by Stefani Laszko
This past November CompTIA, an IT industry trade organization, released their 5th Annual Trends in Cloud Computing report. With five years of research data, CompTIA is able to clearly define trends, giving IT providers and end users great insight into what’s really going on in the marketplace. Most notably, cloud computing is no longer a “potential game changer”, it is now “an essential ingredient of modern IT”. A new era is upon us where cloud computing is a major component of the back office and mobile devices are taking over the front office. According to the report, “the previous eras of IT have lasted for 25-30 years. After five years, then, the era of cloud computing is just getting started.”
As businesses dip their toes in the cloud they often follow a predictable path. They start by “Experimenting” with trial software and become familiar with the concepts and solutions available. “Non-critical Use” is next, actually using a cloud solution for some operational aspect but not involving critical or sensitive data. As businesses get more comfortable with cloud services they migrate to “Full Production”, at this point they have overcome security concerns and they’ve incorporated the cloud service model into their policies and procedures. The final stage is “Transformed IT”, these companies are no longer transitioning to the cloud, they are fully there and they are “changing the way they work in order to reap the full benefit.” Not surprisingly, the majority of companies currently in the “Transformed IT” stage are businesses that have started in the last five to seven years.
The two most common uses in the cloud are business productivity suites and email. These are great starting points for a business looking to move to the cloud. In order to remain competitive and agile you need access to your information, regardless of where you are or what device you are on. Hosted business productivity suites will give you that availability. Email is cumbersome and expensive for a small business to keep in house. It requires maintenance and periodic upgrades. By outsourcing email you will be able to access additional services and features that may have not been in your budget if you were managing it in house.
With any change there is going to be speed bumps and challenges, cloud conversions are no different. Depending on what you put in the cloud you may have to retrain your employees, you most definitely need to update your policies and procedures and as your infrastructure grows you may have issues with integrations. Though there may be issues with moving to the cloud, moving back presents many more challenges. You must research and partner with a service provider you trust and understands the pace you are comfortable moving at. Once you find that partner and put a plan together you’ll be able to reap the rewards that the cloud has to offer.
Mythos Technology is an IT consulting and management firm that provides Managed Services including hosted cloud solutions. For more information, please visit www.mythostech.com or call (951) 813-2672.
