Can The Cloud Save You Money?
There is a great deal of confusion about the cost of the cloud. Many believe that since iCloud storage runs us a measly $.99 per month that cloud storage is a “cheap” solution. It is accurate that the cloud, if customized adequately for your business, can save your business money. Although, the savings are not as black and white and cheap as the $.99 iCloud storage for the storage of our pictures. To decipher the real value of migrating to the cloud, we need to look at the different payment models when comparing cloud environments to on-premise environments.
The primary cost difference when comparing on-premise vs. cloud environment is solely based on the different pay models. You can think of an on-premise model as owning a car where-as cloud environments is like leasing a car. For on-premise storage, the upfront cost is going to be hefty. The initial cost of servers, licenses, and networking is high and extremely time-consuming whereas the cloud pay model is going to be a monthly fee that is maintained on the backend. Initially, the cloud seems like significant savings although like buying a car, the monthly leasing charges add up rapidly and many times owning seems to save money in the long-run.
Sticking with the car comparison, there is a great deal of up-keep and service to keep your car in a pristine and safe state which takes a great deal of time and money to maintain, similarly to server maintenance. Many times, as car owners we put off that “maintenance” as it does not seem like a priority at the time. “Those tires or brake pads can make it another 6 months.” Many people do this with their servers as well and try to extend the life of their equipment past its prime to save money. This is a risky model as you are essentially playing Russian Roulette with your environment. The cloud model includes maintenance in the monthly fee schedule, so you are always dealing with a safe, sound and secure environment without the hassle of continuous maintenance. A cloud environment takes time, space and additional charges out of the equation and gives you a well-maintained, customized environment with a consistent pay schedule which you can forecast.
In all truth, the actual monetary cost of the cloud is going to be almost identical to the cost of on-premise storage.
Where the savings happens with the cloud is through:
- Time of managing and maintaining your licenses and equipment (server).
- Office space and temperature control necessary to maintain a healthy server.
- Time and energy and upfront cost to set-up, update and patch your environment.
- Missed downtime saved due to a properly maintained environment.
A cloud environment can be a benefit to many businesses and you owe it to your company to explore the benefits that a cloud environment can provide. Give our Pendello Solutions team of Business Technology Associates a call today and let them customize a personalized environment to help your business excel to the next level.
At Pendello Solutions, we turn technology hurdles into powerful assets. Our technology solutions fuel growth, productivity, and efficiency, through continuous innovation and strategic solutions, empowering your business beyond the imaginable. Contact us today to discover the Pendello Method.