When it comes to managing business workloads, the cloud rules. Nothing else enables them to run smarter and reduce costs when it comes to IT services for business.
“Cloud services are definitely shaking up the industry,” said Sid Nag, research vice president at Gartner. “At Gartner, we know of no vendor or service provider today whose business model offerings and revenue growth are not influenced by the increasing adoption of cloud-first strategies in organizations. What we see now is only the beginning, though. Through 2022, Gartner projects the market size and growth of the cloud services industry at nearly three times the growth of overall IT services.”
Migration to the Cloud
Once the decision has been made to move to the cloud, most companies employ the expertise of a Cloud Solution Provider to optimize benefits and minimize risk. IT professionals are equipped with a complete understanding of the cloud, and how to take full advantage of its benefits to support and help grow businesses.
An IT solutions provider can migrate email, desktops, applications, servers, and data to the cloud. They can also manage your IT on an ongoing basis and be available for consulting as your enterprise grows. To break this down even further, we’ve identified ten reasons why using a partner is critical to successful cloud migration:
- Frees you up to grow your business. Most business leaders are more skilled and knowledgeable in their industry, and not on managing technology. Using the skills of a Managed Services Provider lets you do what you do best—envisioning and executing growth strategies—while an MSP implements and supports technology initiatives.
- Instills confidence in the future. Digital transformation isn’t a one-and-done situation. Your technology initiative will continue to alter as new tech emerges to coincide with and support the growth of your business. Having a proactive solutions provider positions you for future-proof technology.
- Creates cost savings. A full-time IT staff is often not feasible for a small or medium-sized business. Utilizing a Cloud Solutions Provider can help to offset the cost of a full IT staff. It also brings specialized skills that may be out of reach for most SMBs, without sacrificing quality and support. In most service provider relationships, you’ll receive a fixed recurring monthly fee to help you manage expenses without sacrificing support.
- Decreases resolution time. An IT service provider can leverage tools so that most issues can be quickly assessed and resolved remotely. When an issue requires hands-on support, the partner can dispatch the right technical resource to resolve. Less downtime means your business operates fluidly with no impact on customer interactions or other workflow processes.
- Greater security is possible with cloud migration. Breaches of IT assets are all too common threats to businesses today. However, the right IT solutions partner can bring cloud security expertise in all the steps of a secure IT environment. These include development, deployment, implementation, and ongoing monitoring, management, and maintenance.
- Streamline backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity. Business continuity is critical in all companies so the possibility of a huge outage can strike fear in many business leaders. Aligning with the right IT solutions provider can avoid catastrophic loss through the smart storage of data and responsiveness.
- Monitors the cloud IT environment. There are varying levels of support available with most Managed Service Providers. Look for a partner that aligns with your needs to ensure uptime, security, and availability, and will effectively monitor your cloud environment.
- Helps determine Your total Cost of IT. Your IT partner should be able to simplify your IT budgeting and finances. A quality partner will help you assess your total cost of ownership in a cloud assessment to realize the benefits of a right-fit solution.
- Integrates critical services. Cloud services are managed in enterprise datacenters which allows all enterprise users access. Some businesses find they need a more complete enterprise-class IT-as-a-service solutions, such as Calyx’ @Work model, which includes a fully-managed cloud environment, on-premise network and support, and business intelligence.
- Builds strong business relationships. When it comes to technology in your business, you need a partner you can rely on. The foundation of a good relationship is trust. Find a partner that looks to understand your business and how cloud services can enhance your services, products, offerings, or customer experience. This fosters growth in your business, which should be the outcome desired by all parties.
One of the smartest decisions you can make for your business is partnering with a reputable, professional IT solutions provider. When you partner with an IT solutions provider like Calyx, you’ll see reduced security risks, lower cost of ownership, business scalability, streamlined processes, better continuity and productivity for your business.