Cloud computing is the future of IT infrastructure. It’s now estimated that at least 95% of IT systems are based at least partly on the cloud, and the number of mission-critical servers, infrastructure, and data hosted on the cloud is only going to continue to grow.
And there’s a good reason that cloud computing is so popular – especially among small branding winnipeg business owners. Whereas in the past, expensive servers and IT equipment were only available to larger corporations who could afford the cost of entry, today’s world of cloud-based architecture is allowing small businesses access to tools that they’ve never had before.
Let’s take a look at the 5 best reasons that small businesses should be using cloud computing for their IT needs.
- Increased Scalability
Scalability is huge for small businesses. Buying more space than you need is essentially wasted money. If you invest in a high-tech IT infrastructure that has much more capacity than you need, you’re essentially wasting money, especially because you’re likely paying for licenses for your maximum number of users – not the amount of users you have right now.
Cloud infrastructure allows for incredible scalability. You can start small – a handful of users, a small complement of essential programs, and a modest cluster of storage and application infrastructure.
As your business continues to grow, you can add on services, users, and infrastructure as you need to, due to the convenient Software and Infrastructure as a Service (Saas and IaaS) methodologies used by most cloud computing companies.
This ensures that as your business grows, you’ll always have the necessary equipment to keep running smoothly – and that you’ll never waste money on unnecessary infrastructure and licensing again.
- Lower Costs
Physical infrastructure and equipment are expensive to purchase. And that’s not it – local IT infrastructure doesn’t just run itself. Whether you’re relying on a third-party IT services provider or an in-house team of IT personnel, you have to pay not only to buy and upgrade your equipment, but to maintain, patch, and repair it when something goes wrong.
Cloud computing lets you offset these costs. Comprehensive software and infrastructure suites are available that are totally hands-off – you never have to worry about maintaining, upgrading, or expanding your own infrastructure. It’s as easy as pushing a button, or talking to your service provider.
This leads to lower costs in several ways. First, you don’t need to pay for expensive hardware. Second, you don’t need to pay to maintain that hardware. Third, you don’t need to pay to run that hardware – and the electricity cost of running server farms, databases, and other IT infrastructure can be surprisingly steep.
- Higher Reliability And Uptime
Cloud computing and cloud services allow your company to enjoy much higher uptime than traditional, on-premises IT infrastructure.
This is because most cloud services providers have extremely redundant systems. If something goes wrong in your particular server cluster or node, there are always backups that can pick up the slack – usually almost immediately.
Working in the cloud means highly available resources, maximum uptime, and a reliable, easy-to-use IT solution.
- Ease-of-Access
On-site IT infrastructure can often only be accessed while employees are on the premises at your business, or by VPN. Both of these methods aren’t ideal – obviously, employees will need to access your IT infrastructure outside of work at some point, and VPNs can be difficult to use, and their reliability is spotty.
A true cloud solution allows you to access your data, applications, and other critical infrastructure from any device – and from any location. Your phone, your laptop, your tablet – with a cloud computing solution, each internet-connected device you own can safely, easily, and securely connect to your cloud computing infrastructure, making it easier than ever to access your data, no matter where you are.
- Risk Reduction
Cloud computing reduces risk in two ways.
First, data that’s backed up on off-site, highly redundant server clusters is orders of magnitude more safe than data that’s stored locally. Data stored locally can be lost in natural disasters, freak accidents, or even with simple hardware failure. The redundancy allowed by cloud storage and cloud computing ensures your data is always safe.
Second, cloud service providers are highly concerned with protecting your data from intrusions. Cloud service providers employ teams of security specialists to ensure that your data is not vulnerable to any hacks, data theft, or other forms of intrusion that could compromise your business, or reduce your trustworthiness to your customers.
Move To The Cloud – Grow Your Business
The cloud computing boom is nothing short of a revolution for small businesses. Small business owners now have access to enterprise-level tools that are scalable, easy to use, and provide increased uptime and redundancy to protect crucial data.
This is unprecedented in the IT world, and any small business owner who is looking toward the future should be very interested in implementing some kind of cloud computing solution.