After discussing the pros and cons of cloud services in part 1 of this short series, here we will discuss four of the myths that have come up with the big hype about the cloud.
Switching to the cloud automatically saves money
Although one of the main arguments for cloud usage – the cost benefits associated with it – is usually true, it must be said that this is only true if the change is carefully planned. Most cloud services operate according to a pay-as-you-go model and therefore require a different billing method in cost accounting than on-premise does. As a consequence, a mixed calculation is necessary when changing over in order to cleanly combine old, current investment and operating accounts with the new costs and to be able to make a target-oriented budgeting and possible price adjustments.
The cloud should be used for everything
There are numerous use cases where a migration to the cloud is very useful. However, it does not always make sense. Before making such a decision, it should therefore be carefully analyzed whether this will really have constructive effects. Some of the relevant decision criteria included here have been discussed in the first part.
After switching to the cloud, I’m done
As also mentioned at the beginning of part 1, there are three different types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Depending on which one you want to use, this also entails a different implementation. However, the procedure for this is actually rather trivial in most cases. If you have internal or external know-how that you can use, you also increase the probability of a smooth transition. Nevertheless, managers often underestimate the impact that comes with it and often miss the opportunities for constructive structural and process adjustments that are newly possible and could generate added value. Migration to the cloud alone is not the end of the story. It is just as important to pay attention to the changes, opportunities and potential risks that are triggered by this change.
Cloud and sensitive data; a no-go
Not so long ago, cloud computing was considered rather insecure compared to on-premise strategies. In relation to today’s standards, this is completely true. But cloud providers are investing extremely large sums of money in the security of their cloud infrastructure. After all, their reputation and therefore their business is at stake. On top of that, there is a plethora of regulatory and compliance requirements that must be met. Most on-premise solutions would tend not to meet these security standards, or at least not to the same degree of satisfaction.
As you can see, the decision whether with or without the cloud has many nuances that need to be considered and questioned. There is most likely no optimum, how you organize your computing power and data storage. What is clear, however, is that more and more software is flowing into the cloud and the benefits that come with it can be greatly expanded, which may significantly change the weighting of decision criteria for many companies.
A wonderfully suitable first use case, which requires relatively little effort to achieve a disproportionate impact and can serve as an «experiment» to explore the cloud infrastructure, is the one we at Parashift cover with cloud document extraction. If you also want to fundamentally redesign your IT strategy and develop value-added solutions with business experts, we recommend that you contact our competent partner Beetroot. Beetroot is a specialist in digital work organization and strategic IT consulting and is involved with modern forms of work and communication technologies, where the cloud is included of course. With extensive experience and a wealth of expertise, Beetroot helps you to prepare for the digital future – with a clear focus on the practical benefits for your company and your teams. The best way to get in touch with Beetroot is to contact the team via email at info@beetroot.ag or alternatively directly by calling +41 41 700 30 40.
