According to the Right Scale 2018 State of the Cloud Survey, 96% of companies are using the cloud to some extent. If you aren’t taking advantage of cloud computing, or don’t know how best to implement it, we’ve written this guide to help you.

We’ll go over some of the most common questions that people have about this technology.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a service in which companies pay cloud providers to offer

Traditionally, companies have bought their own hardware, built their own networks and managed their own IT on-site.

But in today’s world, in which technology changes very quickly, maintaining an on-site network has become very expensive.

Cloud computing allows businesses to buy the services they need as they need them. This lowers operating costs while providing them with the flexibility for scaling as demands increase.

What are the Benefits of Cloud Computing?

We’re going to dive into each of the benefits of cloud computing for businesses. But to sum it up, here’s why cloud computing is better than maintaining a network on-site:

• It’s less expensive in terms of equipment and labor
• Cloud networks are more secure from cyber attack
• Your business is more likely to survive a major disaster
• Collaboration and remote work is easy

In short, cloud computing saves you money and makes your team far more efficient.

Cloud Computing Saves Money

When it comes to cloud computing, cost savings are one of the biggest advantages. No matter how big or small your business is, moving to the cloud reduces costs.

Managing your network in-house leads massive capital expenditures on hardware upgrades. It’s only a matter before that same hardware is made obsolete, and you have to cut another big check.

With cloud computing, you always have the latest equipment available, because your provider is responsible for that. Maintaining IT becomes a predictable monthly expense.

The cloud can also reduce costs of inefficiency. Your team can more easily collaborate. Routine IT tasks can be handled by the cloud provider. Outages are shorter and less severe. All of this reduces your company’s costs.

Cloud Computing Improves Security

Is cloud computing safe? Yes. The cloud is generally safer than in-house networks.

Cloud providers wouldn’t be in business long if they couldn’t keep their clients safe. As a result, providers are proactive about updating software to meet the latest security threats.

Red Level provides cloud security services to ensure that your company is prepared to defend against ever-increasing cyberattacks.

• 24/7 security monitoring
• Malware protection
• Penetration testing
• Identity and access management

Red Level’s cloud services are compliant with security standards like HIPAA, SOC 2 and ITAR. If your business must be compliant with those regulations, make sure you know if a cloud provider can do that.

Cloud Computing Makes Disaster Recovery Easier

If all your company’s applications and data are stored on-site, it’s one tornado away from being lost. Tornados may be rare, but there are much more common disasters, big and small:

• Physical damage to hard drives
• Hard drives formatted by mistakes
• Power outages that lead to corrupted data

Cloud computing allows you to store information remotely so that it can be restored if it’s lost, no matter how. There are a variety of cloud storage options, from simple cloud backup to managed services.

One example of these services is Disaster Recovery as a Service. A DRaaS provider virtualizes your entire network. If disaster struck, your company could resume operations much more quickly. Employees could work nearly anywhere while you worked on recovery.

Cloud Computing Improves Collaboration and Allows Remote Work

Today’s workforce needs to be able to access their work from any device at any place. Cloud computing allows them to do that.

Cloud-based applications allow team members to work on the same document in real time from different parts of the world. The latest communication technology allows your team to have video conferences and share screens from anywhere on Earth.

As the demand for remote working increases, businesses will have to allow it in order to attract top talent. Cloud computing allows you to make remote working productive.

How a Technology Consultant Can Help

Cloud computing can revolutionize the way that you do business. But unless you know what you really need, you can end up wasting a lot of money.

Cookie-cutter solutions often leave you paying for features you don’t need, or without features that you do need.

At Red Level, we understand that you’re faced with a lot of choices when migrating to the cloud. We make it easy for you by learning about your business needs first. Then, we build a cloud setup that meets those needs. That’s Mi-Cloud.

Contact Red Level to get cloud computing tailored to your company.