The cloud has become a ubiquitous part of modern business. A recent study showed that nearly 80% of businesses surveyed are saving money, and seeing more productivity and better security as a result of cloud computing.
Migrating to the cloud will enable your business to be more agile, scalable, and flexible. You can also use it to take advantage of new technologies that are being developed and implemented on a daily basis.
Greater security
Cloud computing offers businesses greater security by storing data in a safe location and giving them the freedom to access it from any device. Using the cloud also provides access to the latest technology in the market without having to invest in high-end infrastructure.
Flexible infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure providers offer a variety of services and tools to help you build, deploy, and manage your cloud infrastructure. These services can range from managed services, such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and storage services, to tools and resources for building your own customised cloud, such as virtual machines, networking, databases, and developer tools.
IaaS gives you the ability to run any software on a server, regardless of the source, while PaaS provides a single application programming interface (API) to access multiple clouds and services. Through a hybrid model, you can use PaaS and IaaS to implement hybrid cloud infrastructure.
When you use the public cloud, you can scale your infrastructure as your business requires. You can also choose between on-demand and reserved instances, depending on your needs. Through a hybrid model, you can also scale your infrastructure when demand spikes, then reduce the infrastructure to meet consistent demand again.
Cost-effective
Cloud infrastructure costs vary, depending on the type of service you require, but can save anywhere an average of 15% when moving applications and data to the cloud, compared to refreshing on-premises infrastructure.
With the growing popularity of the hybrid model, in which some aspects of your business operations are conducted in the cloud and other aspects are conducted on-premises, the cost savings of the cloud are even more pronounced. Migrating to the cloud could represent a substantial cost reduction for your business.
Greater scalability
Cloud storage scalability is one of the most significant benefits of migrating to the cloud. Through scalable storage, you can store and process massive amounts of data with ease. Cloud data storage can also be used to store backup data and off-site copies of your critical data.
Scalability is particularly relevant when you’re dealing with big data. Big data is unstructured data, like images, videos, and emails, that has grown to enormous proportions since the advent of social media. The sheer volume of this data – and the need to store it securely – means that on-premises solutions are inadequate.
Big data needs a scalable, distributed platform that can handle extreme loads with ease. The best-in-class public and private cloud data storage solutions can scale to accommodate the requirements of even the most demanding businesses.
Improved data storage capacity
Cloud data storage is extremely scalable, which enables you to store massive amounts of data without worrying about how to house it on your own hardware. The best-in-class public and private cloud data storage solutions can scale to accommodate the requirements of even the most demanding businesses.
Better collaboration
Cloud services make it simple to share data with team members across the globe. You can set up data feeds that automatically push data to interested parties or use centralised data storage to make data available to your team members.
The best-in-class public and private cloud collaboration tools enable you to create a virtual team environment with people who are geographically separate but working together to solve problems and deliver value to customers. You can also set up automated workflows and integrations with other business systems, including CRM systems and accounting software.
Improved network performance
Cloud networking technologies that run on the cloud enable you to scale your network without having to manage physical devices. Cloud routers and switches allow you to create a more agile and flexible virtual network than your typical on-premises network.
Cloud networking technologies can be combined with virtual networking to create hybrid cloud networks that incorporate both on-premises and public cloud elements. These hybrid networks are more agile, flexible, and cost-effective than traditional on-premises networks.
Improved integration and compatibility
Cloud services enable you to integrate your existing on-premises and cloud-based services through APIs, or application programming interfaces. Through APIs, you can easily incorporate cloud services into your app, dramatically expanding the functionality of your app.
Better reliability
Cloud storage services are highly reliable, which helps mitigate cloud unreliability. Through object storage, you can store data in a highly reliable, distributed system that offers access via APIs, just as with cloud services.
You can also use object storage to store backups and other important data that needs to be highly reliable. Object storage also has improved availability and allows you to set up multi-tiered storage with multiple data centres.
Greater accessibility
Cloud services are increasingly being used to get services to remote and rural areas. The best-in-class public and private cloud IaaS and PaaS services can help you access remote data.
You can use the public cloud to access data stored in IaaS and PaaS services located in other countries or regions without having to build physical infrastructure there. This is particularly beneficial for businesses that want to expand internationally but can’t or don’t want to go through the capital-intensive process of buying their own equipment and infrastructure.
Find the right cloud solutions
The advantages of migrating to the cloud can help you save money, scale quickly, improve collaboration, and provide access to data from all over the world. The best-in-class public and private cloud data storage solutions can help you achieve these goals.
The cloud migration experts at Muscatech can help you find the best cloud solutions to benefit your business in every way. Talk to them today about getting up and running in the cloud.
