Small companies rarely have enough financial and human resources to maintain their own computing infrastructures. They can get by, but technology-driven growth is something for later in their journey. After all, servers, workstations, networking gear, and software all cost a great deal of money to buy, maintain, and upgrade. Furthermore, there’s no denying that the inner workings of technology are complicated – often so much so that one technician can't specialize in all the IT an SMB requires.
Fortunately, there’s another option: outsourcing your computing requirements and workloads to the cloud. Although everyone’s talking about the cloud these days, there’s not nearly enough emphasis on addressing the specific fears and challenges that many businesses and specific industries face. No technology is perfect, including the cloud, but between our Middletown and East Rutherford offices, most of the fears we hear from business owners are unfounded.
Let’s explore some of the more common worries that businesses face when embarking on their cloud journeys.
#1. Losing Control
On the one hand, when you want a job done properly, you’ve got to do it yourself. On the other hand, nothing good will come of asking an accountant to fix a cybersecurity issue. It sounds silly, but many business owners would rather risk subpar IT support than outsource it to certified professionals.
Cloud providers are legally obligated by their service level agreements (SLAs) to solve problems within certain deadlines and guarantee a minimum level of service. They’re also long-term technology partners, which means they have a vested interest in the successful implementation of their systems in your business.
#2. Compromising Security
The constantly evolving cyberthreat landscape is one of the biggest concerns that modern businesses have when it comes to technology, and with good reason too. In fact, security should be your top priority when choosing and implementing any kind of new technology, and migrating to the cloud is no exception. However, the idea that cloud technology is less secure than its predecessors is one of the most persistent IT myths of all time.
Any reliable cloud provider will have reached an economy of scale that gives them access to the best security measures in the industry, which is likely far beyond the budget of your own business. Reliable cloud vendors always implement cutting-edge physical, administrative, and technological security measures in state-of-the-art data centers.
#3. Reducing Performance
Systems performance and uptime directly impact your organization’s profitability, so it’s understandable that it’s a top priority in any digital strategy. A common concern that business leaders have when moving to the cloud is that performance will see a significant drop. After all, an application running on the computer in front of you should always be faster than one that relies on an internet connection...right?
While a fast and stable internet connection is an absolute must for any business that wants to move to the cloud, performance is usually improved by this technology. Cloud apps and services are installed on high-end servers that are much faster than most desktop computers, which means you'll enjoy performance that is superior to that of your existing hardware.
#4. Starting Over
By moving to the cloud, you’ll be taking many of your computing processes off-site, and to many people that sounds like starting over from scratch. A common concern is that the business will experience numerous teething problems as it onboards people with new systems and applications. After all, starting from scratch when it comes to technology is a sure-fire way to cause massive disruption in any business.
Things don’t have to be like that, though. And you should be wary of any cloud provider who says you need to start over with an entirely new technology infrastructure. In fact, a good cloud provider is one who can adapt and enhance your existing systems through robust integrations, virtualization, and other solutions.
For the past 20 years, Hudson Valley technicians have helped businesses in Middletown grow their IT solutions with flat-rate support that includes proactive maintenance and 24/7 monitoring. Ready to leave your IT headaches to us? Call us today so you can get back to running your business.
