1) Reduced Costs
Back in the day, as it were, if we wanted in-house e-mail, or a managed domain environment, we would have to pony up some serious cash to get the needed materials. Purchasing and upgrading to new servers, acquiring the needed software/user licenses, and the workstations themselves needed by our employees all carry a sizeable price tag. This isn’t even considering the time and labor costs needed to configure and maintain the afore-mentioned equipment once its purchased. Who wants to deal with that? Fortunately, with cloud computing solutions, we don’t have to worry about that as the infrastructure needed to support our systems already exists and is maintained; we only need to pay for access to it (basically).
2) Continuity
Normally, having a desktop workstation crash is a borderline disaster scenario. Countless hours, months, or even years of work could be lost anytime a system goes down. In most cases, these losses can be mitigated by additional continuity measures - but if we do not have those in place, we are usually straight out of luck. Fortunately, with cloud-based environments, business continuity is part of the default package - allowing us to rest easy knowing that all our important data is safe.
3) Accessibility
In addition to providing business continuity, cloud-based solutions enable our employees to have a level of accessibility that is hard to match with traditional infrastructure. Traditional remote access solutions involve special software and configurations (both on the end user system, and within our corporate network as well) in order to enable remote work and access. With cloud-based computing, all we need is a device with an Internet connection, and we are ready to rock and roll.
4) Easy Scalability
With a traditional server infrastructure, our capabilities can become limited due to available system resources. Our server’s hard drives can become full, our system’s hardware begins to struggle to support our user base, or maybe we begin to lack the processing power to efficiently run our corporate database. Whatever the case may be, with physical hardware there is a built-in lag time when it comes to system upgrades (research new equipment, purchase, deliver, install, test, etc). With cloud-based solutions, extra resources can be allocated to us with a simple phone call or email. Better yet, with some services, the resource allocation happens automatically and dynamically depending on our needs/usage.
5) Maintenance
One of the biggest advantages of cloud-based systems is how hassle free they make our work environment. Cloud-based infrastructures are hosed off site (and out of mind) and are maintained by the technical support teams of the provider. This means we no longer have to worry about software updates and maintenance as it is all handle as part of our service contract.
Is your business ready for cloud computing? Not sure? If you'd like more information, Contact CTTS TODAY at (512) 388-5559 we're here to help!
By Brandon Kaylor
Desktop Support Technician
Central Texas Technology Solutions