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Software as a Service Works Because of These 3 Benefits

Software as a Service Works Because of These 3 Benefits

Software makes or breaks businesses, so your software strategy should be implemented with sound logic in mind. One of the ways you can make the most out of your limited resources and budget is to consider cloud-hosted Software as a Service offerings. With SaaS, you can implement better software that is more accessible, flexible, and manageable than the traditional method of hosting.

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How to Tell Your Business’ Technology Needs an Upgrade

How to Tell Your Business’ Technology Needs an Upgrade

Do your employees have a hard time with the technology that you’ve provided them? Are your digitization efforts lagging behind? Are the systems your business is using coming up on their end of support date? Old technology can cause major problems for a business. In this week’s blog, we go through some of the signs that you may need to upgrade your business’ technology.

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Creating a Cloud Strategy is Easy as 1-2-3

Creating a Cloud Strategy is Easy as 1-2-3

So, you want to utilize cloud computing for your business. Making that decision is a good start, but now you need to figure out how the cloud will help accomplish the goals you’ve set for your business. You need to develop a cloud strategy.

Fortunately, we can help.

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The Haunting of North Shore Software

The Haunting of North Shore Software

The following story and events are true, however, to protect the families of the innocent, all names have been changed. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or businesses, is purely coincidental. Enjoy and happy Halloween!

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How Software as a Service Fits Into Your Business’ Technology Plans

It’s the cloud.


Specifically, software-as-a-service (SaaS).

What is SaaS?

In order to understand SaaS, you definitely need to have a cursory understanding of the concept of cloud computing. Basically—for you that don’t know—cloud computing is the use of servers hosted in data centers to provide your business (or individuals) the computing they need through the Internet. It’s as simple as that. Companies create data centers where any business can get the processing, the data storage, the services, and the software utilities they need. Software-as-a-service represents the last part of that. Basically, if you need a piece of software, you can now get it in the cloud.

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Printing Is Losing Out to the Cloud

Efficiency is far from the only benefit that comes from using electronic record storage or document management platforms. Without the prohibitive costs associated with printing paper copies of your records, you’ll be able to do more while still having access to all your business’ important documents. Let’s consider how much money can be saved when you aren’t printing every document you want to file away.

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Demystifying the Cloud for Business Computing

Defining Cloud Deployments

Businesses have the option to use three different cloud deployments:

  • Private Cloud — Space in a cloud infrastructure is owned and utilized by a single business.
  • Public Cloud — Space in a shared cloud infrastructure is utilized by multiple businesses and users.
  • Hybrid Cloud — Space is utilized in both a public cloud environment and in a business’ privately-owned cloud space.
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The Hidden Costs You See When Using Cloud Platforms

Research In Action surveyed 468 CIOs about their company’s cloud usage and the costs they understand. A majority said that their company’s cloud computing investments were some of the largest technology expenses on their company’s budget. Fewer CIOs consider the hidden costs of the technology, as most of them trust their vendors to make the determinations needed to keep their business’ cloud platforms viable and available. Many of them admitted to monitoring the fluctuations in cost, but feel as though the technology provides the best value possible. 

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The Cloud Can Contribute to Company Collaboration

Communication Solutions

Many, many solutions devoted to keeping people in touch and in the loop are now commonly hosted in, and delivered through, the cloud. This method only makes sense, as it enables your team to fully collaborate whenever an Internet connection is available. Take extra steps to foster these habits in your organization at every possible opportunity.

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Cloud Communications Are Helping Drive Business Forward

How the Cloud Helps Businesses Communicate

Having a strong communications strategy for your business can go a long way. With the options that are now available through the cloud, your business can significantly cut your communications costs by utilizing technologies like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and video conferencing. Today, there are complete communication platforms that integrate all necessary communications into one easy-to-control solution.

This comprehensive platform, called Unified-Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS), combines your business telecommunications and messaging with your web and video conferencing and collaboration. UCaaS gives your business the technology it needs along with the following options:

  • Disaster recovery
  • Managed support
  • Thorough analytics
  • Management software integration
  • Regulatory support
  • Global service delivery
  • Available support 

...and more!

Available Technology

Below are some of the technologies a UCaaS platform offers:

Telephone

A powerful and feature-rich telephone system is one of the most important parts of a business’ communications platform. A VoIP system uses your organization’s bandwidth to deliver reliable voice services at a substantial cost reduction. Each VoIP platform can offer a whole cache of features, including:

  • Call Management/Auto Attendant
  • Call Queue
  • Call Routing/Screening/Transferring
  • Call forwarding/Voicemail
  • Call Park/Presence/Pulling
  • Call Recording
  • Custom In-Call Music
  • Custom ringtones
  • Do Not Disturb
  • Three-way calling
  • Extensions
  • SIP Trunking
  • Find/Follow Me
  • Voicemail services

...and more.

Aside from these features, a hosted VoIP platform offers users the ability to use the system on their own mobile phones through the use of a mobile app, effectively making any smartphone a work phone. 

Text and Instant Messaging

The UCaaS also integrates a lot of other useful messaging features. Many people would rather get a text than a call, and with a UCaaS, your organization’s messaging will integrate with other software to provide a useful collaborative option.

Video Conferencing

Today, having a video conferencing solution is a must. With more people working outside of the office, and with businesses outsourcing work to remote contractors, having a solution to run meetings over the Internet is extremely useful. 

Collaboration/File Sharing

Collaboration is the name of the game in the information age and a UCaaS can provide a solution for secure file transfer and document sharing. 

With integrations with CRMs and other management platforms a UCaaS can make your business be more efficient and productive. To talk to one of our IT professionals about the possibility of integrating a unified communication solution into your business, give us a call at (604) 513-9428 today.

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How Secure is Your Use of Cloud Solutions?

To do so, we’ll be discussing the concept of cloud security, which is pretty much what it sounds like: security concerning the data, infrastructures, and applications that are hosted in the cloud. In many ways, these considerations aren’t all too different than the ones that would be involved with your local IT. When really boiled down, any security you have implemented should meet a few benchmarks:

  • Assurance that data/solutions are safe
  • You have a transparent view of your security’s status
  • Instant alerts to unusual events and issues
  • These events and issues can be followed back to their source and addressed

Of course, we don’t mean to say that everything is identical between the security of your local infrastructure and a cloud system. We just wanted to establish this as the foundation of any security you implement.

Demystifying Cloud Security

By its nature, cloud computing can be intimidating, especially when you start to consider how it has impacted the business technology landscape. Fortunately, many of the security considerations that cloud now demands aren’t necessarily huge leaps from what your security should be normally. Let’s walk through a few differences between traditional security and what is required in the cloud.

Different Perimeters to Protect

Consider how data can be protected when it is localized. You can effectively prevent a lot of threats just by preventing access to the area where your data is stored. The cloud makes this significantly more difficult by being so very connected.

However, if you know this moving forward, you can adjust your security to meet these needs. One effective way to do so is to make sure that all data to be stored in the cloud is encrypted, and that access to the cloud itself is protected with multi-factor authentication requirements with the appropriate best practices baked in.

More Advanced Threats

Unfortunately, not even cloud providers are immune to attacks. The development of Advanced Persistent Threats (which you may see referred to as APTs) and other means of breaching data make it difficult to be sure that your data is truly safe. While the jury is still out on how these threats can be overcome, you need to accept the responsibility of keeping up with the practices that can help in the meantime.

Software Challenges

As the cloud relies on software to deliver hosted data, there is an assortment of potential variables that need to be addressed. Therefore, the cloud needs to have security controls in place to address these variables as they present themselves. This is the case whether data is being transported at the time, or if it is filed away.

Coleman Technologies can assist you with your data security needs, as well as assist you with whatever cloud implementation you decide to put into place. To learn more, reach out to us by calling (604) 513-9428.

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Are You Properly Managing Your Cloud Services?

Most cloud vendors will propose that an organization’s IT is too expensive for what they would get out of it and that by using cloud services a business can cut down on its hardware and management costs. For the most part, this is true. Cloud services can bring flexibility and capital cost reduction, but it can also bring substantial waste if your cloud-based resources aren’t managed effectively. 

We don’t want to give the impression that cloud services aren’t useful, they undoubtedly are, but you may be surprised to learn how much money is wasted by small and medium-sized businesses in the cloud. By routinely playing for recurring web service accounts may not seem like a big deal on the surface, but it only takes a couple accounts per month to add up to hundreds and thousands of dollars a year. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Many organizations that use hosted environments for development or deploy virtual machines for application distribution may initially find cost savings by moving to the cloud, but over time, see those savings dilapidated as larger-than-needed VMs are left running and other computing platforms chew up resources that are billed per CPU hour or per gigabyte. 

So how do you go about creating a strategy that will give your staff the resources they need, while also not having to waste money on unused cloud resources? Here are a couple tips:

  • Track all online service licenses and correlate them with the number of employees that need that software to complete their jobs.
  • Have a system in place where employees can find solutions to help them, while providing you the ability to block this Shadow IT software if it poses any threat.
  • Clean up old volumes, snapshots, and machine images. 
  • When you turn on resources in non-production environments, make sure to set it to the minimum size requirements. 
  • Use the Reserved Instances option for any production resources and manage them closely. You could save up to 75 percent off your cloud investments. 

Use these five tips to control your cloud computing costs. Tracking your cloud services and eliminating any redundancies or unused resources will go a long way toward reducing your overall computing costs. For more information call Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

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Cloud Services Are the Rideshare of Business Computing

How the Cloud is Like a Rideshare

Cost Efficiency

Let’s say you are with three people and you need to get someplace and don’t have access to a car. You all could call an Uber or a taxi that would cost you $20 or so. If you are going to the same place, you could all share the cost of a ride for $7 each. You all get to the same place for a fraction of the cost. 

This is a lot like how cloud services work. Since you are paying for access to storage, processing, or application deployment on an outside computer, you are just paying rent for the privilege. This means that you can get the computing resources your business needs at a substantial cost savings. This is because you are often not the only one using these resources. 

Just like you pay less if you split your transportation costs, cloud service companies allow for substantial cost savings by virtualizing computing resources and making them available at attractive rates. 

Reduced Maintenance

The combination of leasing these virtualized computing resources, while taking on a majority of the management of these resources, provides substantial value for businesses and individuals. 

Let’s say that, to continue the rideshare metaphor, you decide to lease a car from a local dealership. One day the car breaks down. You’ve spent a premium amount of money trying to get a reliable ride to work, but if you don’t have access to your car, your investment isn’t cost effective. This is the same experience a business has that purchases hardware and has issues with it. Outsourcing the computing resources (or the management) ensures that you have continuous, reliable access to them. 

Productivity

Finally, just like ordering a shared ride, cloud services allow you maximize productivity. With cloud computing you can even work from anywhere with an Internet connection and utilize your time reliably. Turning to cloud computing resources is a great way to free yourself from the costs of purchasing expensive hardware, while giving you the resources your business needs to get where you want to go.

If you would like more information about cloud services and how they can improve your business, call the It experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

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Tip of the Week: Making Microsoft OneDrive Work for You

For context, it helps to know that Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage platform that just about any business could make use of, regardless of its size. After all, any size of business will have to remain organized.

Speaking of which, our first tip covers how OneDrive can make this organization super convenient for you.

OneDrive Files On-Demand

Files On-Demand gives your users the ability to effectively link their File Explorer to OneDrive, which enables them to work with files found in your OneDrive without downloading all of them to their device. Not only does this save real estate in the device’s storage, it allows work to continue offline through a simple proactive switch in a particular file’s settings.

Known Folder Move

OneDrive can also work as a simple backup option, although it certainly should not replace a comprehensive plan. Regardless, Known Folder Move allows users to have the contents of certain folders automatically synchronize with their OneDrive storage. This can be set up during the initial installation of OneDrive, or at any time you have need for it.

Integration with Microsoft Outlook

Consider what typically happens when you try to share some kind of Office document as an email attachment for someone to work on: you aren’t sending them access to your file, you’re simply sending them their own copy. OneDrive fixes that by enabling a user to share their files as though they were attachments, editing the permissions provided on the fly. As a result, the actual file is being collaborated on, really allowing work to be done.

What has been your experience using OneDrive? Share your impressions, as well as any other questions we can help with, in the comments!

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Are Cloud Servers an Option?

The Decision

It may seem pretty simple, but there really are a lot of variables to consider. How important is uptime to your business? How much capital are you willing to spend? What are you using the server for? These questions (and more) need to be addressed before you decide which way to go with your IT.

Benefits of an In-House Server

The physical server option brings with it some substantial benefits. Firstly, it gives you physical control over your infrastructure, and therefore keeps all data in one central location. It also provides a way for administrators to eliminate third-party access of server resources. Secondly, you have several networking options. It is the only time that the Internet is not necessary, as all inhouse servers can use wired or wireless networking to transmit data over internal network. For the small business, an in-house server can be the most cost effective. 

Detriments of an In-House Server

The biggest detriment of the in-house server is the upfront capital outlay. In order to have an effective IT infrastructure set up, your company will need to fork over thousands of dollars to purchase the hardware. Then, once it’s set up and working, you will need to pay to maintain it, so without a structured IT department or a managed IT service agreement, you won’t have any uptime guarantees. 

Benefits of a Cloud Server

Hosted solutions can be right for your business, but first you have to understand what exactly you are gaining. Firstly, unlike in-house servers, you don’t have to have a pile of cash dedicated to build a cloud server. Moreover, when your business grows, you won’t have to worry too much about scaling the hardware, you can just purchase all the computing that your organization requires. 

Most cloud servers come with all the support that is needed as well as full redundancy, a consideration that has to be made no matter what type of infrastructure you choose to implement.

Detriments of a Cloud Server

The main detriment of the cloud server is that, over time, it will be more expensive than in-house servers.  Another potential deal-break for some organizations is that if they\ absolutely demand to have control over their hardware, most cloud platforms will not abide. Storage costs can also be substantial, especially for businesses that have a lot of media.

Of course, with the technology as it is today, companies can start with a reliable in-house computing structure and expand into the cloud for more productivity-fueled endeavors. One thing is for sure, to keep your business’ data safe, you need to have solid and consistent management of your servers. 

If your business needs some expert help selecting the computing construct that will help you run your business effectively, don’t hesitate to reach out the IT technicians at Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428. 

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3 Popular IT Trends for SMBs

The Cloud

One computing trend is being utilized above all others by all types of businesses from all over the world: cloud computing. The feature-rich options available in the cloud make it a perfect technology for the modern SMB.

The most prevalent of the benefits of cloud computing is that it doesn’t typically come with large capital costs. There are plenty of options where a business can get the computing that they need--outfitted competently with tools, storage, security, infrastructure, and more. By having options to get the computing resources and tools they need, and being charged monthly for them, businesses have access to affordable resources that can really help them build a better business. 

Get Smart (BI & BA)

In a trend that is more recent, SMBs are using business intelligence and business analytics to get more detailed information about their business. Using this information, decision makers can strategically alter operations to fit the needs of their consumer base, spend their marketing budgets more wisely, and obtain a better understanding of their business; and, how to strategically improve it. 

Everything Digital 

Like BI and BA, the digital transformation of a business was, up until recently, thought of as an enterprise gig. A complete digital transformation of a business that includes document management, remote work solutions, and customer-facing computing strategies. Prioritizing a single digital standard will go a long way toward cutting printing and paper costs, and promote boosts to productivity and efficiency. 

If you would like to talk to one of our technology professionals about innovative solutions that bring with them rapid ROIs and higher productivity, call Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

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Tip of the Week: Cloud Decisions for the SMB

Countless Options

The cloud provides a myriad of options for any-sized business. In the cloud, you can host applications, communications, storage, and even full-platform infrastructure. With so many options available, your business can get the computing power and tools it needs, when needed. 

User Tip: When trying to determine which cloud platforms are right for you, you may find the cost/benefit analysis won’t give you the definitive answer you are looking for. Your best bet is to prioritize which information systems would work best hosted onsite and which one brings the most value hosted in the cloud. The best decision for your business’ bottom line may not be the best decision. 

Productivity Improves

One of the most important aspects of cloud computing is the possibility that it provides a modern business. With all of the options the cloud presents, a business can pick and choose how to leverage them to produce increased productivity. Of course, the computing platform itself isn’t going to produce more, but with the data and application accessibility and the collaborative options the cloud provides a business, they are able to get more done, faster.

User Tip: Cloud computing may provide the ability for your team to collaborate better, but it isn’t going to produce anything on its own. One tip to ensure for efficient collaboration and enhanced teamwork using cloud interfaces is to assign one person to manage the files and data inside your cloud solution so that everyone knows who to go to if they need answers. Running a project is a lot like running a basketball team, one person has to run point.

Monetary Benefits

Implementing cloud computing can absolutely help save a business money off the bat. A shift to the cloud works to eliminate huge capital costs. Say you need a server. If you bought, powered, and supported the hardware yourself, you are looking at a bill that’s likely in the five-to-six-figure range. If you choose a cloud, you can fire up a new server for a monthly fee that gives you a lot of the same computing power your business commands, without the waste of computing resources and the upfront expense you would see by running your own hardware.

User Tip: The cloud may help you transfer cost, but if you jump in with both feet it can get pricey quick. That’s why it is important to migrate your processes, data, and infrastructure to the cloud in small, incremental steps. It keeps operational costs down and keeps your IT administrator sane. 

At Coleman Technologies, we understand the value of cloud computing, but we also recognize that the cloud isn’t right for every situation. If you would like to meet with our knowledgeable consultants about a shift to the cloud, call us at (604) 513-9428 today.

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Taking a Long Look at Microsoft 365

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is a bundle containing Office 365, the Enterprise version of Windows 10, along with Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility + Security. Microsoft 365 is comprised of all of these solutions, meaning your business will benefit from all of the features that come with these solutions, with just one package. So, what does this package include exactly?

Here are all of these solutions you could or should be taking advantage of with Microsoft 365:

Here at Coleman Technologies we understand this list is extensive. However, it is worth viewing as there could be solutions your business could benefit from. Coleman Technologies has the technicians needed to help you procure, implement, and manage the right solutions for you. Reach out to us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

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Collaboration Tools for SMBs

Cloud Productivity

One option a business can take is by adding in a cloud productivity suite. Options like Google’s G Suite and Microsoft’s Office 365 can bring a business a lot of value, without the typically massive capital outlay the yearly software license would command. Besides, you probably already need licenses for a word processor and spreadsheet app anyway. Inside the software there are integrated collaboration options that allow your team to work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations together in real time.

Communication

Efficient collaboration is not possible without strong communications. Today, there are options out there where an organization doesn’t necessarily need to invest huge sums in replacing their normal communications strategy to get the benefits that innovations made in the solutions can bring. By utilizing instant messaging, web-based conferencing, and cloud-based email companies can improve their top-to-bottom communication without taking on a lot of extra cost.

Collaboration Apps

New innovations in communication software are now available that provide advanced collaboration options. Developed like a forum, but with direct communication options, and integrations with third-party applications, collaboration apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams have a lot of options to help drive team productivity forward.

If you are looking for ways to improve your organizational productivity, call the IT experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428. 

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A Look at Business Computing Costs: Cloud vs. On Premise

For this experiment, we’re going to assume that we are starting from scratch. The optimism and cautious excitement that goes into starting a new business endeavor is palpable. Let's assume for our purposes that you’ve determined that you need to support the following applications:

  • Email
  • Voice over Internet Protocol
  • Line of business applications
  • Productivity applications
  • HR and operations software
  • Storage (enough to support above)
  • File sharing
  • Backup

It’s not hard to ascertain the surface costs of implementing these technologies, but when trying to figure out the total cost of ownership, it may be a little more difficult. Objective comparison of the two platforms has to begin at their core needs. On one hand, In-house computing comes with several, including power, maintenance, management, and redundancy (and the management and maintenance of that platform), while cloud computing may need enhanced bandwidth and redundancy to work for a business. These costs have to be figured in when trying to plan your next steps.

Then there is the question of who is going to use your data, and what kind of protections need to be put in place as a result of that qualification. What compliance regulations does your organization have to meet? How many users does the network and infrastructure have to support? What software do you need to run? There are literally dozens of questions you have to ask before making any definitive decisions about what kind of hardware you are going to need, let alone what kind of hardware solutions you plan on using.

Once you’ve ironed out the particulars, you will then have to make the big choice. Do you want to buy physical hardware, cloud-based hardware, or some combination of both? Let’s analyze all three options:

In-House Computing

The first thing you have to be cognizant of is that once you decide that your organization needs in-house server infrastructure, you have to know that it is going to cost you a pretty penny. In order to support a full-scale communications solution, all the applications your business uses to do business, email, and backup you are looking at a seriously hefty price tag. Not only are you looking at a few thousand dollars per server, costs that are incurred in configuring the servers, warranties, and maintenance to that server could push the cost into untenable territory, especially if there isn’t a good deal of upfront capital available.

Beyond all that there are HVAC and security costs that need to addressed the first time around. The biggest expense, by far, is the cost of management. If you outsource your IT services management to a company like Coleman Technologies, you may be able to mitigate some of the recurring costs and get expert management, but ultimately the facts point to on-premise hardware rollouts costing a substantial amount more than utilizing cloud, especially with today’s IaaS costs.

Implementing an in-house server room does provide you with some pretty stark benefits, however. They include complete management over the systems within, the resulting comprehensive data security, and access to data without an Internet connection. It also front-loads the costs associated with the environment, so if the big capital expenses don’t cut into your operational budget considerations, you will be paying less per month. The infrastructure costs (which are fixed costs) and the management and maintenance of it, and operational costs (that are very often variable), all have to be taken into consideration, as does your organization’s regulatory compliance needs.

Cloud Computing

For the start-up that doesn’t have any overreaching data compliance issues, utilizing cloud computing is a no-brainer. Not only are there limited set up costs, there are so many different service-based computing plans that it is now possible to strictly use the cloud for all of your organization's central computing.

For the established company, it may be a little more difficult, so before we go “all hail the cloud!” on you, we have to admit that there are plenty of considerations you have to make if you were to go ahead with a completely virtualized computing infrastructure for your business. Here are a few:

  • Migration Time and Cost: Getting started with cloud computing may not come with the enormous capital costs that an inhouse server would, but there is cost, especially if you are migrating data. For an established business to move from physical servers to cloud infrastructure there is a substantial investment. It takes a lot of bandwidth and time to move all if an organization’s data over, and in doing so, you will likely incur a fair amount of cost.
  • Dependability and What Uptime Really Means: Cloud providers like to measure their effectiveness in uptime; and, in doing so, don’t properly represent what customers want from their cloud provider. Businesses need ubiquitous access to data and applications stored on a cloud construct, and sometimes that can be a problem. The VM running the server may be up, but if there isn’t access to critical information and applications, a business deals with their own downtime, which is a major problem.
  • Problems Estimating Costs: The cloud’s cost to a business seems simple enough, but a lot of business owners do a poor job of estimating the true cost of the service. With cloud computing pricing costing businesses so many cents-per-service-unit, they often fail to multiply this cost over months and years. By moving the least utilized applications over first, a company can save more money than just moving it all over at once.
  • Trusting Your Architect: Well before cloud implementation, a company would have a cloud architect make them a map (of sorts) so that decision makers can see how the data flows. A problem arises when you’ve trusted the plan and mid-implementation, the migration team wants to change everything. To avoid a complete cloud migration failure, your best bet is to consult with the architect to make certain that everything goes to plan.
  • Cloud security: For companies that migrate over to the cloud, they will have to know beforehand that all of the solutions they had deployed to protect their systems from threats are probably not going to be deployed by the cloud provider. As a result, it may initially feel as if the cloud construct is lacking security. Hiring a third-party to test your security will go a long way toward alleviating (or reaffirming) the concerns you may have about your cloud’s security.

As costs go, it’s pretty evident after considering all the factors, that deploying new infrastructure is always going to be costly. An organization can save money by moving to the cloud as long as the migration is done properly and meets all the file sharing, data security, and deployment needs that an organization has. In fact, most organizations have some sort of cloud project on the books for this very reason. The benefits outweigh the detriments for a lot of what companies do.

The Hybrid Approach

Nowadays, the Hybrid Cloud approach is becoming more popular. As data regulations increase and legacy software is still mightily functional, the best option is often to deploy both a cloud platform and keep an on premise server. Essentially, finding ways for the two to work in unison is called a hybrid cloud. While this seems like a match for nearly every business, it comes with a great deal of design and implementation headaches, and can cause significant cost overruns.

In order to design and deploy an effective hybrid cloud, you first have to know what the potential pitfalls can be. Two include:

  • Utilization uncertainty: When moving part of an organization’s data and infrastructure to the cloud, there should be a baseline of utilization that is acceptable. If you overplanned for cloud utilization, you could be looking a pretty hefty bill in the face for computing resources your organization will never use.
  • Development costs: The two computing constructs often won’t “play nice” and as a result you may be looking at substantial development costs during the integration. These costs are variable and are difficult to plan for, so like everything else IT, plan to spend more than you will and you won’t be left disappointed.

To solve the challenges that come with significant hybrid cloud costs, many organizations will abandon the idea, but really it’s about simplifying the whole process. New strategies, practices, and products are being formed that will simplify the hybrid cloud process, while allowing an organization to get the most out of their IT infrastructure. It won’t be long before there will be hybrid cloud services that will marry the two ends into one secure and dynamic IT infrastructure. Until then, however, controlling your computing costs, no matter the platform, will take careful consideration and thoughtful planning.

At Coleman Technologies, we have years of experience designing, implementing, managing, and supporting powerful IT infrastructures for businesses of all sizes. To learn more about cloud computing, including hybrid cloud implementations, reach out to us today.

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Consumer Choice Award Consumers and Businesses in the Surrey Region have selected COLEMAN TECHNOLOGIES  as the 2023 Consumer Choice Award recipient in the category of COMPUTER CONSULTANTS. Thanks to all our great customers!...

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