Does this sound familiar? Your business is growing, but you haven’t changed your server hardware since you began operations. It’s hindering growth at this point, and you don’t know what to do. The best solution out there is to turn to the cloud. With the right implementation of a cloud-first model, you can effectively future-proof your business so it can grow unhindered.
Let’s look at why a cloud-first model is the ideal choice for modern businesses and how it can promote scalability, cost predictability, and remote work for your organization.
Cloud-First as an IT Model
Simply put, you want to avoid capital expenses whenever possible, and that’s exactly what most off-the-cuff IT expenses can be if you don’t have a cloud-first model in place.
For example, a large lump-sum server purchase should be replaced by an operational expense as soon as possible. Otherwise, you risk another large lump-sum expense the second any problem with your server surfaces. On the other hand, you have the predictable operating expense that comes from, say, a monthly subscription, which frees up capital for initiatives that drive business growth. You can scale your IT resources according to what your business needs, allowing you to hire more quickly, accommodate seasonal spikes, and make decisions more effectively without worrying if your business has the infrastructure to handle it.
The cloud is the key to a flexible workforce and work environment, so why not consider it for at least your collaboration and communication apps?
Common Cloud-First Myths
You might have heard this one: “The cloud is less secure.” This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Major providers like Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google dump billions into physical and digital security, which means they are quite well protected—far more than most small businesses can afford to do, at any rate. A major part of cloud security is configuration and management, and the cloud provider is well-equipped to handle these responsibilities. The biggest risk associated with the cloud comes from your own employees signing up for unauthorized and unmanaged individual Software as a Service apps (we call this shadow IT), but you can control these issues with effective monitoring and permissions.
The cloud is only insecure if you allow it to be, and you can easily prevent this by taking a unified approach for all your cloud services. This means they are all integrated and governed centrally to keep your business secure.
A Seamless Cloud Transition Isn’t Difficult
The right provider will offer you a cloud roadmap, but not just any old roadmap… This one should make strategy the priority.
To achieve a successful cloud migration, you and your provider need to understand it’s a strategic decision that requires careful planning from the start. This means you begin with applications that are best suited to the cloud, like a communications app or a productivity suite, then work your way up to more complicated solutions. Fusion IT can make this process easy and efficient. We can assess your infrastructure, manage your cloud vendors, and help you navigate all the bumps in the road these changes might initially cause. It all starts with that objective audit that tells you what you have, what you need, and the best way to bridge the in-between.
A cloud-first strategy should be for the benefit of your business, and if it starts to feel like a burden, it might not be for you… but you should never make that call without consulting the professionals at Fusion IT.
The right cloud-first model can help your business promote business agility, control costs, and future-proof operations, so why not at least explore the opportunity? We’ll assist you from start to finish to help your organization build out an infrastructure that prioritizes the cloud without sacrificing everything else.
Learn more by calling us at (616) 828-5360 today.