How cloud computing is transforming business in a post-Covid World
In association with HCS
The global pandemic pushed cloud technology to the fore as businesses shifted en masse to a remote working model. It’s likely that many businesses will retain an element of home working now that workers are returning to offices. ‘Work from anywhere’ has been the mantra of cloud companies for a long time but now it is really being put to the test on a permanent basis.
The pandemic has shown many businesses who for a variety of reasons were reluctant to engage with Cloud, or possibly didn’t fully understand it, just how essential it is as a business enabler. Not only is it an enabler for secure remote working and work on the go it also facilitates other benefits across the business. In this article we look at some of these.
Accelerated digitalisation
As organisations return to pre-pandemic levels Cloud technology is at their disposal to accelerate digital transformation. Many businesses postponed IT projects during the pandemic as they focused on enabling their business to continue operating and refrained from investment during a time of uncertainty. As we emerge from the covid years, technologies like infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and virtual desktops are driving cloud investment.
Cloud enables the use of intelligent solutions that are adaptable, agile and accessible from anywhere. The result is a more productive workforce who can access what they need to do their job efficiently, safely and at speed. This level of efficiency boosts business performance and enables smart innovation creating a competitive edge in the marketplace and improving customer service levels. The knock-on effect being the ability to win new customers in new markets and retain existing. Cloud is at the core of digital transformation and businesses who had projects on hold are now beginning to invest.
Accessibility and scalability
Cloud delivers unparalleled performance in access giving your workforce the ability to work from any location on any device. It’s scalability both vertical and horizontal means you can adapt quickly to your business needs internally and externally. Storage and processing power can easily be added as the business dictates and servers and virtual machines can be spun up quickly to manage increasing workloads. Both unhindered access and efficient scalability are key attributes to the delivery of digital transformation projects. Cloud is a key component of a business’s ability to scale and improve operational capability.
Increased automation
Cloud offers significant automation opportunities and is a core component of a ‘digital first’ business. In a cloud environment automated tools and processes are used to execute workflows, such as configuring servers or setting up a network, that would otherwise have had to be performed manually. Testing can be carried out quicker and deployment automated making the end-to-end DevOps process faster. With cloud the business can respond to changing needs in near real time.
Enhanced security
For businesses moving to the cloud robust cloud security is critical. IT departments can be cautious about moving mission critical systems and sensitive data to the cloud, so it is imperative that the right security is in place whether the environment is native cloud, hybrid or on-premise.
In most cases the cloud is more secure than on-premise data stores as cloud providers have, and continue, to make significant investment in security. Many cloud services and cloud native applications that are built from the ground up have security features built in.
Most cloud providers offer a formidable suite of security solutions that typically outperform traditional network and application security controls. But it is essential that those solutions are configured correctly and adapted to a business’s unique threat landscape and security protocols to really be effective. Take for example application role-based authentication, even if the infrastructure is secure unauthorised employee access to data or information is still a major threat. By requiring users to verify their identity prior to gaining access to data and information adds an extra layer of protection from unauthorised access and malicious insiders.
The ability to closely monitor the cloud environment gives cloud service providers the ability to shut off any part of a system if they detect a risk that is affecting the overall security posture.
Cost reduction
Cloud enables businesses to be more streamlined, efficient and connected saving time and money. Cloud facilitates innovation increasing opportunities to grow revenue. Combined with lower running costs and less capital expenditure, cloud deployments traditionally deliver greater return on investment compared to traditional on-premise infrastructure.
Enterprise Ireland digitalisation voucher
As businesses start to turn their attention from simply managing operations through the pandemic to advancing their business with digitalisation the adoption of cloud is likely to continue at pace.
Enterprise Ireland have introduced a digitalisation voucher to help businesses embrace digital projects and HCS are an approved Enterprise Ireland vendor. We have a specialist productivity team who are experts in the scoping and implementation of digitalisation projects. Our team analyse a business to understand where digital enhancements would fit and deliver most value. Using tools and solutions such as Microsoft Power Platform, Power BI and Sharepoint, our experts create innovative digital solutions that deliver bottom line benefits.
How can we help?
As Microsoft gold partners, we specialise in Azure, Microsoft 365, cloud back-ups, and data recovery. We have helped many businesses of differing sizes move systems to the cloud. We don’t operate a ‘lift and shift’ strategy, we consider your objectives for moving to the cloud and how you want to do business once the migration is complete. We then deliver a cloud migration strategy and plan that works to your budget and timescales.
We are offering a free cloud consultation to any businesses who are not sure where to start. You may already have some systems in the cloud or might be just starting to consider embarking on cloud transformation. A chat with one of our cloud experts will help answer any questions you might have and give you insight into what is involved.
Book a free cloud consultation.
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