Reducing costs through the cloud

The possibility of reducing costs by migrating data from private machines to the cloud is a thrilling proposition for many companies and businesses. Cloud services can not only help to reduce infrastructure costs, they position a company uniquely so as to increase its ICT responsiveness and efficiency, providing greater flexibility and transparency, all while freeing up ICT resources for innovation.

A 2011 study by Clabby Analytics, an IT research and analysis firm, demonstrated that almost 50% of data center costs are due to management labour, as well as the costs associated with equipment. While in the past we used so-called dumb terminals to access our applications and data on the mainframe, today in majority of cases, we use an Internet browser to access all our applications and data on the Internet. However, our back-end, instead of evolving accordingly, has become a server farm, which in and of itself is expensive both to set up and maintain. The cloud, on the other hand, can assist organizations in their drive to reduce several expenses, including those related to system administration and operations, power and cooling, as well as those of space and real estate.  

Over the past few years, cloud providers’ research as well as the lowering costs of dependable technology, have allowed the cloud to become versatile, powerful and affordable. Its reliability is now second to none, yet it requires fewer administrators and at less costs to the user.

A cloud provides highly scalable cloud services that are flexible and subscription-based, so you only pay for what you use. In this way you can predict costs and keep funds allocations on-track even when your requirements change rapidly, as is wont to happen in many business scenarios.

Cloud services help your business meet its goals for a well connected, secure and reliable yet cheaper infrastructure. Collaboration is eased across the organization, while focus can be placed on business-critical needs, while reducing ICT costs. Perhaps most importantly, however is that one can remain confident in a crisis as cloud applications don't depend on your own servers or on-site staff.

The implementation of cloud products is relatively cost-effective when compared to on-premises software, owing to the fact that cloud apps are multi-tenant, meaning that the IT platform and its related costs are shared by customers. Moreover, the large variety of commercial cloud products ensures a better fit right out-of-the-box, which in itself cuts implementation costs. Furthermore, several cloud providers, such as BMIT, don’t charge any implementation fees.

Most cloud apps are often ready to be used immediately or in a few hours, which is another cost cutter and time saver. Moreover, most cloud providers don’t charge for maintenance and provide 24x7 support. Many operate on a subscription model and, since they want you as a long-term customer, they will spend time and effort to keep your company satisfied. Choosing the right cloud provider helps to avoid maintenance and cut costs in many ways.

 Not sure how this applies to your business? Contact us now and we will help you reduce your IT costs.