How can moving to the cloud save you money?

The use of running software in the cloud is becoming an increasingly prominent aspect of modern business. Cloud technologies have a vital part to play in how companies operate today and how they will function in the future.

Traditionally, your business would have met its computing needs by purchasing hardware such as on-site servers and data storage facilities. Cloud computing means there is no longer a need for you to worry about this upfront investment and ongoing spending on maintenance of on-site systems.

But just how significant is moving to the cloud?

In a report from security software provider McAfee, Building Trust in a Cloudy Sky, more than 2,000 IT professionals were surveyed in September 2016 and the results showed 93% of organizations now utilize cloud services in some form.

At the time the study was conducted, it was predicted that within 15 months, cloud spending would account for 80% of IT budgets.

The McAfee research highlighted various trends within cloud adoption, including a shift in architectures from largely private in 2015 to predominantly hybrid public/private infrastructure in 2016.

Separate findings from Gartner have also highlighted the growing acceptance of cloud services and the potential they hold for businesses. Focusing on the public cloud, the research indicated growth of 18% for the market in 2017, boosting its value to $246.8bn.

Sid Nag, research director at Gartner, said: “While some organizations are still figuring out where cloud fits in their overall IT strategy, an effort to cost-optimize and bring forth the path to transformation holds strong promise and results for IT outsourcing buyers.”

“Gartner predicts that through 2020, cloud adoption strategies will influence more than 50% of IT outsourcing deals.”

Is the cloud now essential for businesses?

We may not have reached the point yet where cloud computing can be viewed as an indispensable resource for businesses but there is no doubt that it is growing in importance all the time.

It is true many companies are continuing to operate in a traditional manner and may not see the need to jump aboard this tech bandwagon.

However, it could also be argued that there are very few organizations – regardless of their size, sector or business model – that could not gain some sort of benefit from cloud technologies.

What is surely beyond any doubt is that, in competitive, forward-thinking industries where more and more businesses are enjoying the benefits offered by cloud migration, it is the late adopters that are most at risk of falling behind the times.