This time of uncertainty because of the COVID-19 pandemic is possibly the best time to re-evaluate if you should keep your critical servers on-premise, or move to the public or private cloud.

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As many businesses face difficult decisions around COVID-19 impacts, the cloud can be something to keep business moving forward.

The main reasons are price, speed of change, remote access and reduced staff access.

 

Price

Due to economies of scale, cloud providers offer a cheaper price on hardware, and you don’t need to pay for resources you don’t need. You will also not need data-centre costs, such as aircon access control, fire suppression etc. During this time, cash flow might be constrained and every cost saving can be helpful.

 

Speed of change

We can’t accurately predict the CPU, memory and disk requirements that you will need in six months’ time. However, on cloud, we can upscale or downscale individual servers to your updated requirements. This can be very helpful to save costs if you need to, as and when demand is lower or higher.

 

Remote access

Cloud is in essence a remote access architecture, which allows for easy access from home, remote sites and your primary sites. This can help keep your business running from any site, even during a lockdown period.

 

Reduced staff access

After moving to the cloud, you will need less people to manage your IT infrastructure. You don’t need as many contractors (aircon techs, fire suppression, UPS and generator techs) on site, and this can help protect your staff during this time. In the case of private cloud, many internal managed services are included, such as backup, disaster recovery, antivirus and firewall management.

So, to summarize, moving to the public or private cloud during COVID-19 may help you to keep your business viable by keeping costs low, keeping your staff safe when working from home, and keeping your offices safe by reducing the number of outside people who need to come on site.

If you require any further info or advice about your journey to public or private cloud, please contact iSphere Cloud.