The cloud is an increasingly popular buzzword among business IT, but as with any computing solution, there are pros and cons involved in moving your data or services from the desktops in your office to a cloud provider.

Pros

Using cloud services can save a fortune

No more up front desktop application licensing costs, no more auditing of software licenses, and a reduction in the level of office and IT department hardware expenditure.

The cloud promotes good backup behaviour

With data on your locals PCs or a server, it can be easy for a busy business to become lax about backing up. With data in the cloud, every business will be more keenly aware about losing access to that data, and will take the time to invest in better backup and access solutions.

Anytime, anywhere access

In an increasingly mobile world, accessing data from any location, be it a hotel, even in the air, at a conference or so on is becoming easier. You can also access information or services on your smartphone, tablet or a different PC, without worrying about keeping that information up to date.

Cons

You aren’t just relying on your cloud provider

Businesses also need a reliable and fast ISP for these services to feel like a desktop replacement. In many cases with notebook PCs or Macs, if your internet service suffers an outage your workers can switch to a mobile hotspot using their smartphone, but that’s a very short term solution.

Cloud providers go bust too

Major cloud service providers like Amazon or Salesforce aren’t going anywhere soon, but smaller cloud providing businesses do fail from time to time. Usually companies get a few days notice to move their data to another service, so having a migration plan is essential, as is investigating the credentials of the cloud provider.

Security isn’t in your hands

Some types of business are forbidden from using cloud services; the NHS, military, banking and financial service sectors all need in-house data. If you work with these types of businesses, be careful about what you can and cannot store in the cloud. Even if that doesn’t apply, ultimately your business is putting its data in someone else’s hands.

Naturally, most businesses have lots of questions when it comes to moving to cloud services or storage, and we can provide practical advice that is right for your organisation. We also provide business IT support and computer support in London, along with Apple Mac repairs.

Cloud Computing by JD Hancock licensed under Creative commons 4

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