#1 Your business is expanding.
First and foremost, congratulations! If your company is getting bigger you should be celebrating, not worrying about whether or not your IT infrastructure can handle it. Whether you have one new employee, or a new office filled with employees, a managed private cloud, backed by a ready-made support team, can grow with you. All you’ll need is an internet connection, and your service provider will handle all the details. You can focus on what’s important: continuing to grow and improve your business.
#2 It’s time to upgrade your hardware.
Does your server room look like this?
Has it reached its limit, or been on the fritz lately? By waiting too long to refresh your hardware, you put your company at risk of a very costly crash or significant security risk (think Windows Server 2003). By moving to a cloud provider, you get access to state-of-the-art equipment without the refresh cost.
#3 You’re a start-up.
It’s almost impossible for a start-up to predict how much or how little infrastructure they’ll need. Too little, and you’ll need to expand sooner than you can afford. Too much and you’re wasting money, both on the upfront cost of hardware you’re not using, and the cost of the energy to run it all. Starting with the cloud saves you from this guessing game. You can avoid the huge initial infrastructure investment, and pay a predictable budget-friendly monthly fee.
#4 Your staff work remotely.
Is your team always on the road? Do they ever work from home? Moving to a private cloud means you can work securely from anywhere. All you need is a computer and an internet connection, and you can access all your files on the road or at home.
#5 You need better security.
I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t this an argument against the cloud? Not necessarily. There are some private clouds with a level of security your business couldn’t afford otherwise, and security professionals on staff to constantly test and improve it.
