The massive social and economic disruption caused by COVID-19 has forced organisations around the world to reevaluate their operations and planning. Most do this continually anyway, but this crisis has accelerated the need to focus on operating efficiently while their people work from home, and at the same time consistently monitoring their overall financial health to ensure they can truly weather the storm.
With the requirement to be adaptive and scalable at a moment’s notice, today’s business leaders need to look internally to understand where change is needed most. Many are now finding that their on-premises systems represent some of the biggest obstacles to survival. As a result, we’ve seen a massive trend towards adopting cloud-based solutions.
Should I move to a cloud-based solution?
Here are some of the reasons why now, more than ever, businesses should look to a cloud-based solution.
1. Remote accessibility – connect from anywhere, make decisions on the go
You can access cloud-based systems from any location, and most devices (depending on internet connectivity). Obviously, working from home is not a new concept, but with current and continuously evolving health regulations, the ability to work remotely is now a necessity, not a perk. Unfortunately, most on-premises systems aren’t configured for easy remote access, hindering your team from doing their job properly.
With enterprise software applications such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, your team can effortlessly access your internal systems remotely, and with peace of mind about the security of your data. Dynamics 365 can be configured so that regardless of whether your team are using laptops, smartphones or tablets, they can still see the up-to-date customer and business information needed to make real-time business decisions.
2. Lower cost, better security, faster updates, and data recovery
With on-premises software, your IT team have to install any new updates manually. Whereas moving to the cloud means updates and patches are applied to your applications automatically. And as a bonus, moving away from on-premises application hosting will realise your organisation considerable savings – there’s no need to buy, set up and maintain infrastructure. In fact, you’re offered better security by having your data hosted on Microsoft’s (or similar) external servers.
While some organisations have to host their data and applications on-premises for compliance purposes, these tend to be Government organisations that require data to be held within the country. For organisations outside of the public sector, a cloud environment provides several extra layers of security AND data recovery with data hosted across several sites. This means if a server goes down, it’s backed up off-site, and you will never lose a thing.
3. Remote support
As fixes on cloud-based solutions are performed remotely, you receive more effective support. Cloud deployment truly redefines the experience by allowing upgrades and support to be deployed from any location as part of standard system support. This means no imposing software installations and fixes performed by your already time-poor staff — instead, it’s all handled by your vendor.
Even today, we still find business relying on legacy and on-premises solutions. And it’s not uncommon to find some applications that haven’t been upgraded for a decade — or more! However, the overall trends are clear. For modern businesses to adapt, and to become more resilient and agile, there needs to be a shift in thinking. When you move to a cloud-based solution, you are more able to meet today’s challenges, and be ready for whatever changes come tomorrow. And as 2020 has proven, we all must be prepared to expect the unexpected.
If you’ve read this far, then it’s a fair guess that you are thinking about moving to the cloud. Fusion5 is a Microsoft Gold partner and can support any organisation looking to move to a cloud-based solution. Contact us today to find out how we can help you build a brighter future.
