Choose the Cloud Before Your Competitors Do

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

jacob-murbachIn this special guest feature, Jacob Murbach, Lead Cloud Services Engineer at Pandera Systems, explores why switching to the cloud is beneficial and how companies can get the most out of making the switch. Jacob builds and maintains cloud infrastructure for more than 520 servers across the globe. He has extensive experience working in system and developmental operations, which includes assisting in enterprise solutions, cloud architecture and automation. In addition, Jacob plays a key role in moving entire companies’ infrastructure and systems to Cloud based solutions. He has worked in the field of IT Operations for 10 years across multiple industries, including a range of Fortune 500 companies. Previously, he worked as a system administrator for The Walt Disney Company and WellDyneRX, a leading healthcare solutions company.

From fear of upfront costs and a complex market to a slew of underestimated benefits, companies are often hesitant to adopt new technology. However, executives need to realize that keeping up with the industry can improve a company’s competitive edge, and ultimately save money and resources in the long run. With technology becoming more complex and offering more features as time goes on, the longer it takes a company to migrate, the farther behind a company will fall amongst its competitors. One prime example of this phenomenon is in the switch to the cloud.

While every business has different technological capabilities and needs, almost every company can benefit from the cloud. With more than 67 percent of business and IT executives planning to move at least half their resources to the cloud within the next two years (source) – it’s not a matter of “if” companies will make the switch, it’s a matter of “when.” Therefore, executives should start making the decision sooner rather than later.

Early adopters of the cloud are rewarded in several ways, but most notably through cost-savings. Companies that function with on premise infrastructure have to budget for hardware that lasts years and have the capability to handle future projects and growth. The cloud changes all of that, enabling businesses to scale on-demand quickly and efficiently. With the cloud, customers only pay for the resources used, cutting unnecessary costs associated with services that end up going untouched. This is especially beneficial for small companies, as it does not make sense for small business owners to pay large licensing fees for software and hardware when a significantly smaller budget can enable the cloud. Additionally, choosing cloud services allows companies to scale as needed, allowing digital networks to grow at the same rate as business demands. Thus, companies don’t have to pay for services bigger than its needs, yet are reassured that there are no limits to potential growth.

Nonetheless, executives should not choose a platform solely on price. There is a reason there are so many IaaS (infrastructure as a service) providers. Some offer unique offerings for Microsoft shops, others offer support that is extremely handy for new cloud users. Competition between networks all work in the consumer’s favor. Shop around, compare features, cost, location of data centers, support, up-time and make an educated decision. The cloud can seem overwhelming, so business managers should take the time to learn their options before making a poor investment out of haste. Plenty of cloud providers take the time to tailor its services to a company’s particular needs, so find the platform that best suits your business.

Overall, the structure of the enterprise is clearly shifting toward the cloud and it’s up to IT executives and business managers to capitalize on the shift. The faster you switch to the cloud, the faster you can reduce employee, data center, licensing, hardware and multiple other costs and reallocate them to other areas within your company. Waiting to make the transition will only place your business further behind in cloud offerings.

 

Sign up for the free insideBIGDATA newsletter.

 

Speak Your Mind

*