We are in a new era of hosting services and cloud servers that offers many benefits and exciting possibilities without any of the disadvantages of on-prem servers. According to Gartner, international IT spending on public cloud services will increase 23.1% to $332.3 billion in 2021. Explore how switching from on-prem servers to cloud servers and other hosting services can help you make the most of your company’s IT budget.
What Are Hosting Services and Cloud Services?
Hosting services refer to IT services and infrastructure located outside of your company’s physical location. These hosting services include file hosting, email, software-as-a-service (SaaS), website hosting, security, and virtual server hosting. Furthermore, cloud-based servers are a subset of these hosting services. A cloud provider offers a range of services such as cloud computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), cloud desktops, and cloud storage, which make on-prem servers obsolete.
Top 7 Benefits of Migrating to a Cloud Server
The global call to pivot towards anywhere operations to ensure business continuity has translated to more companies are migrating to the cloud. Some of key advantages of cloud migration include:
Agile Operations
Cloud server migration moves your digital assets and operations from on-prem servers or legacy infrastructure to the cloud. Utilizing cloud servers and cloud-based services offers a dynamic environment, easy backup and recovery services, and unbounded possibilities for digital innovation. You will also experience faster development and deployment of products and services. Your teams and operations will become more agile, improve productivity, and generate high-yield results.
On-Demand Accessibility
Migrating to cloud servers (and other hosting services) means that you and your teams can access data and collaborate from anywhere, any time, and using any device. This migration means that your company can work with talent anywhere in the world, and you can offer your employees a flexible schedule. In a world that emphasizes working from anywhere and remote work, cloud-based servers and services are necessary.
Improved User Experience
The cloud is a low-latency network that processes enormous volumes of data with milliseconds of delay. This fact means that it is easy and quick to recover your company data. By switching to a cloud-based server, you can expect an improved user experience for your employees and customers.
Low Probability of Downtime
When you have on-prem servers, it is more likely that you will experience frequent and costly downtime. However, with a cloud-based server, resources are hosted in multiple data centers, making single-source failure and downtime very unlikely.
Most cloud providers, like AWS and Azure, have a 99.99% uptime guarantee in their service-level agreements. This translates to less than 1 hour per year of unplanned downtime. This is nearly impossible to achieve with an on-prem server without significant investment in redundant infrastructure.
Ease of Scaling
Using on-prem servers means purchasing extra equipment, paying for installation, and other utilities to increase your computing capacity. During low-demand seasons, you will still pay to keep the additional servers in use. However, when you host your company's workloads in the cloud, you can quickly scale between peak demand and low-demand situations. The best aspect is that this switching is automatic and doesn't require much time and effort.
Greater Security
The best cloud providers are constantly upgrading their services to adhere to the latest industry standards and to meet regulatory requirements. These security measures minimize the likelihood of customers (like your company) suffering cyberattacks. Cloud providers offer robust backup and disaster recovery options, allowing you to restore and resume operations much more quickly than you could with an on-prem server.
Gartner predicts that through 2025, 99% of cloud security breaches would be the customer’s fault. Greater reliance on cloud servers and other hosting services must be matched by cybersecurity training and compliance within companies.
Cost-Effective
You need to minimize IT spending and use your company’s IT budget wisely. Switching to cloud-based servers and hosting services eliminates huge capital expenses for acquiring on-prem servers and other expensive hardware and software. With the switch from CapEx to OpEx, you only pay for necessary IT services in predictable monthly payments. This framework minimizes your operating expenses and increases your profitability.
Why Switch from CapEx vs. OpEx for IT Investments?
The purchase of on-prem servers and other hardware would fall in the category of capital expenses, requiring substantial upfront payments. However, cloud servers and managed IT services are operating expenses and offer more comprehensive services for fixed, predictable monthly payments. Companies of all sizes are engaging server migration services and shifting their operations to the cloud to reap the advantages of cloud-based servers and minimize their IT spending.
Switching from CapEx to OpEx means that your company only pays for IT services, lowers IT spending, and gets access to the latest innovations without the burden of legacy hardware and software.
Migrate to a Cloud Server
We understand that business continuity and market competitiveness means leveraging the latest tech innovations. As a Managed IT Services Provider, we deliver a suite of high-quality IT services, including server migrations if your company needs to transition operations to a cloud server, or other hosting services. You can rely on Net Friends to keep all your business operations running with the latest, high-performing technology. Contact us today and discover how we can help to streamline your company’s operations, widen your market share, and increase your profits.
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