looking for it, or re-entering information they can’t find. But your staff aren’t the only ones the cloud can help: if you’re no longer worrying about, and spending time sorting out, on-site IT issues, you’ll have more time and headspace to run your business.

3. Collaborate more easily

When your staff are working in different places – in different offices, different countries, sometimes different time zones, at home, or while on the move – collaboration can get a lot more challenging. If everyone’s chipping in their thoughts at different times and in different ways, for example, it’s easy to get bogged down in endless email chains and attachments. The cloud makes this kind of collaboration far simpler and easier – giving people the power to share and access data from anywhere, and to simultaneously work together on the same project or document in real-time. And with the availability of quick, easy-to-use video conferencing such as Zoom and Ring Central, multi-site collaboration just got a whole lot easier.

4. Improve your cybersecurity

There’s a common misconception that on-site systems on closed networks offer the strongest data protection. But just because something isn’t physically in your office doesn’t mean it’s not safe. And in the case of the cloud, the reverse is true. That’s partly due to economies of scale. Cloud service providers have the budget and resources to build and manage cybersecurity systems that are far stronger than those you’d ever be able to create yourself. And because cloud providers automatically apply security patches and updates for you, they eliminate this important vulnerability. If you don’t have IT support, this can often fall through the cracks – so this also removes the reliance on staff to remember to run these updates.

5. Make your data disaster-proof

How long would your business survive without vital data like email, accounts and sales? If you’re storing all your backups in physical servers there’s always a risk that something could go wrong. If it did, how long would it take you to get your hands on a backup? How much information could you lose? Putting all your information in the cloud makes disaster recovery a doddle. Even if there’s a major system failure, you can still access your emails and critical data from any internet connection. And because cloud services provide real-time 24/7 backup, there’s no danger of you losing anything.

6. Cut your IT costs

Most of the entries in this list offer some financial benefit. From boosting productivity and cutting downtime to eliminating the potential cost of a cyber-attack or data loss. But perhaps the biggest cost saving is hardware. Because setting up and managing your own data centre can be incredibly expensive. And even for smaller businesses, it’s easy to blow your entire IT budget just buying the right equipment. By moving your systems to the cloud, you can spend less while getting all the benefits of an enterprise-grade service. And because cloud services offer different subscription packages, you only ever need to pay for the features you need.

7. Free up your IT team

If you have an in-house IT team, chances are they spend a lot of their time looking after your hardware. From monitoring and maintaining your systems and running and checking your backups. If you move your core systems to the cloud, these tasks will all be taken care of by your cloud services provider. Therefore creates more space for managers to focus on IT project management and IT staff to focus on innovation and cost savings. And they will also spend less time on jobs that are just about managing your current set-up. Even if you use an IT support provider, the same principle applies. You won’t need to pay for as much day-to-day support, so you can spend more of your IT budget on projects that will really drive your business forward.

8. Save office space

It’s easy to forget how much space IT hardware takes up because it’s often kept out of sight in server rooms. As well as being seriously bulky, servers also take a lot of extra space, because they need enough airflow around them to stay cool. And the cost of running air conditioning units 24/7 is not insubstantial. So, by reducing, or even eliminating your need for on-site servers, the cloud can free up a lot of valuable office space and save you money. And the same goes if you’re currently storing a lot of paper documents. Moving all your information to the cloud (which is also safer and more efficient) allows you to get rid of your filing cabinets. So you can use the extra space to create a more pleasant environment for your staff.

9. Cut your carbon footprint

Today, we’re all looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact – whether to meet our social responsibility targets or simply because it’s the right thing to do. And moving some or all of your IT infrastructure to the cloud is a great way to achieve that. Hardware takes a huge amount of energy to run – and that’s before you’ve factored in the energy it takes to manufacture, deliver and dispose of it at the end of its lifecycle. So replacing physical equipment with cloud-based tools can massively lower your energy usage, as well as your bills. And because the cloud is a safe, efficient way to store and access information, it can also help you to reduce your carbon footprint by allowing you to go paperless.

10. Grow your business more easily

When your company is expanding, it’s vital that your technology can support and even accelerate that growth. But that’s easier said than done. If you overestimate your future needs, you’re in danger of wasting money on a lot of equipment you don’t need. And if you underestimate your needs, you risk using hardware that’s under spec – and which will stifle your growth and need to be replaced. Moving your systems to the cloud eliminates both these risks. Cloud services are subscription-based and fully scalable. So it’s easy to adapt your IT to your changing needs, by upgrading your package or buying extra subscriptions.

As you’ve probably gathered, here at Dr Logic we’re pretty big fans of the cloud. Here’s another blog you may find interesting about why the Cloud is your best option for Identity Management.

That’s our top 10 reasons to move to the Cloud, but there are many more. Want to find out more about how you could move your business to the Cloud? Please get in touch.