A significant amount of businesses are moving to the cloud.
Since its introduction, cloud computing has changed the game for nearly every major industry on the planet.
With the technology maturing over the last five years, cloud service providers have developed a number of options for businesses, opening access for small and medium enterprises to reap the benefits of the technology. Whether through single, hybrid, or multi-cloud models, more and more companies are migrating to the cloud in varying degrees.
Here’s why:
Digitization
Migrating valuable data and services to the cloud acts as a catalyst towards digitization. Emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and even blockchain synergizes with cloud computing and storage.
The Cisco Global Cloud Index identifies cloud technologies as the driver behind the exponential growth in generated data over the last five years. With more businesses migrating and implementing new technologies, integrating big data analytics will become more streamlined. The worldwide revenue for big data analytics will reach $203 billion by 2020, according to Maryville University which attributes this to how the market is currently enjoying a compound annual growth rate of 11.7%. The access to the level of insights and other benefits that big data analytics affords is driving more companies to migrate to the cloud.
Reduces Cost
Years ago, migrating to the cloud might have been too expensive an investment for smaller businesses. But as the platforms have matured, it makes financial sense to stand on top of the shoulders of giants and reap the benefits that come with cloud computing. With the advent of subscription models and software rentals, the costs of cloud storage and computing have dropped and become more predictable.
Scalability
Cloud computing and storage also allow businesses to scale – to grow and trim at their own pace. This affords more flexibility in shifting core business goals and allows small and medium enterprises to expand quickly.
Moving from on-premise to the cloud allows companies to allocate resources with ease in a monitored environment where overloading isn’t a particular concern – as long as the system is managed properly. This is the reason why managed container services are popular, as developers find that it’s easy to deploy, manage, and scale containerized cloud-native apps.
Streamlined Collaboration
Cloud data migration also allows your employees to be more flexible. Having access to the data and software anywhere in the world through the cloud liberates your workforce and opens it up to a wider and more effective range of collaboration. The ability to simultaneously share and edit files and software without being in the same place can be a great productivity booster for teams.
A study from Stanford University found that even the notion of working together supercharges employees’ performances. The research also found that collaboration in the workplace leads to higher worker engagement, lower levels of fatigue, and a higher success rate.
Crucial Security Services
Perhaps the top concern among the few that haven’t migrated to the cloud is security. Yet, mitigating these security risks is also one of the top reasons why you should migrate.
Tech Republic notes that the risk of cyber crimes and data breaches is shared in cloud computing. The Shared Responsibility Model of cloud computing delegates the responsibility of protecting the infrastructure to the cloud service providers, while you’re responsible for monitoring anomalous user activities, suspicious network traffic, and host vulnerabilities. Risky resource configuration in migration is one of the key vulnerabilities in cloud computing and storage.
Minimizing interruption
Precision is key in lessening disruption when migrating from on-premise to the cloud. A single hour of downtime can cost most businesses around $50,000, not to mention the cost in mistakes and possible data loss in cloud data migration. This is why it makes more sense to use a third-party tool for migration that maintains hierarchy structure, metadata, and transfer permissions.
Cloudsfer provides professional and user-friendly cloud migration tools that allow running multiple migration plans while maintaining file version history during the migration process. Cloudsfer is secure, has 24/7 support, can handle any number and size of migrations, and can apply filters according to file type and creation date. You’ll also get a complete migration report at the end of the process.
With two in three businesses already migrating to the cloud, most of the workloads will be handled off-premise. Disruptive technologies are also increasingly being nestled in the cloud. Migration to cloud services is fast becoming a gauge of competitive advantage in modern business.
Exclusively written for cloudsfer.com
Written By Allie Cooper
