2015

Should I Move My Business To The Cloud?

There is no question that the cloud is here to stay, evident in the continued growth of adoption rates but there are still businesses who claim they have no intentions to integrate any online business software now or in the immediate future. With the cloud boasting so many great benefits (covered in last week’s blog post: Benefits of the Cloud) it got us wondering, what’s wrong with the cloud?

At Ornavi, we love the cloud – it helps us bring efficiency to businesses up and down the country so this week we are aiming to investigate and break down some cloud fears, and hopefully put to bed some cloud myths.

 

Cloud Barriers

Security

Security has always been and still remains the biggest concern for people who are considering moving important data to the cloud. It is estimated that 49% of people see security as an issue. These concerns are largely due to the fact that cloud data is stored on servers and systems that are neither owned nor controlled by the user. However control does not necessarily mean security.

Storing your business data internally does not necessarily guarantee protection from theft, damage or viruses and hackers. You can take steps to reduce these risks such as install security systems, invest in anti-virus software and perform regular backups. With cloud business systems – these risk reducing methods are part of the deal. Data centres are able to provide a greater investment in security infrastructure which allows them to constantly monitor and resolve security issues as they arise. They are also responsible for performing regular back-ups. Every service will be different so check to see how often backups are taken; you will probably find it’s more often than you are currently doing.

Lock-In

The fear of being tied to their vendor is stopping some businesses from making the leap to the cloud. People need to still be able to make decisions about their business and that includes the freedom to move to an alternative provider if they should want to. Concerns include the compatibility between different products, contract constraints and the general complexity of moving data that lives in the cloud.

Although there are some cloud service providers who purposely make it difficult to leave, most recognise the importance of being flexible for their customers. Look out for online business software with data import and export options that will allow you to get your information in and out again with ease. Read the fine print and check the contract terms – most providers now operate on a pay-as-you-consume basis meaning you don’t need to be tied into lengthy contracts.

Privacy

Attitudes towards cloud computing are generally improving however privacy worries are on the increase. In August 2014, the media was saturated with stories of leaked personal photographs of numerous high profile celebrities that had been illegally obtained by hackers via the cloud, adding to the growing concerns.

Firstly you need to be able to trust your provider. A good cloud vendor should have a clear and transparent privacy policy available on their website. It should detail how secure your data is, how they will use it and also the type of encryption that is provided. If you don’t feel comfortable, keep looking. Secondly, adopt good internal practices. Use secure passwords and codes, change them regularly and don’t share them. You wouldn’t leave your house unlocked while you were out, give colleagues your bank card pin code or share personal details with strangers. Apply these basic principles to your online information and you can be sure you are doing everything you can to retain your privacy.

Expense

This is the cloud barrier that is now mentioned the least; however it is still a valid concern for some businesses, especially smaller sized companies. Business owners worry about the upfront implementation costs, and say the stress of being unable to accurately predict on-going and long term costs means they would rather avoid the cloud.

Firstly, with the cloud computing industry exploding in recent years, increased competition is driving prices down. Global players Google and Amazon announced huge price cuts in their cloud computing services in 2014.  Secondly, there has been a significant shift from infrastructure being a capital expense to a variable cost. It is now common practice for online business software providers to offer their services on a pay-as-you-consume basis. This subscription based strategy means you can pay for exactly what you need as you are using it. Avoid services that include lengthy contracts, huge start-up costs or include exit fees.

Interoperability

Interoperability generally refers to the ability of different systems and software applications to communicate, exchange and utilise shared data. Existing and potential cloud users have concerns that using online software and systems could lead to interoperability problems and fragmented data. Consumers do not wish to be limited to a single cloud provider and would prefer the freedom to move their data around from service to service as their business requires.

Until there is industry-wide cloud standards, the consumer could be in for a long wait for complete data mobility within their different systems. However, the cloud is becoming increasingly open in nature due to high demand and growing competition so there is already evidence of disparate cloud systems working together. This could be one reason interoperability is placed so far down on the cloud adoption barrier list; only 17% of people report interoperability as an inhibitor to cloud adoption in their business, which is a 45% drop since 2012. It could also be due to pre-cloud systems offering absolutely no cross-communication, meaning any cloud solution is an improvement on the businesses current strategy.

Reliability

Reliability concerns include outages, slow responses and data loss. These translate to concerns of availability. Consumers want to be able to access their data quickly, at any time, with minimal risk of running into issues.

The whole design of the cloud is based on the idea that all systems will fail one day. In the world of cloud computing you might hear the word “redundancy” being used. Although often used with negative connotations, in the online community it is a great thing. Redundancy in cloud computing refers to the duplication of data and systems that exist as a “plan B” in the event of a primary system failing.  This basically means the cloud will always out perform an SME in terms of reliability capabilities.

Look for the stated downtime of the cloud service. Most availability statistics will be in the region of 99.95% to 99.99%. Availability of 99.99% equates to a minute a week of downtime. To put this into perspective, you are statistically more likely to be killed by a grizzly bear than stumble by chance upon the minute of estimated downtime within that week.

Complexity

As the cloud continues to evolve and adapt to its environment, cloud service providers strive to increase the flexibility of their products, to allow them to deliver to a wider market. But with increased capabilities comes complexity and fragmentation. The intricacies of cloud business systems are a real concern to the average business owner, evident from the rise in the number of cloud management companies seeking to capitalise on consumer confusion.

First of all, you need to be crystal clear on your business reasons for considering moving to the cloud. This will help identify the correct system for your needs. Look for intuitive software that doesn’t require a user manual to understand. Try to find an online business management software option that has been designed to be used “out of the box” – which basically means you won’t need a team of experts to implement it.

 

So, What Does This Mean?

According to the evidence, it is realistically no longer a question of if you should move your business to the cloud, but when. By taking the right approach when it comes to choosing the right cloud computing services for your business you will limit the risks and be confident in your decision. Plan carefully, research thoroughly and pick wisely.

If you are still suffering from cloud fears then it’s simply a case of where are you better off and the answer it would seem is up in the air…literally.

If you read last week’s blog article What is the Cloud? then you should have a general idea of what we mean by “the cloud”. Which is great, but now you are probably wondering “so what?” This week we will be looking at why the cloud is important in general and in terms of business, by discussing some of its great benefits in terms of flexibility, performance, costs & security.

Flexibility

Universal Access

As we learned last week, the cloud is accessed online. So this means we can access the information we need anywhere in the world, at any time with nothing more than an internet-enabled device (like a laptop or tablet) and a working connection.

In business terms: This level of flexibility has been revolutionary to the world of business. People no longer need to be sat in the office to check in with work. They can tap into work whilst commuting, out on site or even holiday. Employees can log into a cloud system on their lap top in the morning and pick up from where they left off out on site in the afternoon on their smart phone. The cloud brings mobility to businesses.

 

Real-time Information

Any information that is managed and shared via the cloud updates in real time. This means that as soon as anything is created, saved or updated it is immediately viewable by anyone with access wherever they might be.

In business terms:  Critical business decisions can be made based on completely up-to-date and reliable information. Allowing businesses to respond faster to changes in their environment makes them more competitive in today’s global marketplace.

 

 

Collaboration

The cloud connects people by allowing files of all types to be shared and co-edited on a multitude of devices, by storing them in a central location, accessible by everyone with permission. Files are not tied to the device they are created on.

In business terms: Business associates from all corners of the globe can work together simultaneously on projects and see edits as they are being made.  No more disconnected email trails, or files being saved and re-saved.

 

 

Performance

Fast Deployment

The cloud enables software to be used online via your browser. This means there are no lengthy downloads or complicated installation processes. You can get started immediately.

In business terms: Time is precious and business owners don’t want to see valuable hours being wasted by planning in a software download for a new application. Software that is delivered via the cloud is different; it is designed to be used “out of the box” so businesses can get started instantly.

 

 

Automatic Updates

If you subscribe to a service that operates from the cloud then you are not responsible for the upgrades. When new updates become available, the provider will often implement them without you even knowing. Cloud computing providers will also take care of routine server maintenance, including security patches.

In business terms: In years gone by business would have to schedule in time to install upgrades to their business systems. Now, automatic updates means minimal disruption and minimal downtime. This is essential is today’s competitive environment.

 

 

Maximises Efficiency

The cloud will save you time. At its very simplest, the cloud speeds things up because processes are mostly automated. It takes less people, less time to accomplish more work. In technical terms, cloud applications are designed to cope with fluctuation in bandwidth demands. This means that irrelevant of the number of people accessing a particular cloud service, no one will notice a drop in service.

In business terms:: Business owners can reclaim their valuable time because using the cloud streamlines business processes. Things like handling invoices, that can often be very time-consuming, become quick and simple tasks. Cloud business systems can handle your business at its busiest without slowing you down.

 

 

Environmentally Friendly

Using the cloud is environmentally friendly. Adopting the cloud instead of having your own on-site server means you are only ever using the server space you require. This results in reduced energy consumption as well as carbon emissions.

In business terms: It is great for businesses to be seen to be actively reducing their carbon footprint but in doing this they will also be reducing costs. A business will require less hardware, see a reduction in the amount of raw materials such as paper required and will also be able to reduce their general energy costs.

 

 

Cost Efficiency

No Up-Front Costs

As a cloud service consumer there is no need to set up complex and expensive IT infrastructure to house any systems. Cloud service providers invest huge sums of money building safe and secure data housing networks. The benefits of this are passed directly onto the users without passing on the costs.

In business terms: Businesses might not have the capital expenditure to invest in their own IT infrastructure. The cloud allows a business of any size to get up and running on a cloud system with zero capital expenditure. There is also zero risk as common practice for cloud business solutions is to offer a free trial.

 

 

Reduced Ongoing Costs

Standard practice for cloud solutions is “pay-as-you-consume” meaning users only have predictable ongoing operating expenses to consider but are never tied in to lengthy contracts. Users will benefit from free updates to the service and will never pay maintenance costs.

In business terms: Businesses are able to source services on-demand according to their business needs. They can increase and decrease their cloud service usage according to budget and needs. You will never physically own the cloud solution you use but as all services are provided via the web at a fraction of the costs, you will never need to.

 

 

Data Security

Enhanced Security

The security of any information that is stored, accessed or shared online is the service providers concern – which is a good thing because they are the experts. They are able to provide a greater investment in security infrastructure which allows them to constantly monitor and resolve security issues as they arise.

In business terms: Businesses benefit from the security resources and skills offered by the provider of the cloud computing service they are using. Data centres can achieve physical security levels that far outweigh that of the average business.

 

 

Business Continuity

Data backups are a worry of the past. Cloud systems are not affected by fire, flood, theft or technology outage so you can rest easy in the knowledge that everything you store in the cloud is protected.

In business terms: There is no need for complex disaster recovery plans as the cloud offers a level of data protection that all businesses can benefit from.  Data is kept in a secure off-premisedata centre, so in the event of theft, loss or on premise IT failures etc. your business will not face the severity of implications it could otherwise. Thanks to the cloud – it will be business as usual.

 

 

Download this infographic.

Intro

The cloud is a term you have probably heard a hundred times but do we really know what it means? For many of us that’s a resounding no. Which is a worry because you probably are already using it. If you store photos,  stream music or movies online, send emails or use online banking then you guessed it; you are already well and truly in the cloud.

The rapid evolution of the cloud is unsurprisingly having a huge impact on the business world. According to an annual study, the UK cloud adoption rate has grown by 61% since 2010. The study showed that in 2014, 78% of UK organisations were using at least one cloud-based service. It’s become increasingly crucial for business owners to incorporate the cloud into their business strategies but before we can run we must walk so let’s look at what exactly “the cloud” means.

The Cloud

Traditionally information was produced and subsequently stored on a single piece of hardware (a computer) and it was transferred to other computers using various physical devices such as floppy discs, CDs, USB sticks and memory cards. But as with any revolution the next stage was never far away. Enter; the cloud.

To a boffin: the cloud is comprised of a network of servers kept in a data centre.

To you and me: the cloud is basically another device (called a server) that we can use for storing, accessing and sharing information. Except unlike USB sticks and memory cards, to us, it doesn’t have a physical presence. The server is kept somewhere else in a secure building dedicated to housing hundreds of servers, called a data centre. We connect to the server with our data on it using the internet.

All the data you choose to send to the cloud will be stored on and accessed via multiple servers across multiple data centres: your email provider keeps your emails on their server; Apple keeps your iCloud files on their server, Facebook has their own server to store your data etc.

Software as a Service

Another cloud term you may hear that could cause some confusion is “software as a service”. This basically describes the delivery of an application via the net instead of as a download.

An example of a service that can be used to take your business to the cloud is online business management software. Software such as this can be used to store, access and share all your important business data from anywhere in the world.

Key Points/Summary

The cloud is the generic term for what is actually a network of servers that live in a data centre. Although it does exist physically, to you and me the cloud is a virtual memory we use to store, access and share information.

We can also use the cloud to use applications without having to download them. Applications like this have become known as “software as a service”.

The rate of businesses adopting the cloud as part of their business practices is rising. Research being carried out suggests that if business owners are not exploring the possibility of moving their data to the cloud, it could be to the detriment of their business.

Next week: Benefits of the Cloud