Common misconceptions about the cloud

The cloud has a vast range of benefits and has transformed the way that many businesses function today. However, many people still have hesitations when it comes to migrating key services and systems into a cloud environment. For most businesses it will make sense to take advantage of everything the cloud has to offer. But that may mean overcoming some common misconceptions about the cloud first.

“Cloud services are too expensive”

This is a common misconception about the cloud, one that often comes from the fact that services are billed on a monthly basis – or just from a general lack of understanding of the cost. In reality, not using cloud services could actually be the more expensive choice. This starts with the up front expense of paying for servers and on-premise equipment, as well as the energy, maintenance and repair costs that come with that. All of these tend to be much higher than the monthly cost to a third party cloud provider. On top of that, the cost of loss of on-premise servers in the event of something like a fire or flood can be significant.

“Using the cloud is not secure”

There was a time when the cloud may not have been more secure than on-premise options but that is not the case today. In fact, for most enterprises the cloud is a more secure choice – third party providers are much more likely to be up to date with the latest systems and techniques for enhancing security and will invest heavily in ensuring that they have the best possible protection in place. The odds of an accident damaging equipment, or experiencing something like a data breach, tend to be much lower for businesses working with third party cloud providers. Not only do these providers focus on ensuring they can offer the best possible protection for clients but to make sure their own reputation is secure too – a loss of clients, trust and profits would result from a lack of security so third party providers ensure that this doesn’t happen.

“All you need is the cloud”

For the sake of total transparency when it comes to the cloud it’s also important to state that it’s possible to put too much trust in the cloud. By this, we mean either forgetting other security and back-up practices or passing over the responsibility for everything, from business continuity to disaster recovery, to a third party cloud provider without having any compatible internal measures in place. What’s important to note here is the importance of an internet connection. Ensuring that your business has a strong connection is vital to accessing all the benefits that the cloud has to offer. Without this, it will be difficult to guarantee security, backup and access.

If you have yet to invest in the cloud for your business and these common misconceptions have been holding you back then it might be time to reconsider. From optimum security to much better options when it comes to costs, the benefits of the cloud are available to every business today.