Whether it’s the dreaded spinning hourglass, a printer that won’t play ball, tedious user setup processes, or a deadly cyberattack – virtually every IT and cybersecurity issue under the sun can be traced back to your IT infrastructure. Many businesses have at least partly taken their IT into cloud-based services and have modernized their IT and cybersecurity as a result, while others are falling behind due to a lack of know-how, resources, conflicting priorities, and a tangle-work of legacy technology that can get in the way.
A lot of IT setups involve a piecemeal approach; it’s usually a DIY job until your business reaches a point where its IT is really no longer doing justice to what you need it to do. After all, technology is about making things work better! In this blog, we’ll walk you through the possibilities for a stronger and better business by bringing your IT infrastructure into the cloud, as well as how to start the journey towards making these benefits a reality.
What is Cloud Technology and How Does It Work?
The cloud enables businesses to use IT hardware and software over an internet connection as opposed to having physical assets like CD-ROMs and servers on their premises. For this reason, the cloud can save you from all of the added work and complexity that can come with physical IT maintenance. That means you can do things like use a server or access a computer virtually, store your data online, access your network outside of your office, and monitor and even manage your whole IT environment in real time.
When you scale up these possibilities and integrate them together, it means your business can be more flexible, smarter, and more responsive to change. The cloud operates on a scalable pay-as-you-go model, making it cost-effective for businesses to scale their IT infrastructure based on what they need at any given point. With robust data centers and advanced encryption protocols, the cloud is able to ensure that your data remains accessible and secure, no matter where your team is working.
What Are the Benefits of the Cloud for My Business?
Cloud software and infrastructure can offer a range of benefits to mid-market businesses, including:
- Enhanced Scalability: With the cloud, you can quickly scale your IT resources up or down to meet changing demands without investing in costly hardware.
- Cost Savings: The cloud can reduce operational expenses by paying only for the services you use and minimizing on-site maintenance costs.
- Remote Work Enablement: The cloud can better support a distributed workforce with secure access to systems and data from anywhere in the world.
- IT Reliability: Depending on your setup, connectivity, and cloud providers, cloud services can also offer more speed and uptime compared to traditional methods.
- Data Resilience: Benefit from built-in redundancies and disaster recovery features that protect your business against data loss. With the cloud, it’s easier to use the latest technology, such as AI-driven defenses, to protect your business in real time.
- Improved Collaboration: Centralized platforms and data enable seamless communication and collaboration across your teams, boosting productivity.
- Regulatory Compliance: There are sector-agnostic and specialized cloud tools and data storage environments that can monitor and enforce compliance requirements with a more efficient and streamlined approach.
So, how do you build a secure IT infrastructure using the cloud, and how do you begin the journey if you haven’t started it yet?
How to Build a Secure IT Infrastructure with Cloud Technology
The journey begins with understanding where you are, what solutions are available, matching these solutions with your needs and goals, and then building a roadmap for bringing these benefits to life through cloud adoption.
Step 1: Get The Lay of the Land
Like many things, you can’t chart your course without calibrating your compass! The first step is to understand what makes up your IT environment and how functional it is for your needs and goals. An experienced IT partner can help your IT team do this effectively.
Some key questions you can ask include:
- How scalable is our IT infrastructure to our needs?
- Is our IT working reliably? How much is downtime hurting us?
- How are IT systems enabling or barricading productivity?
- Could our IT be more automated and integrated?
- What measures do we have in place for keeping our IT infrastructure secure?
- How visible and manageable is our IT environment?
Whether internally or with the help of cloud and cybersecurity experts, asking these key questions will help you to understand how the cloud can best help you, and from there, what solutions can best help you.
Step 2: Find The Right Cloud Solutions
To address the opportunities and problems found in step 1, you need the right solutions. This could be for cloud infrastructure or networking, cloud data storage, or cloud collaboration tools, right down to the nitty-gritty details of using the right cloud hosting platform and making sure it all works together smoothly with the rest of your IT ecosystem.
Once you find the right solutions and how they can work together to tackle the challenges you found in step 1, you can make a roadmap for adopting the cloud.
Step 3: Make A Plan for Cloud Adoption
A lot can be said about making a smooth plan for adopting the cloud, but for our purposes, you’ll want to make sure the cloud adoption roadmap is well-prioritized, resourced, and clear from technical and organizational risks that can hurt the innovation journey.
Your IT department may be able to carry out the cloud adoption plan on their own, or they may need additional expertise to speed up and smooth out the process. Planning is key for ensuring your cloud adoption is profitable, secure, and scalable.
Step 4: Implement and Continuously Improve
Implement the plan in phases and continuously review and improve on what has been done. Upskill and onboard your teams as needed to use any new cloud software or hardware. Thorough testing and monitoring will help you smooth out any snags that can emerge and help you make sure the cloud solutions are offering the best bang for your buck.
Book an Informal Cloud Conversation Today
The intricacies of deploying new technology can be complicated, which is why experts in the world of IT and cybersecurity can be of great help along the way. If you’re curious about what the cloud can do for your business and its security, you can schedule an informal conversation with our president, Alan who will be glad to give you guidance and advice.
Is the Cloud Safe and Cost-Effective?
For the most part, yes. However, the key is in the how rather than the what; for example, if a business has Microsoft 365 set up and hosted on Microsoft Azure, it can still be compromised if its employees’ devices aren’t protected by measures like antivirus or if they are using unsafe passwords. While the servers remain technically secure, by using an employee’s compromised account login data, these can then be a channel for cybercriminals to access and compromise your data.
The cloud is often more cost-effective for businesses but not always. It depends on what you need your IT to do, your current setup, and how well planned and managed the cloud solutions are. Again, the key is with the context and the how’s around the cloud, more than it is about the cloud solutions themselves.
Why Mid-Market Businesses Need a Secure IT Infrastructure
For mid-market businesses, a secure IT infrastructure is essential to maintaining operations, ensuring compliance, and fostering growth. Without it, your business can face risks such as data breaches, operational downtime, and non-compliance penalties—all of which can be devastating. A robust IT infrastructure powered by cloud technology not only mitigates these risks but also empowers businesses to innovate and compete in a crowded market. The cloud can make your IT faster, smarter, more secure, and more scalable and resilient.
ASC’s Cloud Security Solutions
We’re often helping mid-market businesses to use the cloud effectively and securely as their co-managed IT service partner. We offer a range of solutions for the whole stretch of the cloud adoption journey, from assessments and planning through to the execution, onboarding, and continuous improvement.
Our solutions include:
- Cloud Readiness Assessments: We help businesses to map out their IT environment to identify the best cloud solutions for their needs.
- Strategic Planning and Deployment: Our team collaborates with your IT department to design and implement a cloud roadmap tailored to your goals.
- Ongoing Monitoring and Optimization: We are able to continuously fine-tune your cloud environment to ensure peak performance, security, and cost-efficiency.
- Compliant-By-Design Solutions: We help you integrate regulatory compliance into your cloud setup so that you can tap into more of its benefits while worrying less about your cyber risks.
- Remote Work Enablement: We can securely connect your distributed workforce together with a centralized, efficient, and flexible remote work setup across your IT infrastructure and systems.
With ASC Group as your partner, you’ll have the expertise and tools to build a secure IT infrastructure that drives your business forward.
Final Thoughts
Cloud technology continues to transform how businesses work, compete, and deliver for their customers. If your business is struggling with its IT infrastructure and innovation, the cloud can give you a pathway to a more scalable, secure, and efficient business that keeps up with the times.
That said, the journey is far from simple! If you found this valuable and would like a thought partner and guide for these challenges, our team is here to help.
Schedule A Conversation With Us Today
Whether you’re looking to solve problems with technology or ensure your data and operations are safe from compromise, our team is here to help. Why not schedule a conversation with our president, Alan? He’ll listen, give you impartial guidance and advice, and help you get in the right direction. Make headway on your goals today and discover what’s possible for your business.
