There’s a reason that corporate behemoths like Microsoft, Amazon and Google are rapidly expanding their range of cloud services and products aimed at businesses. From small start-ups to multinational corporations, organisations across the world are increasingly adopting cloud technology to reduce costs and enhance productivity, agility and efficiency.
Although cloud adoption has been steadily increasing, especially over the past few years, many business leaders still question whether cloud computing can bring sufficient cost reductions to warrant the migration. The answer, of course, is a resounding “Yes”, but for those not familiar with how this is achieved, here’s a breakdown of the most common types of savings cloud computing offers businesses.
In terms of software, cloud applications are replacing more costly “boxed” programs that you would have to purchase, install and update, not to mention the related operational costs of paying in-house IT professionals to maintain both your software and hardware. Conversely, cloud service providers can serve as IT administrators and networking engineers, among many other IT roles.
In most cases, cloud applications are cheaper and more efficient. A recent industry survey has shown that cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 has now superseded traditional desktop versions of the productivity suite in terms of sales and number of users.
Another cost benefit of cloud applications over individual software programs is that you may be able to consolidate your needs using a single multi-application cloud platform, such as Google Apps for Business or Office 365, which offers a range of applications and comes bundled with Skype and cloud storage for a flat annual fee that is much cheaper than purchasing individual programs outright. Cloud-based applications are also automatically updated, freeing up businesses from the stress of doing this manually while ensuring access to the latest product features and bug fixes.
For on-premise business solutions, capital expenses include expensive hardware and software purchases to meet operational objectives and roll out of new projects. Cloud solutions do not require capital expenditure, as there is no need for businesses to purchase additional hardware or infrastructure, which drastically reduces costs. Even incidental costs associated with downtime are reduced, as several cloud service providers offer service level agreements containing uptime guarantees with which on-premise solutions cannot compete.
Although the above points are just snapshots of the rewards businesses can reap, they prove that there is definitely significant cost reductions associated with a viable cloud solution.