Over the years, the traditional way of creating and running business applications has become a tedious process which requires expert knowledge.
There are too many moving parts to buy, install, and configure – including hardware and software. Plus, the entire infrastructure requires technical expertise and constant maintenance to keep it working smoothly.
Being able to easily bring different applications together in one unified platform should be a key objective of any successful IT strategy, but it still remains an elusive goal for many SMEs.
Here’s how cloud computing can enable SMEs to take advantage of a fully customisable IT strategy without breaking the budget:
Think about the objectives
Why would your organisation move to the cloud? The answer to this question is not one answer. Instead, it is a combination of opinion and facts from members from all departments. Do you want to provide a Work from Home policy for your staff? Or do you want to refresh IT in a cost-effective way? Once you have the starting point as to why you should consider cloud computing, it is then important to determine the outcomes of doing so.
You can start small
Cloud computing is not one-size fits all. Organisations have the ability to fully customise their offering to suit their demands in terms of employee count. The cloud is a perfect way to introduce IT modernisation into an organisation without breaking the bank and can also provide a business case for further innovation.
Enterprise-level security at an SME cost
By opting for a cloud computing approach to IT, SMEs can reap the benefits of improved security. Because data is handled outside the organisation, it is in the hands of technical experts whose focus is to monitor and record access throughout the day. This contrasts with the traditional method of carrying out manual backups in-house and storing them on a physical hard drive. Instead, the process is streamlined and carried out simultaneously with firewalls and anti-virus included as standard. All of this is provided in a cost model that meets budget.
Critical business applications made cheaper
Critical business applications are now available in cloud form. So what’s the difference between cloud and on-premise applications? Cloud-based software frees businesses from licensing fees and enables organisations to add or remove users when necessary.
