Famous computer scientist Alan Kay once said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Whilst thoughts of the future and how to shift your business accordingly may spark uncertainty, ensuring you're equipped for anything is half the battle.
Whether you like it or not, the future is coming, and if you're not innovating these days, you're at risk of being left behind. After a challenging few years for us all, a few good news stories emerged from the pandemic from a technology perspective. One notable discovery was an increase in the adoption of the Cloud.
If you're one of those who have read such stories and considered a migration, you may be deterred by the initial upfront costs of a move. But, how much does it cost in reality?
As organisations become increasingly aware of leveraging the Cloud - and the value it can add to their business - demand for storage and hosting services has grown significantly.
Previously, we explored why 2022 may just establish itself as the year of the Cloud - and we don't expect this trend to disappear any time soon. With that being said, though, the technology - and terminology - can still be confusing, and some are still getting to grips with it.
We also explored how "businesses migrating to the Cloud traditionally have two options - easily accessible, pay-as-you-go public Cloud solutions or more customised and flexible private cloud solutions."
Cloud's moment in vogue isn't just a flash in the pan either - in his 2022 Spring Statement, chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, expanded the government’s research and development tax relief scheme to improve innovation and productivity in the UK.
Sunak announced that, from April 2023, all cloud computing costs associated with R&D, including storage, will now qualify for tax relief.
Organisations looking to move to the Cloud are initially faced with a decision - what do you want to put into the Cloud?
Applications, databases, websites, storage, physical or virtual servers – or even entire data centres - can go from on-premise into the Cloud.
In a previous blog, we outlined a five-step strategy that can be used for any migration:
Organisations that move into the Cloud can tap into a range of benefits, including increased agility and flexibility, scalability, reduction in IT costs and simplified processes.
In a section on their website, hosting giant AWS lists the following reasons to move into the Cloud.
Read more about migrating in our blog and our piece on the lessons we've learned from carrying them out here.
As those reading this can likely attest, IT costs can be challenging to figure out at the best of times. For those working with a traditional, on-premise approach, you have to consider factors like hardware costs, software prices, space in a data centre - or the cost of running your own server room. Then, you need to add in disaster recovery, security, power and staff wages. Equally, you have to consider how much it costs - and hours it takes - to get your data, or processes, from their current home and into the Cloud. In some cases, this can be a mammoth task.
However, with the Cloud, it's significantly easier to work out. Typically, providers such as AWS or Azure invoice monthly for what you use - and break down these costs within their bill. What's more, these offerings come with disaster recovery and enhanced security built into their foundation - the initial value of the Cloud is its ability to save on CapEx by moving that money to OpEx. And as it continues to become a more widespread solution in the coming years, the costs of managing and living in the Cloud are only going to become more competitive as new providers emerge and establish themselves. All of this means that the Cloud is establishing itself as a viable - and lower-cost - solution for organisations.
The only cost we haven't discussed is finding a partner who can help you migrate (we may know just the company!).
Migrating to the Cloud isn't for everyone right now - we understand that. Equally, it isn't guaranteed to be a cheaper solution for a business off the bat - it depends entirely on variables such as your business, your staff, how you leverage your technology and your industry. There may also be questions over security or how you migrate (in something AWS coined the Six R's).
Whatever your purpose for migrating to the Cloud, we need to establish: it should be done with careful consideration, thorough planning and a partner who can assist you and take you to the next level. At Fifosys, we're committed to taking organisations to the next level through technology - and if you're worried about budgeting, we can help. Additionally, we can work to ensure the costs are repaid in affordable monthly instalments, so not only do our solutions benefit your business, they're easy on the bank account too.
Give us a call today and hear how we can assist you in your move to the Cloud.
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