You know a little bit about the cloud, but you may be wondering why you need a cloud solution at all. If you already have some tools that are working the way you want them to, why would you switch to the cloud?
First, you should know that cloud solutions can be combined with on-premise tools and products you’re already using. If something’s already working well for your business, you can continue to use it within the cloud.
Many companies are choosing cloud solutions because they offer cost savings, flexibility, mobility, greater security, and the ability to easily scale operations. If you need to work from home, the office, or a client’s location, you can access everything you need with a cloud platform.
3 WAYS TO GET STARTED IN THE CLOUD
If you’re just looking to get started in the cloud, here are 3 ways you can dip your toes in the water.
1. Email
Cloud-based email is an affordable first step into the cloud. You gain full control of your email, eliminating the administrative burden. It gives your company more flexibility to access email anywhere, on any device – often at a significant cost savings to your company.
2. Applications
Instead of buying Office applications off the shelf, delve into Office 365. Your applications are always up to date, so you have the most current functionality at any given time. Office 365 also comes with a terabyte of ultra-secure cloud storage to help your staff collaborate and store files more securely.
3. Directory
Azure Active Directory offers a myriad of security enhancements that boost productivity. For instance, single sign-on for seamless secure access to all of your apps without having to type passwords for each application. Or multifactor authentication (MFA), so you can make key programs and data more secure.
DIVE DEEPER INTO THE CLOUD
If you’ve been working with aspects of the cloud for a while and want to dive a bit deeper into what the cloud offers, you can:
- Move your infrastructure to the cloud
Many environments today are primarily hardware-based, even though the hardware might be a ticking time bomb, loaded with your most critical data. Once the light work of email and business productivity apps are taken care of, it’s time to start looking deeper into how you can really make an impact in your organization with the cloud.
- Move servers and storage into the cloud
Cloud servers massively increase your ability to add processing power. Moreover, you get more storage space, flexibility and the assurance that a hardware failure will not be your undoing. They’re also more secure. Your applications and systems are patched such that all known threats and vulnerabilities are immediately addressed. If you keep replacing hardware with hardware, it’s an endless cycle of upkeep, system management, maintenance and cost. It’s a potential disaster waiting to happen.
- Get backup and disaster recovery
It used to be that disaster recovery and backups weren’t financially viable for many businesses. Today it’s much more affordable and essential to protecting your company’s data from a variety of threats, like pipes bursting and ransomware. Not having backups is irresponsible. Using cost as an excuse to avoid having a disaster recovery strategy is no longer applicable.
REASONS TO MOVE TO THE CLOUD
Cost and Flexibility
Many companies are choosing the Azure cloud over other cloud options for several key reasons.
Cost is a driving factor motivating so many companies to choose Azure. With this cloud platform, you only pay for what you use. You’ll also benefit from lower maintenance costs.
Flexibility is the most significant reason companies choose Azure. You can move your computing resources up and down as you need them. Azure is also flexible because it’s an open platform that supports almost any OS, language, tool, or framework that you could need. The global structure of the Azure cloud platform is another reason many companies choose it. Data you store in the Azure cloud is housed in geosynchronous data centers.
In addition to cost and flexibility, 3 key reasons companies are choosing Azure are its security, active directory, and Internet of Things solutions.
Security
Many companies are choosing Azure because of the comprehensive, yet adaptable, security the platform offers. If all of your data is only backed up on-premise, it could be at risk. A cloud solution provides an extra backup. With Azure, you’ll have ground-up security backed by a team of experts.
While many cloud providers offer disaster recovery and backup software, Azure allows you to implement these security measures for a hybrid of on-premise and cloud services. You can back up your data in different locations and languages. For example, if your company operates using a Windows virtual environment, you can back up and restore your data using Azure Site Recovery.
Active Directory
Azure Active Directory offers single sign-on to simplify access to your apps from anywhere, conditional access and MFA, a single identity platform that lets you engage with internal and external users more securely, and developer tools that allow you to integrate identity into your apps and services.
You can easily scale and distribute your Active Directory environments anywhere in the world with Azure. It’s also easy to implement MFA to strengthen your security, which eliminates the need for complex usernames and passwords.
Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions
With the Azure IoT Hub, you can monitor and manage millions of devices. You can also gain deep insights into the behavior of these devices. Setting up this system is straightforward. Because of the Azure IoT solution accelerators, which are preconfigured templates that you can customize to meet your company’s needs, it’s easy to get started.
HOW CAN VERSATRUST HELP YOU GET THE MOST FROM AZURE?
VersaTrust is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. That means we can help you leverage any technology, including cloud technology, to your best advantage. The CISSP and their organization have the training and experience to understand a company’s strategic business plan, assess risk based on the plan, and recommend and apply strategies. These strategies include policies, controls, and tools to mitigate risk. A CISSP will also consider budget requirements. We will make sure your cloud solution fits your requirements and that you aren’t paying for more than you need.
VersaTrust wants to help you find the most cost-effective and updated technology for your business. With the latest technology, you can rest assured that your data is both accessible and secure. Contact us today to learn how you can benefit from Microsoft Azure.
