Over the last decade or so, the IT world has undergone significant changes due to the emergence of new disruptive technologies. One such technology—known as cloud computing— enables businesses to transfer one or more of their operations to remote servers. Sometimes referred to as “on-demand” computing, cloud solutions are generally reliable, scalable, and provide businesses with a strong competitive edge.

According to research conducted by Ovum, 20% of all business processes are already on the cloud. This number would be even higher, if it weren’t  for regulatory and performance-based requirements. As cloud computing continues to improve and provide convenience and efficiency-enhancing solutions, businesses still relying upon on-premises systems find it increasingly difficult to compete with industry leaders.

In this article, we go over some of the major advantages, businesses stand to gain from transferring their operations to the cloud.

Reduced Costs

Establishing and operating data centers is expensive. Companies need to purchase costly hardware and software in addition to recruiting qualified technicians to manage it all. Cloud solutions follow a subscription model where rather than purchasing and maintaining your own dedicated servers, you use servers run by a provider. These subscriptions are a lot cheaper than running your own server.

Scalability

Businesses with fluctuating or growing bandwidth should invest in cloud-based services. It grants them the ability to expand their capacity and bandwidth on demand. Likewise, if the company is facing a decline, they can scale down their operations. This allows them to adapt to changes in real-time.

Flexibility

Since business operations have moved to the cloud, employees can work from anywhere in the world, if they have an internet connection. Companies can also save costs by cutting down on the number of workstations they have and allowing certain employees to work from home. It also enables businesses to monitor their operations effectively.

Security

Businesses constantly face the threat of breaches or data theft via stolen or lost employee laptops. Fortunately, with cloud solutions, loss of hardware does not result in loss of sensitive data. Cloud systems are heavily monitored, maintained by highly experienced staff, and are very difficult to break into. According to Gartner, businesses that implement cloud infrastructure in 2020 will experience 60% lesser security-related incidents.

Reliability

Cloud systems rarely experience downtime, and even when they do, it’s for update and maintenance-related issues, which customers are informed about in advance. Hosting systems also come with disaster recovery plans in case of an emergency. Cloud-based solutions protect valuable data from natural and man-made disasters that can damage or destroy physical equipment and put a stop to core-IT functions.

In addition to these benefits, cloud systems also include other advantages such as improved collaboration and a high degree of customization. Outcoding is a software development and outsourcing company in Costa Rica that provides businesses with several web-based services including cloud solutions. Contact them today for more information.