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In today’s digital world, “the cloud” consists of servers that can be accessed over the internet. Cloud migration is the act of transferring digital resources to cloud servers.
Migrating to the cloud enables software and hardware resources to be controlled using the latest solutions. When business processes are moved to the cloud, a high level of scalability can be achieved. The cloud environment enables system resources to be dynamically increased or decreased depending on demand, so businesses can save money through more efficient resource utilization. Resources that are not used by a business can then be rented out to other businesses by the cloud provider. When demand for a company’s digital resources is high, cloud technologies can automatically increase resource availability to prevent downtime while delivering seamless scalability.
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Benefits of Cloud Migration
There are several advantages when a company decides to migrate to the cloud.
By choosing a cloud-based solution, organizations can deliver enhanced performance while staying on top of technology’s latest innovation.
The four primary benefits that companies derive from cloud migration include:
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Scalability
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Migration to cloud platforms allows a company to efficiently scale its IT requirements up or down based on its current demands. It can be difficult to service customers’ changing demands if operations are locked to a legacy (outdated, but still in use) infrastructure.
Switching to the cloud allows businesses to drastically alter their operations and infrastructure to facilitate the current demands without being restricted to quickly depreciating equipment. The power to promptly scale a company’s workload allows it to tailor its resource allocation effectively.
With this additional control level, a company can eliminate some of the cost factors of operating large data centers or maintaining a one-size-fits-all solution suite. Through cloud migration, businesses can dramatically grow without impacting performance or altering a customer’s user experience.
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Cost
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Organizations that opt for cloud services can substantially reduce operational costs and unnecessary overhead. They will no longer be tied to leasing equipment or expensive physical locations, meaning these resources can be put to better use, such as product development.
Savings will also occur in IT areas, as the department won’t be tasked with updating and maintaining the platform. These responsibilities are under the duties of the cloud provider.
Switching to the cloud will free up the IT department, allowing them to focus on more worthwhile pursuits such as data governance and network infrastructure.
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Security
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If maintained correctly in the shared security responsibility model, migrating to the cloud can reduce security flaws found on traditional network systems.
While a company’s in-house or contracted IT security officers will need to ensure its side is free of exploits as it moves applications, data, containers, and workloads to the cloud, the provider will also secure its part of the cloud.
With tech giants such as Amazon acting as the provider, companies can take solace that it’s in the cloud platform’s best interest to provide air-tight security. The major cloud providers offer a host of security packages and features to help in-house teams monitor vital analytics.
These features are in addition to the standard security practices and protocols that cloud providers offer. Automatic updates, regional isolation, and security definitions are frequently monitored and tested against the latest known security threats.
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Flexibility
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Through cloud migration, users can be authorized to access the necessary services, regardless of their geographical location and their preferred device. This flexibility creates previously impossible opportunities, allowing a company to branch into new territories, source talent globally, and expand alongside business demand.
Without the burden of a physical infrastructure, application development can be much more agile, delivering innovation and business value faster that ever.
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Disaster Recovery
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Companies can take advantage of the fact its applications and data are stored in the cloud. Operations won’t shut down if something catastrophic happens to their physical equipment. Employees won’t lose working hours due to inclement weather, and critical company data can be accessed safely and securely from remote locations.
It can be extremely costly and time-consuming to monitor the current state of business applications on-location. The majority of cloud providers also include notifications if something goes astray, meaning that its team can rectify the issues without unnecessary delay.
The duty of disaster recovery is also simplified thanks to many service providers offering backup and logging functionality. With these protocols integrated into standard practices, issues can be quickly identified and remedied without a team needing to be on-site.
By implementing sound and well-thought-out cloud migration strategies, companies can easily take advantage of reduced costs, scalable solutions, a secure environment, flexible operations, and greater access to enhanced functionality.
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