The most compelling reasons to take your business to the cloud

Many businesses are wary of change — why fix something that isn’t broken, right? But just because things are smooth sailing now doesn’t mean that cracks won't soon show, particularly in components such as servers and data infrastructures.

The cloud addresses many computing issues, but some business owners think that migrating to the cloud will render their existing infrastructures useless. This is a misconception, however, as moving your business to the cloud will let you enjoy its many benefits and still keep some of your existing systems. If that's not enough, here are other compelling reasons to take your business to the cloud:

Staying on-premises gives you little leeway

Many experts agree that 4 in every 10 disaster-stricken small- to medium-sized business (SMB) never fully recover from data loss. Needless to say, data loss can leave any organization financially crippled. Having an on-premises-only data system and server farm heightens this particular risk.

With a cloud-based or hybrid system, your risk of a devastating data loss event is drastically reduced. Furthermore, you’ll only need to pay for what you need and use. No need for long-term cash commitments and no need to worry about data loss.

It’s already familiar and comfortable

If you’re familiar with Microsoft products, chances are you’re also familiar with the layout and interface of the top cloud solutions such as Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing service used to build, test, and deploy applications hosted and managed in Microsoft servers. The best part about this unified interface is that not only will it make the transition easier, but it will also help lessen the chances of errors in inputting transaction and customer data.

You don’t need to lose your existing on-premises setup

It’s understandable that you don’t want to completely get rid of all your infrastructure investments — after all, they’re not cheap. Hybrid cloud services, which combine the benefits of a private and a public cloud setup, lets you keep your on-site servers and storage devices that you can simply sync with cloud-based servers and storage solutions.

Cloud providers can raise your data security

Cloud services providers obtain advanced security tools and tend to pay closer attention and have more consistent monitoring than an in-house IT team. IT departments — especially those for SMBs — tend to be utilized for any and all computer-related activities. In contrast, managed services employ data security specialists who are dedicated to keeping your data secure, and are undistracted by other IT problems.

Disaster recovery and backup systems are already built-in

One of the biggest advantages of a hybrid cloud system is having your on-site data replicable and easily retrievable should your in-house hardware fail. Having a full-cloud system, on the other hand, will not only give you the same benefits as a hybrid system, but will also free you from having to maintain and constantly upgrade an in-house data environment.

Ultimately, determining whether you should go for full-cloud or hybrid depends on how much you're willing to spend for a cloud service and how much control you require over your data. Either way, both will give your business an additional layer of contingency, which can prove invaluable in the event of a big data loss event.

You’ve got Arnet

Now factor in the time-tested cloud services of Arnet Technologies. Making the shift to cloud-powered computing is simpler with Arnet because we’ll do all the thinking for you. Likewise with our Veeam Cloud Connect service, you can seamlessly configure your backups, efficiently manage your data without taking a toll on your bandwidth, and securely transfer and store all business data the way you like it.

Arnet Technologies is an on-demand IT partner for Ohio-based SMBs. We provide IT management, cloud, telephony, disaster recovery, and security services for businesses of all sizes. Contact us here to schedule your strategy session.