The process of moving data, applications, and other elements of business from local servers to digital ‘cloud’ servers is called cloud migration. On a personal level, if you’ve stopped saving documents, spreadsheets, or presentations on your own devices and are simply dumping everything on your Google Drive or Office 365, then you’ve already done cloud migration on a certain, personal level.
Doing the same for your business might be more complicated and painstaking, but it’s well worth it. Here are some top reasons why cloud migration is a must for all modern businesses:
1. Easy data access for remote work
When all your data and business processes are streamlined in the cloud, you and your associates will practically be able to run the company from anywhere in the world. The ability to run a business while not being tethered to the physical infrastructure in the office used to be a luxury reserved only to those who are willing to pay a premium for cloud servicing.
But in the advent of COVID-19, remote accessibility has become more of a necessity than a luxury. And thanks to options like JDE Software, cloud migration is now easier than ever.Â
2. More cost-effective than local serversÂ
There may be a time when buying access to the cloud was more expensive than maintaining physical local servers, but that is simply not the case anymore. Studies done in recent years revealed that there are cheaper upfront and long-term costs associated with keeping data on cloud servers, because at least when you go digital, you only pay for the space you use. Otherwise, you’d be paying for entire local data centers whether or not you need the entire allotment. Operational costs are also kept at a minimum when you keep everything accessible through cloud servers.
In relation to the first point, you can perpetually allow certain employees to work from home so long as they can access the cloud. This way, you can even downsize your office and pay smaller utility bills.
3. Secure data storage & recovery optionsÂ
Migrating to the cloud is an efficient way to securely back-up your data because all the good cloud servers were designed with privacy and security in mind. Even issues like hacking and identity theft are minimized in cloud computing environments.
Additionally, your company can impose additional specific compliance requirements for access to your cloud servers, to make sure that unwanted traffic is kept out.
4. Easy setup and maintenance
You’d be surprised to find out just how much businesses spend on IT infrastructure, and specifically on internal server maintenance. When you migrate to the cloud, you can even do away with onsite staff that used to manage your local servers.
Companies that offer cloud computing usually offer entire packages that include migration and cloud server maintenance, so you don’t have to do anything much other than subscribing to the service. You don’t even need to purchase expensive infrastructure to leverage cloud resources.
5. Seamless integration and collaboration
Connecting business systems together becomes much easier when everything you need is already in the cloud. The thing about local data centers is that their efficiency decreases over time and as their load racks up. So in order to keep local servers functioning great, you need to do seasonal refreshes and updates. This process takes a long while and can put a snag in your operations. Meanwhile, when you get a cloud computing service, refreshes, updates, and even expansions come included in the package as your needs change across the years.
6. More affordable means to scale
The problem with investing big chunks of money on IT infrastructure is you never know what technology that works today will be obsolete tomorrow. This makes scaling up such a challenge for many businesses. With everything in the cloud, you can have more control over your data and resources for a smoother transition whenever your business needs to scale.
These are but some good reasons to seek cloud migration for your business. Migrating to the cloud creates a solid foundation for your business that makes scaling and expanding easier and with reduced costs. For the purpose of functionality and increased profitability, you should really consider cloud migration for your business.
