What are the Pros and Cons of Moving Your Business to the Cloud?

Cloud computing is one of the greatest technological advancements of the last century and has completely transformed how people do business. It plays an essential role in the remote revolution that we are seeing now and more businesses are thinking of harnessing its power to streamline their operation. Moving to the cloud can also help companies big and small reduce their tech spend.

It is far from perfect, however, and it is not the best solution for everybody. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of moving your business to the cloud.

Below are the Pros and Cons of Moving Your Business to the Cloud

Pro – Cost Efficiency

The biggest benefit of the cloud is that you won’t have to spend as much on infrastructure. Not only will you not have to spend on servers and the software that runs them, but you’ll also be able to save on space. You won’t need to pay extra to have a server room and all the extra amenities needed to protect them and keep them in working order.

You won’t have to worry about updating your servers either. You also won’t need to hire staff to look after your systems. All of this will be handled by the cloud provider, and you’ll be able to save on the immense amount of energy servers can consume.

Con – Cost Creep

With that being said, it can be easy for companies to let their cloud costs creep up. One of the most common ways that companies start wasting money on the cloud is when employees don’t understand the full implication of their cloud usage and start using it irresponsibly. Establishing usage protocols can help but, at the end of the day, you may need to use other solutions to make sure that usage stays under control.

Automation might be the solution here. Services like virtasant can help companies control their cloud footprint through their automated solution. They have a service that will allow you to know where you might be overspending on the cloud in a few minutes. You can then use their platform to control your cloud usage in real-time and keep costs down.

Pro – Convenience and Consistent Up Time

The cloud allows users to access information from wherever they are as long as they have an internet connection. It can facilitate workers and stakeholders working in different countries across different time zones. It also facilitates cooperation since it allows multiple users to view, modify, and access documents simultaneously.

Another major benefit of using cloud services is the resources they have. A good cloud service provider will have multiple backup servers and will automatically deploy backup schemes if anything happens. They will also be better equipped to protect servers from cyber-attacks, vandalism, accidental damage, or natural disasters, among other things.

Con – Security Issues

This is probably one of the biggest challenges facing companies that want to move to the cloud. This is especially true for companies with many moving parts and employees working remotely through multiple devices.

No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to control what your employees are doing 24/7. There is the risk that one of their devices gets hacked and allows malicious agents to access critical data. Even something as seemingly benign as a lost device can become a huge security threat for your company.

This means that you will need to double down on security measures and you might need to make some additional expenses. You should start by standardizing devices for greater compatibility and upgrade management.

You may also want to look into things like CASB technology, or hiring a managed IT service to monitor interactions between users and your cloud applications.

Pro – Performance and Scalability

Another great benefit of cloud technology is how much flexibility and scalability it offers. Upgrades are deployed instantly on the cloud and the moment you need them. You can massively scale your cloud workspace up or down in a way that would be impossible if you had to manage your server infrastructure.

You will also get greater computation speeds thanks to cloud systems’ dispersed architectures. Cloud systems can also store more data than classic servers or personal computers. This means that your company will not have to worry about running out of space ever again.

Con – Loss of Control

No matter which way you look at it, using the cloud means that you’re handing over your company’s private data and information to a third party. They will become 100% responsible for handling your data, and, even if good services have liability clauses, a breach could cause irreparable damage to your brand. This is why you will need to take the time to thoroughly vet any company you’re thinking of working with and be ready to spend a little bit more on quality.

These are just some of the pros and cons of moving to the cloud for businesses. It does have many advantages and might be inevitable for certain businesses, but you still have to be conscious of the drawbacks, risks, and limitations they have.