The cloud, even today, is still a bit mysterious to many people. It’s some matrix in the sky that holds all of your data and keeps it safe. You can’t see it but you’re assured by the tech wiz’s of the world that it’s there.
Because of the nature of the cloud, there’s still a lot of common misconceptions. Facing these cloud myths and asking the right questions will make it easier for you to choose a cloud solution that fits your organization.
Myth: The cloud is expensive
Not really. The cloud offers significant cost savings for companies who operate on robust legacy systems. According to Gartner, “Cloud is a good fit in organizations where the value is placed on flexibility and the business has the ability to consume and pay for only what is needed when needed.”
While any new system does come with an initial investment, opting for a cloud-based service allows you to add only what you need, alter it as you go and prioritize your spending instead of requiring an immediate, complete investment. You simply “pay as you grow”.
Myth: The cloud is less secure
A common misconception is that the cloud is less secure than an on-premise system but, if you find the right cloud provider that has a proven track record of high security, the cloud can be more secure than an on-premise system.
On top of the increased security, cloud systems are easier to recover lost information from and store backup files in. Look for vendors that offer data redundancy, audits, and disaster recovery services that can cover all the bases and build out a complete disaster recovery protocol for your organization.
Myth: The cloud is a just a data center
Your cloud should not be treated as a giant storage room because it’s wildly more successful when it’s used alongside a well-developed strategy that aligns with your business goals and helps propel you forward.
While the initiative to move to the cloud may come down from the top without much else behind it, choosing an experienced vendor and building out a detailed strategy will improve ROI, efficiency and make for a much more developed system down the road. The key is to be more organized, increase integrations with your existing systems and create a centralized repository for all of your documents and content. That is much easier and more successful when it’s grown around a thought-out strategy.
Myth: The cloud is difficult to set up
While every new system requires support and time to stand up on its own, the cloud is much easier to deploy. Quicker implementations are a major benefit of cloud-based systems and many times, you can work out the migration and implementation with your vendor.
Once the major deployment is complete, it’s easy to add more features depending on your solution. Microsoft cloud offerings, for example, include drag and drop build outs that use the systems you’re already comfortable with.
See? The cloud isn’t as mysterious as we all thought. And I think we can safely say that these four cloud misconceptions have officially been DEBUNKED!
