Leveraging Cloud for Rapid Growth

Cloud Computing is no longer an acceptable solution to business challenges, it’s increasingly seen as the only way to move forward. See How CEOs are embracing the cloud.

The rise of cloud computing has significantly changed the way businesses operate over the past decade or so, but some CEOs are still concerned with adopting this type of infrastructure. Others are wholeheartedly embracing the benefits that cloud offers for their business: reduced overhead costs, powerful applications, enhanced productivity, improved security and a more predictable upgrade cycle. Cloud-based applications are considered a high-availability environment, as they are not impacted by the same type of issues as on-premises solutions. However, moving to the cloud has forced CEOs to take a firm look at the bedrock of their business and determine whether there are changes that need to be made to increase efficiencies, reduce costs and focus on their core competencies.

Scalable, Flexible, Extensible Solutions

Cloud computing is so pervasive that computing power is becoming somewhat of a utility — something that can be leveraged and scaled in much the same way your gas, water https://www.cioadvise.com/strategic-technology-services/cloud-technologies/and electricity usage is scaled. This helps level the playing field for smaller and mid-size organizations, who now have access to the same sophisticated infrastructure and support tools that were previously available only to larger enterprises. Smart CEOs are retooling their business to outsource non-critical IT functions to allow internal staff space to invest in ways to truly differentiate the business. With cloud-based applications, integrations become more fluid which dramatically opens the field for adding solutions to address specific business problems. Plus, cloud applications and infrastructure are generally priced based only on the number of users who are actively engaged. This pricing model often allows businesses to be very tight with the number of licenses that are purchased because adding new users is easier than with an on-premise model or discrete perpetual licenses. Shifting software and computing costs to the same period as when they’re being used allows for more accurate cost forecasting, too.

Providing a Secure Business Infrastructure

Security is a major concern for businesses of all sizes, and your infrastructure is a point of vulnerability for many businesses. With IT managed services and cloud-based computing, advanced AI and other proactive tools are leveraged to quickly notify administrators of any inconsistencies that need to be investigated. Real-time infiltration notifications and active monitoring — along with the potential of utilizing a private cloud that keeps your business information off the public internet — are all crucial strategies that can be used in the fight against cybercrime. Microsoft’s Azure is one of the tools that technology heads are utilizing to provide a secure and compliant cloud for businesses of all sizes. As compliance and data privacy issues heat up around the world, it’s crucial that businesses are able to identify the data that is being captured and stored. Having all of your data stored in the cloud reduces the potential for having rogue databases that do not meet current privacy standards, too.

Creating an infrastructure that not only supports your business both now and in the future is an ongoing challenge that faces CEOs and their technology leaders in organizations of all sizes. With cloud-based computing, CEOs are finding that they’re able to be more nimble with changes that can help them stay in the game — even against much larger competitors. This advantage is a significant one, especially as working in the cloud reduces set overhead and can leave more funds available for growth measures.