One of our partners recently wrote a great article on moving your business and moving to the cloud. We thought we'd share it with you.
Why is it a good time to consider a cloud solution while you are planning a move? Here are factors that you need to consider for your move:
- Do I need a server room or closet? Utilities? Back up power?
- How much equipment do I need to move? Do I need new servers? Does my current system allow for future growth that my space allows?
- What type of Internet bandwidth is needed and is a static IP address needed?
- Can I reduce my office space/lease costs by allowing employees to work remotely?
- Business continuity – How will I keep my email flowing during the move?
Kim Walker, cloud expert with Franklin Moves, says “Everywhere you turn people are talking about “the cloud”. Have you been thinking about a cloud solution but now that you are planning a move you put it off? You might think it is too much to handle at once – and you would be right, but you may be able to move to a cloud solution in advance of your physical move and have a win-win situation to help keep your business up and running and minimize the businesses downtime.” There are many types of cloud solutions ranging from email to backup storage to Line of Business applications. Are any of these cloud solution right for you?
- Removes your building as a single point of failure and allows you to run your business from anywhere you have internet
- Reduce onsite hardware, monthly costs based on what you actually use not future growth.
- As a small business it enables better supportability from my Business Service providers – CPAs, Business Consultant, Attorney and IT
- Improved Customer experience through anywhere anytime access
If moving to cloud services is not right for you now, at least you have made one of the many decision needed and can move forward – come up with temporary solutions – or plan for minimal downtime – keeping in mind of course what the best downtime is for your business.
Don Quinn, CPA and owner of Good Sense Accounting in Seattle says “I love seeing my clients on the cloud. From an operating point of view, it allows me to monitor my client’s bookkeeping and advise them based upon current financial data. It allows the client to monitor their business from anywhere. Another huge advantage for them is security. When on the cloud, their data is backed up daily and often times at multiple locations. Should there be a fire, flood or natural disaster, their data is protected even if their computers are wiped out. Their business can be up and running in a very short period of time. This is vitally important during a move when computers and data storage can be damaged or lost. Using the cloud, operations continue during the physical move without interruption.”