DATA STORAGE
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a lot of businesses out there. As Ben Voce, modern workplace specialist at Exertis, points out, businesses can rely on cloud storage for a lot of the services they need to comply with regulations as well as turn a profit. “Moving data to the cloud can help workers access their data from anywhere and on any device increasing productivity,” he says. “It gets rid of the requirements for VPNs and gives users an always-on solution where files can be accessed via a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone via applications or a web browser and still ensure that a rich feature set is available. “It also allows users from multiple locations to collaborate on files at the same time rather than having multiple copies going around the business and storage in different locations. It’s also secure so you can control who accesses what data and with the ability to share files online rather than attaching them to emails it’s easy to revoke access if required. “With more and more applications being available as SaaS offerings and users not always working from a single location the need for on-premise technology is reducing, this isn’t to say that on-premise storage will disappear completely as there will always be use cases to keep data on-premise but for a large number of SMEs the cloud offers everything they need without the hassle of maintaining on-premise systems.” Mark O’Dell, operations director at Babble, adds: “For SMEs, moving to the cloud should be a no-brainer,” he says. “The cloud offers multiple benefits such as compatibility with remote work, cheaper storage, scalability and greater flexibility. All these benefits go hand in hand with making SMEs more competitive against larger enterprises. “Over the last few years, migrating to the cloud has become easier, making the move accessible to businesses with even the smallest of IT teams. While there are still plenty of ‘gotchas’ to avoid, such as planning your data structures and permissions at the start, worries about the actual process shouldn’t be a barrier to making the move.” Making the move These benefits are naturally attractive for businesses. It is therefore little wonder that cloud storage vendors have seen an increase in SME business. On top of the positives we have heard about, Don Valentine, commercial director at Absoft, cites regulation as a key reason why migration
is a lot easier than it may have been before. “With a potentially unlimited choice of customisation and long-drawn-out implementations, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions used to be daunting. With solutions like S/4HANA from SAP, that model has changed completely, and those businesses still ignoring the 2027 deadline for the end of ECC support need to recognise and embrace the new approach or risk falling behind. “Standardisation plus the range of tools in place to help businesses make the transition are accelerating the process. The entire experience is very clear and very clean and, when combined with a partner that takes the time to get to know a customer or prospect, the process should give certainty.” Lee says that migration is becoming less of a huddle too. “Moving data from on-premise to the cloud is now no more challenging than transitioning to another server,” he adds. “The process is continually simplifying, facilitated by the increasing number of individuals migrating their storage to the cloud. “However, before making the shift, certain factors need consideration when comparing the cloud to on-premise solutions.”
Lee Thatcher head of cloud
cloudcoco.co.uk
The cloud offers multiple benefits such as compatibility with remote work, cheaper storage, scalability and greater flexibility. “ ”
Key considerations This is a view that is shared by Gary Bliss, cloud solutions consultant at Fasthosts ProActive, who says that, although there are benefits to migrating to the cloud, businesses do need to consider cost and connectivity before making the leap. “Migrating to the cloud offers several benefits for SMEs, including improved accessibility, centralised data and business scalability,” he says. “However, there are some challenges that SMEs need to consider and
Ben Voce modern workplace specialist
exertis.co.uk
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