The 3 Most Important Cloud Computing Success Factors

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Cloud computing is interwoven in most business processes now. The pandemic forced workers to work remotely where possible. Therefore, the number of businesses using the cloud has skyrocketed, with the Americas being the largest spenders.

Are You Using Cloud Computing in the Most Successful Way?

But just because you use the cloud at your company doesn’t make it a successful project. Bad connections, inflexible solutions, and expensive products lead to poor implementations.

These three factors will ensure your cloud computing project is successful and future-proofed.

#1 Flexibility

Your cloud computing system must be flexible and scalable. Systems that are worth their spending can flex up and down depending on your business’s need for them.

In evaluationg your system, ask:

Does it enable your employees to work flexibly?
Can they access the service from anywhere in the world, anytime?
Or must they work only during certain times of the day?

For most companies today, gone are the snow days of the past where too much snow or bad weather could limit an employee’s ability to work.

Identify your needs for scalability with a cloud computing solution. How far could you push the limits of your cloud provider, and what does your contract include? Make sure your provider can meet your requirements without delay or issues.

#2 Reliability

Cloud based solutions must be reliable. Otherwise, they are not a good business tool. On-premises solutions and software have notoriously been the most reliable services when working in house. This is mainly because you don’t have far to travel on the network to access help when you need it. But this is true only so long as the IT department behind those services is doing their job.

So when considering cloud computing options, the solution must meet your criteria of reliability. Your provider should lay out service level agreement (SLA) when onboarding you as a customer that will provide you with uptime statistics. It is a big red flag if they don’t offer you this information.

Uptime with any cloud computing solution should be within 99.9% or higher to be worth the paper it’s printed on. Remember, even 99% is almost four days of downtime a year. When you put it like that, even 99.9% is too low!

Take the time to sit down with your IT strategy team and assess your ideal SLA parameters.

#3 Cost Efficiency

Finally, running a cloud solution has to be more cost-efficient than running the same resources in house.

Cloud computing became a hit when small businesses could use the same caliber of computing infrastructure as the large enterprises without the cost of running it all themselves. There was no maintenance, no electricity costs, and no expensive kit sitting in a room gathering dust.

So if your cloud computing solutions are costing you the earth, you’re doing it wrong! Cost is arguably the most essential factor in this process.

Speak to other companies, shop around, and see what they can offer you based on your needs.

Is Cloud Computing Right for Your Company?

The pandemic rushed many people into purchasing cloud solutions that maybe weren’t the right fit for them. Now that we’re out of the worst of the pandemic, the time has come to reassess your options. It’s time to ensure your cloud computing solutions provide for you, not the other way around.

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