Unless you happen to have been living under a rock for the past decade, you’ve probably heard the news about cloud computing.
In short, it’s big news – and it’s news that’s only getting bigger. Investment in companies providing such services is soaring, and this just correlates with the sheer number of companies that are tapping into cloud systems such as C5 Capital, created by security expert Andre Pienaar.
However, just because these systems are continually filling up newspaper and magazine columns, it doesn’t mean to say that everything you read about them is accurate. There can be some misinformation doing the rounds when it comes to cloud computing, and through today’s post, we will investigate some of the biggest misconceptions.
Myth #1 – Internal IT teams are no longer needed
Let’s wipe this first myth away as a matter of urgency. Clouds relieve a lot of pressure from internal groups, but they are most definitely still needed.
The big difference revolves around their activity. Rather than acting as firefighters, so to speak, they are instead there to refine and improve services. Not only that but they are also needed to support the applications that have been migrated. Quite often, they will have created them and know exactly how they function. The only difference now is that they “live” in a different place.
Myth #2 – You should move everything to the cloud
Sure, the cloud has its benefits, but don’t be under the impression that you have to move each and every application over there. Many companies do it in stages – as a full migration takes time and a lot of testing.
Additionally, some applications just might not be suitable. For example, if you want to keep some data in-house, it might make more sense to run any related application in-house as well. Then, there are compatibility issues – and finding out just whether your applications will migrate successfully. If they don’t, they may have to be re-coded.
Myth #3 – It’s safer to keep data on-site
We’re not sure where this next myth came from, but it’s probably because of all of the high-profile security breaches there have been over the last few years.
In most cases, a cloud system will have significantly better security than what your in-house service can provide. Let’s not forget those cloud companies are typically huge, serving a high number of clients, and they have the resources to invest in security. This is in stark contrast to most businesses, which have rigid IT budgets that are stretched at the best of times.
Myth #4 – The cloud is cheaper
Let us conclude proceedings with a contentious point. There is quite often a lot made about the cost savings when it comes to moving to the cloud, but in reality, there is a bigger story.
A lot of this will obviously depend on your company’s requirements, but for some, the current costs might even be more than they are paying for with their on-site system. It’s only when we start to look at cost efficiencies that things start to become more evident. For example, you can quickly scale up or down with the cloud, which is in stark contrast to traditional platforms. Ultimately, rather than paying for a high-capacity system at the start, you can simply upgrade your cloud offering as you go along. Over time, this is something that can save you significant sums of money.
