Five Reasons not to move to the Cloud
It has been said around the business and IT community that 2018 is time to move to the cloud. On paper, the cloud seems an ideal solution when compared to a data centre. No one should believe that by simply by switching applications and storage to the cloud, that suddenly every problem will solve itself. Businesses need to think through these decisions and only adopt what makes sense.
With this in mind, here are five reasons why you should not move to the cloud.
Security
This subject is on many of people’s minds, as we constantly hear about large corporations being hacked, let alone all the smaller ones we do not know about. Now that is not to say cloud based solutions are not safe. It is just that relying on third-party vendors can be risky. The best providers will use the very latest in encryption and security technology, but even the most modern systems sometimes fail. If you mistakenly choose an inexperienced vendor, you risk having all your important information damaged, lost, or even stolen. The businesses that are most at risk are ones that have important, sensitive information that needs to be kept secure.
Network Capacity
Using the cloud will require a strong, capable network. Businesses will need to make sure they have the speeds and capacity to handle heavier server loads. Otherwise, running your application and accessing documents, as well as other online services like internet use or video streaming, will slow the whole system to a crawl. That can prove to be a very frustrating thing for employees, not to mention decrease productivity. Traditional solutions significantly cut down the load your network must bear.
Applications
Photoshop, InDesign and CAD products, etc. generate huge files and moving that data up and down an internet connection means either poor productivity or a very expensive internet connection. If your applications do a lot of automated graphics rendering or you need real-time visibility, you really should not go into the cloud. Other examples include share trading, air traffic control and weather forecasting.
Connection Issues
Even if your network can handle the extra load, you still need to consider connection issues. When you go to cloud storage, your business is at the mercy of its IT service provider. If the server goes down, you go down. Even today, there are still reliability problems with cloud servers, and even the best vendors will experience it. If your organisation is considering moving to the cloud, make sure it has a backup plan ready that will help you remain productive during downtime.
Cost and ROI
Supporters of cloud storage always point to cost saving benefits when arguing in favour of cloud based solutions. In addition, there are many cost savings associated with cloud storage, but that does not mean you will see instant savings. The all in cost to migrate and operate applications using cloud based solutions can be very expensive, even more, expensive than your current solutions. Not to mention cloud costs continue to add up over time as you pay recurring fees to the provider. If you have enough start-up capital, you could save a lot of money down the road by building your own business network. If you are only considering the cloud to save money, you may want to look into it a little further.
Cloud computing is not a bad thing and has many great benefits. The important thing to remember is to explore the issue. Take the time to understand the technology and study providers with a proven track record. Make sure you understand exactly why you are changing. Make sure it is because there are gains that will further your business, instead of wanting to follow the latest trend.
If you are looking to build a data centre instead of going to the cloud, please contact us.
