IT infrastructure and legacy systems exert a tremendous burden on scarce SME resources and time. There is a constant resource outlay on installing, managing and upgrading systems for email, documents or intranets. Ironically, this energy is expended in developing competencies that have nothing to do with core areas of operation.
That was yesteryear. Today, a large percentage of SMEs are migrating to the cloud, or thinking about migrating to the cloud because of its undeniable benefits. Cloud migration offers SMEs the following benefits:-
Reduced costs.
Cloud vendors have the scale to offer reduced cost. According to research organization Sandhill, cloud based applications can be cheaper by as much as 25-50% in terms of total costs over a 5-7 year time horizon. [link to TCO Calculator]
Renewed focus.
With IT servers and software offloaded to the cloud vendor, companies can focus on their core business area.
Ongoing upgrades. Cloud systems are continuously upgraded in the background, which keeps your systems at the cutting edge. You are saved the costs and effort of disruptive upgrade cycles of legacy software.
Superior functionality and security.
Since IT is the vendor’s area of expertise, they can offer much better functionality and security than SMMEs can manage in-house.
Mobility. In an age of distributed and mobile workforces, cloud systems are ideal for workers who want to access data and tools outside the company firewalls on a variety of devices like desktops, tablets and mobile phones.