Could your business go green by switching over to the cloud?
Cloud computing has quickly become a popular option for businesses that want to streamline their operations, reduce costs, and become more flexible. Not only that, cloud computing allows for the real possibility of reducing the carbon footprint left by organizations and agencies.
The reason is because with the increase of data stored in the cloud, there is a reduction in the physical space needed for servers and server rooms. It’s a bit like collecting all the data from various places and locations, and storing all that data in one large server room. Then, rather than having many smaller server rooms with various bits of data, this collection of data into one server room location would save space and helps preserve the environment.
But are you swayed by the idea that cloud services are automatically better for the environment? Could the need to do your bit “cloud” your decision-making?
Sorry. Bad pun!
Environmental benefits of cloud servers
It’s true that cloud services have environmental benefits compared to using your own servers. These include reduced energy consumption and a smaller carbon footprint. Additionally, it includes preserving spaces in nature that might have been once used for server rooms.
Yet you shouldn’t view the cloud as a “green solution” without fully understanding the environmental impact.
Benefits of the cloud include…
Renewable energy
One consideration of using cloud services is the location of the data centers where servers are housed. Some providers have made commitments to use renewable energy, but it’s not a guarantee. It is essential to do your research and choose a provider that sources renewable energy and uses energy storage where possible.
We provide cloud services to our clients via Microsoft 365 with both Azure and SharePoint; Microsoft itself is committed to environmental sustainability and has been for a number of years with great progress.
When thinking about switching to the cloud, there are other benefits besides environmental sustainability. They include improved data security, ease of collaboration, and scalability as your business grows.
Backup and recovery
Part of the improved data security with the cloud is the advantage of data backup and recovery.
With all your data stored in the cloud, the risk of data loss due to equipment failure, damage, or theft is virtually eliminated. It means that in the event of an unforeseen disaster, like a fire or natural disaster, you can rest assured your data is safe and can be quickly recovered.
The reason this so is because server rooms where data is stored is not readily accessible and files and data on the cloud are encrypted. Additionally, there are usually redundancies in server room warehouses so that if one is compromised or destroyed, the others will still hold the information securely.
Collaboration and communication
Cloud computing also enables better collaboration and communication, helping your team to work together more easily and efficiently, no matter where they’re working from. This can increase productivity and reduce your costs in comparison to maintaining traditional on-site systems.
With applications as SharePoint, our clients are able to connect and communicate within seconds as well as collaborate on projects and share information. This is what the internet age is all about, people!
Scalability
Finally, cloud services provide better scalability as you grow, with the ability to increase storage and processing power as needed. If you have servers onsite at your business location, when you grow and increase, so will your need for servers and server rooms. This would present you with the problem of scaling space for more servers and server rooms.
With the cloud, however, you can scale your business nearly infinitely: with the cloud, the sky’s the limit!
Contact us to migrate to the cloud
Can you see how huge the benefits of cloud computing are? It’s why so many businesses have already ditched their servers; nearly 95% of businesses have transitioned to cloud services. If you’re considering migrating, get in touch – we can talk you through the process and what happens when. Don’t let the cloud pass you by!
Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.