In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, organisations of all sizes are realising the importance of digital transformation. For many businesses, a central force of this change is cloud computing.
Implementing some form of cloud computing model is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but it is a ‘must’, as without it, businesses are at risk of losing:
- Staff. Research shows that 74% of enterprises are using multi-cloud systems, and 44% of SMEs storing data in public cloud infrastructure. This will increase team productivity, enabling them to work more efficiently in the office or remotely. Having the option to work flexibly is likely a key consideration when selecting a new role.
- Customers. It’s likely that, if they’re not already, your competitors will be using a cloud platform. With all data stored online, this will help your teams manage and serve customers, as they provide a unified experience wherever they’re working from.
Therefore, if you’re not already using a cloud computing platform, this should be a major early consideration and significant step in your digital transformation roadmap.
To help get you started, in this blog we’ll outline what cloud computing is, the role it plays in your digital transformation process, and the steps you can take today.
What is cloud computing?
To put it simply, cloud computing is a way of delivering computing services over the internet. This includes storing all information, data, and network, in a digital ‘cloud’ rather than in analogue, physical form.
Cloud migration refers to the process of moving a company’s data, applications and other digital assets from on-premise servers of private cloud environments to a public cloud platform.
There are three delivery methods of cloud computing:
- Public cloud. Pay-as-you-go, shared server space, allowing the business to scale up and down their business as needed/
- Private cloud. Customisable, on-site servers, hosting you digital platform with a set amount of storage.
- Hybrid cloud. A blend of the public and private deployments, utilising your legacy IT hardware and systems.
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The role of public cloud migration in digital transformation
In order to maximise ROI, and gradually become a cloud first organisation, it’s recommended that businesses migrate to the public cloud, as it supports your digital transformation efforts, by:
- Increasing agility and flexibility. In order to meet changing customer needs, the public cloud allows your business to meet long term growth, or short term demand. For example, the public cloud would allow you to temporarily scale your server to meet peak customer demands during a Black Friday Sale.
- Reducing IT infrastructure costs. Public cloud is a pay-as-you-go service, meaning you only pay for the data and services you actually use. This, along with no on-site infrastructure or maintenance costs, will significantly minimise your business’ IT expenditure.
- Enhancing collaboration. Digital transformation shouldn’t just create a better user journey for your customer, but your team too. Storing vital documents in the public cloud allows your team to easily share information and collaborate on projects, whether they’re working from home or in the office. This creates a seamless user experience for your customers, too.
Ultimately, one of the main advantages to cloud migration is the ability to support your remote workers. This not only benefits your internal team by streamlining processes and maximising their user experience, but your customer. Whether your team are working remotely or in the office, they will be able to provide your customer with the exact same experience.
By utilising the public cloud, your business can streamline its digital transformation efforts and begin the process of digitalisation. This involves transferring important documents, processes, and customer data to a cloud server rather than a traditional storage method, which allows your customers to easily access this information.
Defining your digital transformation strategy
In conclusion, it’s clear that cloud migration should be a central part of any digital transformation strategy.
By utilising the public cloud, you will be able to instantly increase your scalability, reduce infrastructure costs, and enhance team collaboration, the backbone of any digital transformation project.
When migrating to a public cloud infrastructure, it’s essential to fully understand the size and scale of your project. Otherwise, you’re at risk of not fully making the most of your investment.
The first step to achieving this goal? Learning everything you can about the different types of cloud models, and how they can benefit your business.
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