The 7 Major Benefits of Migrating to the Cloud

Perhaps the biggest reason why some businesses are hesitant to move into the cloud has to do with the level of control that they (think) they're giving up over their IT infrastructure. But even though it's true that you'll be bringing third party vendors into the fold, even this perceived shift of control is far outweighed by the many different benefits that you'll get to enjoy which can’t be matched anywhere else.

There are seven major benefits of migrating to the cloud, in particular, that any CFO, CEO or other organisational leader needs to be aware of moving forward.

1. You Save Money Almost Immediately

Perhaps the biggest benefit of migrating to the cloud — and one that CFOs and CEOs will appreciate in particular — has to do with the amount of money that an organisation can save almost instantly. The fact that IT support is expensive is a surprise to nobody, but according to Gartner's IT Budget Report, businesses are likely to spend as much as 75% of their total IT budget on maintaining these integral systems. 

When you move to the cloud (and especially if you partner with an IT managed service provider), many of these costs evaporate. Purchasing additional hardware, security concerns, long-term support and more disappear instantaneously and are replaced by a single (and predictable) monthly fee.

2. Superior Data Security

Another major benefit of migration to the cloud can be summed up in a single word: security. Cloud infrastructures are far more secure than anything you could possibly build on your own. Not only are processes heavily regulated, but there are also teams of professionals monitoring everything from settings to intrusion attempts in real-time — teams that you don't have to pay for because they're already included in your subscription price with your IT managed service provider.

3. Unbelievable Reliability

One popular reason why many businesses experiment with moving to the cloud has to do with the reliability they unlock as a result. Hardware, software, and absolutely every resource in between is protected by an almost incredible level of redundancy to keep both systems available as much as possible and to protect your organisation from data loss. If something breaks, you don't have to fix it — someone else will do it for you. They'll also likely do it so fast that you won't even realise there was a problem in the first place. 

4. Cloud Integration

The level of integration with existing systems and resources is also a major selling point to the cloud  and this is something that you can enjoy, regardless of what business you're in. Everything from point-of-sale systems to project management systems to online Web forms and more can all create and share data amongst themselves. This makes it easier to encourage employees to collaborate with one another and keep productivity high, regardless of where your employees physically happen to be.

5. New Ways For Employees to Work

Migration to the cloud also gives your employees more options not only with tasks they need to get done on a daily basis, but how these tasks are actually performed. With the cloud, employees can work from anywhere — whether they're sitting in their office or are halfway around the world in an airport lounge doesn't actually matter. So long as an active Internet connection is present, employees can be as productive as they need to be at all times. This also means unforeseen disasters like a major winter storm or even a power outage will no longer derail your progress.

6. It's Far Easier to Scale

Scaling up or down at just the right speed is a pain point for nearly any type of business. Now, thanks to the cloud, this is easier to manage than ever before. Bringing in new employees as you grow no longer requires a massive upfront investment for IT hardware and other resources — you can ramp up or pull back on anything you need by making a simple phone call to your IT managed service provider.

7. The Cloud Is an Innovation Machine

Finally, one of the most important benefits that you will unlock by migrating to the cloud comes by way of the superior level of innovation that you can enjoy. When your own in-house IT teams are less focused on simply maintaining the status quo, they suddenly have more free time in a day to focus on projects that can actually innovate and move a business forward. Think about it like this: if you give your employees the opportunity to work smarter, not harder, the chances are high that they're going to take it. This puts any organisation in an ideal position to identify and utilise new competitive advantages for themselves on a regular basis. 

The Powernet Approach

At Powernet, we understand that technology is just a tool, the same as anything else. Ultimately, how you use that tool is all that matters in terms of the progress that you're able to achieve and the opportunities that you're able to grab hold of moving forward.

If you have any additional questions about the major benefits of migrating to the cloud, or if you'd just like to sit down and talk about your IT managed services needs with someone in a little more detail, please don't delay — contact Powernet today for more information.