Don’t let fear keep you from harnessing the power of the cloud
When cloud computing was initially introduced, many organizations didn’t understand the capabilities of this technology and were extremely apprehensive about placing their data on an external server mainly due to security reasons. As technology has improved and as the business world has become increasingly dependent on remote teams and off-site workers, accessing critical company data from the cloud has become crucial.
Organizations are still unsure about moving to the cloud. Are you concerned about having your data in the cloud?
If yes, then discover the truth about cloud computing!
According to the study by Cisco, more than 83% of all data would be based in the cloud within the next three years. While a study by Gartner reveals that by 2019, more than 30 percent of the 100 largest vendors’ new software investments will have shifted from cloud-first to cloud-only. Gartner also predicts more cloud growth in the infrastructure compute service space as adoption becomes increasingly mainstream. Furthermore, a recent IDC survey on cloud market predictions indicates that 50% of IT spending and 60% of IT spend will be on cloud-based infrastructure by 2020.
Additionally, rising demand from the migration of infra to the cloud as well as from compute-intensive workloads such as Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, and the Internet of Things— both in the enterprise and startup arena — are further driving this growth.
Sadly, in a world where security breaches at large organizations dominate the headlines, the ambiguity that encloses cloud computing can make securing the enterprise seem daunting and a few organizations are still apprehensive and not able to maximize the full value that the cloud offers. And some businesses still remain apprehensive.
Common Concerns
In no particular order, businesses hesitant to adopt cloud computing are often concerned with:
- Security. By far the biggest concern. Are you afraid that your data will not be as safe in the cloud, as it is in on-premise systems?
- Control. Do you feel that you will lose control of your data if you move it to the cloud and it’s more assuring to know that you have it nearby?
- Compatibility. Do you fear critical applications will not be compatible with cloud computing solutions?
- A Passing Fad. Apparently, Do you strongly feel that the cloud is just another passing phase?
Put your doubts about the Cloud to rest
Cloud is undoubtedly a way for your organizations to cut down your operational cost and streamline your business process. However, before jumping on a bandwagon, it is better if you look at some of the key benefits of transitioning to the cloud:
- Cloud is secure: Surprisingly, according to Gartner, through 2020, public cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) workloads will suffer at least 60% fewer security incidents than those in traditional data centers. While 60% of organizations that implement relevant cloud visibility and control tools will experience only one-third fewer security failures by 2018. Needless to say that the cloud is more secure than traditional approaches.
- Reduced cost– A study commissioned by Cisco shows that on average, the most “cloud advanced” organizations see an annual benefit per cloud-based application of $3 million in additional revenues and $1 million in cost savings. These revenues boosts have been largely the result of sales of new products and services, acquiring new customers faster or due to accelerated ability to sell into new markets.
- Decreased headcount: With significantly fewer servers to look after, and with standardized platforms, you will subsequently find you require fewer IT staff. In fact, many organizations figure out that they can reduce their staff maintenance by 50 percent.
- Quicker deployments: Cloud may or may not have a drastic impact on application performance, but in just about every case, you’ll be able to get them up and running much sooner. Creating—and eliminating— environments for new applications is a much faster process, allowing your development team to use their time most efficiently.
- Improved Agility. Cloud computing drastically increases application delivery as there’s no associated waiting time to access or allocate the infrastructure. Subsequently, by embracing continuous delivery and cloud DevOps, your business can significantly improve its agility.
- 20%+ faster time to market for new services
- 50% fewer application failures and faster recovery time (in 10 minutes or less)
- 30% more frequent new code deployments and a 38% improvement in overall code quality
- High Availability: The complete cloud computing facilities are routinely protected from system failures and outages using redundant network switches, servers, and storage facilities. In particular, by leveraging off-site backup and redundant servers and storage facilities make these well-equipped cloud computing facilities less vulnerable to disaster or malicious attack.
- Fewer servers: Moving infra, application, and platforms to a cloud model can undoubtedly help you with enormous savings, as you can stand down or redeploy servers that were previously hosted applications now moved to a shared model.
Final Thoughts
It’s time to try the cloud!
Legacy systems often prevent responsiveness and derogate service levels and a lack of speed or agility often results in inconsistent and disconnected experiences for users, partners, and employees. Moreover, aging systems should not prevent you from harnessing digital technologies.
However, the big question that often worries every business is what should and what shouldn’t be moved to the cloud. The answer has proven to be remarkably simple. Everything is potentially cloud-able – bizarrely, even mission-critical survival solutions like disaster recovery. The need of the hour is to focus on delivering solutions faster to meet customer demand in today’s hyper-competitive market and make a big difference.
