Cloud computing has become a major buzz word over the past four years and it doesn’t seem as though it’s going away anytime soon. You may have heard that tech giants like Amazon, Google and Apple are all battling to be the top cloud provider for consumers. There are advertisements everywhere for Apple’s iCloud and Microsoft’s OneDrive and every one of those tech companies has an offer that will give you more space for your photos and personal documents.
Consumer grade cloud computing is excellent right now, but, people rarely talk about the cloud in relation to small business. That’s why we have included this list of advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing in order to help you determine whether or not you should join the migration to the cloud.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing for Small Businesses
Since cloud computing is a relatively new phenomenon there has been quite a division over the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing. Traditionalists will call it unnecessary and may even reference the age old idiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” While progressives will demand that everyone adopts cloud technology as soon as possible and might call you naive if you don’t. So, we’re going to take a less exciting stance and leave you to determine whether or not you should move to the cloud. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing.
Advantages
- Mobility – In today’s world you need to be as mobile as possible in order to meet the real-time demands of your customers and clients. And that means having access to all of your information at any given time (which the cloud will provide you with).
- Cost Efficiency – While businesses used to spend thousands of dollars on IT equipment and servers, the cloud allows you to avoid spending that large sum of money. So, you no longer have to worry about insuring and buying hardware.
Disadvantages
- Control – Since clouds for small businesses can get a little tricky, you’ll probably end up having to outsource control and cloud management to your IT provider. And that can be a big job. So just be sure you’re entrusting your business’s information to the right people and you’ll be fine.
- Security – After the iCloud leak earlier this year it’s easy to say that the cloud is unsafe. But, we aren’t going to go the easy route. Security, when it comes to cloud computing, should be a non-issue if your computer consultants have the right security measures in place. Again, it just comes down to knowing your provider.
Migrating your business’s information to the cloud can be a great alternative to traditional hardware and servers. It’s cheaper, more convenient and easier to maintain if you have the right provider. If you have any further questions about the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing please feel free to give us a call at 516-484-5151.
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