Should Your Business Shift To Cloud Computing? Pros and Cons You Need to Consider

Businesses whether small, medium or large are all taking their infrastructure to either a public cloud or their own private cloud. This move holds a lot of advantages for these companies. However, there is also a group of feet-draggers who cannot decide if switching to the cloud is a good idea. Here we look at some pros and cons you need to consider when making your decision.

Pros of cloud computing

If properly deployed and well used, switching your business infrastructure over to the cloud can have significant benefits to all types of businesses. Below are just a few advantages of this system.

Cost efficient – The three categories of cloud computing all have one thing in common, there is zero cost of investment in hardware or infrastructure. Cloud computing is probably the most cost efficient way of handling your business’ IT needs. It is available at cheap rates and will significantly reduce your IT overhead.

Near limitless storage – Switching to public cloud or your own private cloud solves the problem of storage as it comes with almost unlimited disk space. It also comes with the ability to scale up or down your storage and server requirements as your business demands.

More reliable – Having your infrastructure on the cloud increases the availability of your services and application. You and your customers can access your data from virtually anywhere. Since all you data are stored in the cloud, it is easier for them to be backed up. Cloud service providers carry out routine backup of your data and can also handle recovery in the event of data loss.

Minimal management and cost – A typical on-site server requires a qualified IT staff to manage. But with cloud computing, everything is handled at the end of the provider, this significantly reduces your IT maintenance and its attendant costs.

Quick deployment – Cloud computing takes very little time to deploy, once you have decided on your plan, your entire infrastructure will be up and running in a matter of minutes. The time of deployment is however based on the exact technology you chose for your business.

Cons of cloud computing

While cloud computing has a lot of benefits, there are also a few downsides to this system and businesses need to be aware of these disadvantages in order to make an informed decision

Limited control – Unlike an on-site system where you or your IT team have full control over your infrastructure, cloud computer offers very limited control to users. Any modifications you need on your system will have to be done at the provider’s end.

High speed internet needed – Cloud computing requires high speed internet for you to be logged onto the server. You are very likely to be stuck in the event of slow connectivity or bad network. This makes it unfeasible for businesses in areas without access to high speed internet.

Cloud security – Security is a big concern when it comes to cloud computing. Your company’s sensitive information will be stored with a third party, and this could put you at potential risk depending on how the company protects your data. It is a good idea to first check that the provider follows the maximum compliance for data security before committing yourself.