The idea of moving your company’s network applications and data to the cloud may be a daunting prospect. After all, that comforting hum of the servers in the data center let you know right where everything is—business is flowing smoothly, there’s easy access to data, applications, the back end of the website…everything is there. Everyone who needs to get to these functions has proper access, and it’s all just fine.

One big factor to consider: While you take comfort in that server hum, others may hear the heartbeat of an organism with a limited lifespan and a failure in its future, one as unsurprising as it is inevitable.

Ask yourself this question: Why are literally thousands of successful companies switching their strategy and moving workloads to a remote cloud environment? The answers are as myriad and multifaceted as each one of those enterprises. It’s important to note that the size of the company does not necessarily matter—depending on how your business is set up, the cloud could offer many features that would help you dial in your efficiency and optimize your technology investment.

Here are three ways to think about cloud computing that may help you make some decisions going forward:

1. Right-Sizing Resources
Moving to the cloud helps businesses to use their resources in different ways, potentially with better productivity and reduced IT costs. Because of the horsepower behind the cloud, you may see reduced response time. Other benefits from that robust computing power are increased operational durability and improved security. The downsides: Internet connections must be completely reliable, and some staff may not like any change, even the kind that improves their productivity. The bottom line is, the cloud is a commitment. It’s more like a long-term relationship with your cloud services provider. It makes sense to work with a company you trust and with whom you have experience.

2. Seamless Transitions
The cloud is a tempting option though, with software-as-a-service functions that keep critical applications up to date and patched so your team can evolve seamlessly along. All business operations, sales, and fulfillment can all be managed on the cloud. And it all happens with the benefit of disaster recovery without the expense of maintaining an additional server location off premises, and the way the cloud is intertwined with your business function, recovery is quicker than ever. Of course, the cloud will only yield its benefits to your company if your business can function effectively during a phased migration of assets from your existing servers, and hit the ground running when it’s complete. So that means a full understanding on the part of your IT staff, and training and support for anyone who’s going to see changes to their day-to-day functions. At Axis Computer Networks, we work with teams of all sizes and experience levels.

3. The Key to Cloud Success
It is wise to have a legitimate business reason for moving some or all network functions to the cloud. If your management team cannot assess the business and come up with a coherent explanation for the move, it may be best to consider all the options for a while longer. Here are two things to get the discussion started: First, the cloud can offer many advantages to all different types of businesses, but it may not necessarily be the least expensive option. The team should weight the benefits carefully before pulling any triggers. And second, moving computer function is not an all-or-nothing prospect. Taking some functions to the cloud and leaving some in the server room—a hybrid solution—may be a good starting point. In fact, some companies are restricted by regulations that say some of their customer data cannot be stored beyond state lines. In that case, an on-premise server and a local backup server will be a winning combination. Your managed services provider should be able to help you design a system to your needs.

Of course, every enterprise is different, and your Axis Computer Networks representative can work closely with you and your team to show all the options for your system that would best elevate your business to the cloud.

Learn more about Axis Computer Networks cloud services by visiting here, and if you’re interested, fill out the form to set up an appointment.