For a lot of small and medium-sized businesses, the world of cloud computing is confusing. Even IT decision makers in our businesses can find it tricky to match the benefits of different cloud systems to the exact needs of the company – especially as it grows.
There are many reasons businesses choose to migrate to the cloud. These include reduced costs, scalability, robust security, more reliable systems, facilitation of remote working and the ability to keep up with the pace of digital innovation.
So, here are the crucial factors to consider when choosing which cloud to build on and why it matters.
Migrating to the cloud? Think flexibility first
Once you’ve figured out why you’re migrating to the cloud and what capabilities you need, you need to make sure that any solutions you choose are flexible and scalable.
“It’s important to have the opportunity to re-evaluate your needs as you go along and have the flexibility to scale up,” says Shannon Rattan, mid-market account manager at SoftwareONE, which provides managed services for Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.
If you’re already using Microsoft products, it makes sense to choose Azure as your cloud solution because everything is compatible and easy to maintain. “You can move straight to Azure or you can have a hybrid solution where you’re partly on premises and partly in the cloud,” Shannon tells Kochie’s Business Builders.
Azure has content delivery networks across the globe in major cities, which means users in Melbourne, for example, are not downloading from servers in the US. This saves time and resources.
“If you ever need to scale up a project quickly, Azure is fundamental in making that happen,” says Shannon. “If you were doing a product launch and knew that customers would be buying within a particular period, you could increase your data capacity and then bring it back down.”
What are the costs of migrating to the cloud?
The two key budget considerations when choosing a cloud platform are capital outlay and operational expenditure. In other words, what you need to pay upfront for something to be built, and the ongoing monthly costs of subscriptions, storage, computing power and IT engineering support.
“If you’re currently on premises, you have to look at the cost of migrating your licenses over to whatever cloud platform you choose and consider the storage associated with that,” says Shannon. “A cloud provider that offers adjustable rates based on storage will allow you to plan your budget.”
Making sure you’re getting the most out of your investment into the cloud is crucial. It’s easy to waste money paying for resources you don’t need – especially if you’re growing fast and need additional support.
This is why managed cloud services like SoftwareONE’s Azure Simple exist. This usage-based subscription service helps to manage the migration process for businesses so they can get more value out of Microsoft Azure. All of the costs of cloud spend can be managed and optimised either by yourself or their team, using SoftwareONE’s PyraCloud platform.
“When you migrate to the cloud, your costs are going to up and up every month,” says Shannon. “Trying to forecast your usage manually is complicated. PyraCloud will look at the types of resources you’re using and suggest better ones at better rates.”
PyraCloud also allows you to set a budget spike alert whenever usage goes way over what you expected. “It’s essential to make sure that you don’t have any extra, unplanned costs, such as if you’d forgotten to turn something off and it’s using massive resources,” says Shannon.
Another feature of PyraCloud is that it allows you to create chargebacks within your business. “If you’re an IT manager and deal with multiple departments, you can charge the cost to particular department,” says Shannon. “This allows you to get a better idea of who’s paying for what.”
How much support is available?
Even the best technologies are fallible, so when things go wrong you need a high level of support from your cloud provider, including availability and fast response times.
This isn’t always available to small and medium-sized business owners at a reasonable price when dealing directly with cloud providers and is another reason why a managed service can be a better option.
The Azure Simple service offers 24/7 support for IT departments, as well as being backed by Microsoft’s Premier Support, offering a 30-minute response time. Premier Support was previously only available to corporations on an enterprise agreement with the software giant.
“We’ll own anything that gets to Premier Support and work with all the involved parties,” says Shannon. “A lot of businesses can’t afford Premier Support as it’s really expensive and this is a way for them to get access to it. When you’re starting your journey to the cloud, it’s good to have that peace of mind of being able to get support when something’s broken or not going right.”
How secure is your cloud?
Protecting your data and systems is imperative, even more so now with the rise in remote working. Any cloud platform must offer robust security features to prevent cyberthreats.
For example, Azure’s cybersecurity controls detect, assess, diagnose, stabilise, then close the threat. It also has a strong focus on user security. “This is hugely important,” says Shannon. “You need proper user access management and with Azure you’ve got multi-factor authentication and application password requirements.”
Migrating to the cloud offers many benefits, from reducing IT infrastructure costs and scaling your business, to better collaboration facilities for your employees. Use the factors above to choose the right solution for you.
Find out more about SoftwareONE’s Azure Simple services here.
This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with SoftwareONE.
Feature image: AdobeStock
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