One of the biggest information systems decisions today for any company or organization is whether to run computing technology and store digital assets with an off-premise system, such as The Cloud.
The idea of The Cloud depends on making tools and information available to all authorized users anywhere with an internet connection. This idea isstill a little scary to some people yet enticing to those prefer to minimize their role and long-term financial investment by delegating the job to experts in hardware maintenance and security.
No one asked us, but we wonder if the term “vault” would feel more secure than “cloud.
Simply put, if you are using the Cloud, you are hosting your organization’s data and computing tools on a server that is not on your physical site under your direct physical responsibilitybut the resources are always accessible through the Internet.
Why is The Cloud a Good Thing?
Basically, you can skip all that IT stuff and get right to work.
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You won’t have to invest in and maintain your own server hardware.
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You won’t have to manage software installations, deployments and upgrades.
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When building new services, like search, processes will take less steps.
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Because of the points above, you will likely need fewer IT professionals in-house.
Why The Cloud Might not be Your Best Choice Right Now.
The biggest concerns about moving to the Cloud relate to security and control. When your computing resources are under your complete control, you theoretically have the opportunity to make them safer, but that comes at a cost of time and money.
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Certain types of organizations have such high security needs that the Cloud is not an option at this time, although there are some hybrid solutions.
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If you have recently made a large investment in server infrastructure, you might want to get the most out of that investment before moving to the Cloud, which will shift capital costs to operating costs.
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While Cloud software upgrades are handled for you, you have no control over them.
