CIO OPINION by OfCom using cloud computing in 2023 and 11 % intending to . Migrating to the cloud delivers a lower total cost of ownership compared to on-premise solutions – and the more a business grows , the greater these margins become .
When businesses outgrow the capacity of an on-premise solution , they need to invest in new infrastructure and servers to support the organisation . When servers reach and surpass 70 % capacity , or drive space is running low , more often than not users will experience a drop in server performance that will make it vital to upgrade .
This is expensive and time consuming . And the time it takes between realising that extra capacity is needed , to putting those new servers into action , can be several months . As a result , burdened IT administrators are often forced to scrape by with the minimum requirements instead of recommended configurations because of time and budget constraints , which lead to long load times , freezes and software crashes .
In the cloud , businesses can scale solutions at the exact rate needed , meaning they don ’ t need to invest in IT they aren ’ t using , but can quickly add more capacity or functionality when it is needed . Further , users can scale with the resources needed , meaning businesses aren ’ t paying for tools and services that simply are not required . The capabilities needed from IT are highly specific to each organisation – and being in the cloud offers the flexibility to customise the products and services used , tailoring to business needs . This works both ways . With the cloud , businesses can disable functionalities that aren ’ t used , keeping infrastructure streamlined , relevant and cost-effective .
Cloud solutions also enable teams to use IT resources more strategically , leaving team members to focus on value-add tasks rather than maintaining and growing infrastructure . Instead , they can outsource work to a software-as-a-service ( SaaS ) provider , and keep teams focused on developing the business .
Flexible functionality
Using SaaS services doesn ’ t just make it easier to scale IT capacity as businesses grow ; they also make it simpler and quicker to upgrade and add new applications and functionalities to IT infrastructure . As businesses grow , their needs shift and it is vital they review their current systems to ensure they are optimal to driving their growth plans . CIOs need to stay on top of the latest new technology and how it can be leveraged to make the business more streamlined , as well as staying abreast of the latest updates and patches so they don ’ t lose performance and functionality from their investments . This can be a large expense to businesses and if CIOs are juggling several balls that mean this is deprioritised – it can at best impede growth , as the business is simply not set up for success without the right technology , and at worse open the system up to security vulnerabilities .
The cloud simplifies the process , as new solutions do not require new hardware upgrades – something that
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