When managed correctly, a private cloud can be a worthwhile investment for certain businesses. It comes with almost all the benefits of public clouds minus the data privacy concerns. Of course, not everyone can afford a private cloud, especially the kind that’s built on-premise (i.e. not virtual private clouds offered by CSPs). So who should invest in one?
In this post, we look at some major indicators that denote a company’s suitability for a private cloud investment.
The prevalence of cloud computing is continuing to grow dramatically – the Synergy Research Group reports that cloud computing revenues grew 25% across 2016. In fact, throughout last year several information technology sectors started to see the dominance of cloud technology as a delivery method for technology services. The reason for this is simple: cloud computing makes good business sense and it is often cost savings that are the major driving force.
Forrester Research expects the global private cloud solutions market to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 11% from 2016 to 2021. While this is certainly small compared to the growth rate of public cloud solutions, it still means there are enterprises out there who are interested in using private clouds. But when would you likely choose a private cloud over a public cloud?
The cloud is perhaps the fastest growing technology trend of the last decade. When the world was dealing with the aftermath of the credit crunch and reeling with the blows from The Great Recession, businesses still needed the latest technology tools to ensure they could be competitive.
Shadow IT: Questionable practice in a business context
The vast majority of computer users routinely use cloud services of some description. Whether it’s a Gmail account or a file transfer service, almost all of us use free cloud-based tools. This might be OK for personal use, however, in a business context, such an approach is highly questionable. Why?
The difficult few years that followed the credit crunch meant the recruitment sector had to endure some tough times. Reduced hiring and increased candidate numbers as headcount were trimmed made the sector one of the first to be hit. When it’s a buyer’s market, clients bargain hard and squeeze margins. But that’s business and you know you would if things were the other way round!
The recession drove many recruiters to re-evaluate their systems and processes. Cloud and online technologies offered the opportunity to cut costs, improve efficiency and gain competitive advantage. Specialised line-of-business applications for the recruitment sector, often integrating software automation functionality, transformed the back and front office for many.
Relocations, in any aspect of life, are a stressful undertaking and even with careful preparation and planning they cost time, money and energy. When it comes to moving offices, a lot has to be taken into consideration; furniture needs to be moved or replaced, important documents and files are to be shifted securely and valuable assets have to be relocated without being damaged, all whilst keeping the business up and running and enabling employees to continue working as best as possible.
One major headache for businesses is removing their existing IT infrastructure including PCs and servers and rebuilding it at the new location as quickly as possible in order to not disrupt ongoing business too much. Many companies merely shift their old system from one office to the other when in fact they could not only move offices but also move their IT to the cloud, resulting in various business benefits and a smoother, easier relocation.
