According to DESI (European Digitization Index), cloud adoption in Romania is still low and is viewed with skepticism by many entrepreneurs. This is partly due to the fact that there are still many cloud myths that Romanians consider valid, even though cloud services have been on the market for over 20 years.
We searched both LinkedIn and Softpedia to see what the most common cloud myths come up in discussions, and the results are surprising. Fortunately, I’ve noticed that whenever someone expresses a mistaken opinion about what the cloud is, or what exactly cloud services mean, there are many discussion participants who have correct opinions and offer valid explanations.
But let’s see what are the most common cloud myths that appear in the local online environment:
- Cloud is only for big companies/Cloud is only for small and micro companies: One of the most persistent myths about the cloud, false both technologically and commercially. Cloud services, such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), are designed to be scalable and adaptable to the needs of any business, regardless of its size. Large companies can take advantage of the flexibility and agility offered by the cloud, because resources can be dynamically and quickly allocated based on work requirements. This means they will avoid complicated procurement processes that take time and contribute to project delays. On the other hand, small businesses can take advantage of the cloud to access powerful services without making expensive investments in equipment. They pay a monthly subscription and use IT infrastructure that they would not have been able to purchase otherwise.
- Cloud services are not suitable for European-funded projects: The myth frequently appears in discussions associated with European-funded programs such as Digitization of SMEs. It is outdated because in recent years, the working methodology has changed, and the user guides of many programs mention cloud services in the list of eligible technologies. Most of the time, these projects can include the costs associated with cloud services for the entire durability period, which can be between 3 and 5 years.
- The cloud is only suitable for secondary applications such as email and document backup: Many years ago, many opinions considered that the cloud environment is not suitable for critical applications, because it depends on the Internet, latency, etc. Over time, cloud technologies have proven so reliable that even financial organizations have migrated to the cloud. The cloud can support a wide range of applications, from basic to complex and business-critical. Modern cloud technologies provide performance, scalability and security for business-critical applications such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), online payments, 3D design, etc.
- There are no cloud providers in Romania, so you depend on Microsoft, Google or Amazon: Completely wrong. In Romania and other countries, there are several local and international cloud providers that offer quality services adapted to the local needs of customers. M247 is the best example, not only do we offer services similar to international providers and the same level of availability (Tier 3 – 99.99%), but we have more competitive offers and prices, while also offering the advantage of national data retention.
- The cloud is not secure: Cloud security is a primary concern for many customers, but cloud providers are investing heavily in advanced security technologies to protect customer data and applications. These technologies include data encryption, two-factor authentication, continuous network and application monitoring, and advanced threat detection and prevention solutions. Few medium-sized or even large Romanian companies can afford similar investments in security and, above all, have their own team to manage these processes.
- Cloud is not a long-term solution because providers change: Although the IT market is very dynamic, the reality shows that cloud providers are very stable. Cloud business involves investing millions in data centers and associated infrastructure, and business plans are long-term and very long-term. The reality of the last years shows that the cloud market is stable both in Europe and in Romania, without significant incidents of bankruptcy, withdrawal or closure of the activity. Furthermore, the law obliges cloud providers to allow customers to take data and move it to another provider or on an on-premises infrastructure. M247 has been on the market since 2000, and in Romania since 2015, and the activity has grown constantly.
- It’s cheaper to keep servers on-premises: The total cost of ownership (TCO) of on-premises infrastructure can be higher than that of cloud services in many cases, if all associated costs, such as hardware acquisition costs, are taken into account , maintenance costs, power and cooling costs, as well as the hidden costs associated with managing and securing the local infrastructure. Most of those who say that cloud costs are higher generally have a superficial approach to costs or ignore multiple hidden costs. It is obvious that a cloud provider benefits from what is called “economy of scale” for any technology and even energy purchase.
- Cloud servers are slower because they depend on the quality of the internet connection: One of the surprising cloud myths for Romania, the country with the fastest internet in Europe. On the one hand, cloud providers invest in strong and redundant network infrastructures, which ensure high performance and availability for customer applications and data, and on the other hand, any company in Romania has access to a high-speed connection (broadband) . In addition, network optimization technologies, as well as caching and content distribution solutions, help improve performance and latency for end users, regardless of the quality of the Internet connection.
- Cloud means 100% vendor dependency: Cloud may involve some vendor dependency, but portability and vendor lock-in strategies can minimize this dependency. Using architectures based on open standards and interoperable technologies allows companies to move their data and applications between different cloud providers (multicloud strategy), while maintaining flexibility and control over their IT environment. Therefore, no one gets stuck in the cloud.
- The cloud doesn’t give you options, you can’t choose exactly what you need: This probably happened at the beginning of the cloud industry. Today, cloud services are so diverse that there are catalogs and marketplace-type applications. Regardless of the category (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), the offer is very rich. For example, at the computing level alone, M247 customers can choose from six types of dedicated servers (with various configurations) and another five types of outlet servers, each combined with multiple management options. Moreover, at the level of services, the offer is constantly refined, and today we are talking about back-up as a service or disaster recovery as a service. Users can select and configure cloud services and resources according to their specific requirements, with access to a variety of options and functionalities tailored to their business needs.
From chatter captured online, these cloud myths tend to disappear as more entrepreneurs discover the benefits of migrating to the cloud. For Romania, a country with fast and cheap internet and many SMEs that cannot afford either investments in equipment or salaries with IT staff, cloud migration is the only solution for a fast and efficient digitization.
If in the process we can help you trust the cloud more and make it work for your business, contact us at office@m247.com.
