The IT lifecycle revolution

Historically, small businesses would have to fork out significant capital to purchase new hardware to replace their slow, outdated hardware.  As technology progressed, virtual servers meant that hardware could be utilised more effectively and for longer.  Cloud offerings from Amazon, Google and Microsoft allow you to potentially eliminate expensive CAPEX costs. These cloud resources are flexible and can be adjusted on-demand to suit business needs.

Why consider a move to the cloud?

• Reducing IT costs.  CAPEX costs can be minimised and even eliminated by migrating to cloud hosted services (Microsoft 365) or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). These cloud services are billed by only what is used with no upfront costs.
• Flexibility.  Cloud server resources can be increased and decreased depending on demand, this allows scalability that can save money.  This scalability means that compute resources (CPU and RAM) and storage space can be increased and decreased when required to ensure your business is paying only for the resource it is using.
• Security.  Although many organizations have concerns surrounding security when considering a move to the cloud, these are often unfounded.  By moving to the cloud and introducing SD-WAN or a VPN solution, integrity of data can be assured between the cloud and end users.  The move to the cloud can also help to ensure GDPR compliance – contact us to find out more.
• Mobility and collaboration.  With the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working has quickly become the norm for many organizations.  Cloud solutions can aid in facilitating secure access to systems and data for remote workers from anywhere in the world.
• Eliminating end-of-life concerns and automatic updates.  With cloud solutions, servers can be upgraded or replaced without having to fork out for the new hardware that they will be run on.  Cloud applications such as Microsoft 365 are updated automatically with no downtime and no requirement for an IT department to carry out updates or security patches to Exchange.  This saves IT staff time, money and guarantees uptime.
• Disaster recovery and loss prevention.  Cloud-based services can enable fast data recovery from any disaster.  By hosting data in the cloud, it is not reliant on your physical hardware.  If you have an issue with your physical device or if it is lost or stolen, your data will remain safe in the cloud.
• Sustainability.  Cloud hosting is more environmentally friendly than hosting services on-premise and contributes to a reduced carbon footprint.

As an Amazon and Microsoft partner, we can offer assistance if you are considering a move to the cloud. Depending on your requirements, we can deploy a proof-of-concept for your organisation before you commit to migrating to the cloud.
Please give us a call on 01684 215165 or email info@spectrum-it.uk with your enquiry.