Stephanie Kahlam
Migrating your company to the cloud might have been something you considered before the pandemic struck. You Migrating your company to the cloud might have been something you were considering before the pandemic struck. Maybe you started the planning process, thinking your organization had years to complete the transition. Then the pandemic hit, and time timeline was moved from years to weeks as companies attempted to move systems over to the cloud to support remote working. They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the second-best time is today. If you haven’t already adopted a cloud system that enables your team to work from the office, at home, and on the go, the second best time to get started is right now!
In this article, we’ll outline 5 major reasons you should move to the cloud right now. We use Microsoft 365 services and solutions in our examples, but there are other cloud platforms and offerings available to review and consider. Not sure how to decide? Regroove can help you ensure you select the best option for your business needs.
Hybrid Work Model
The pandemic introduced a new model for most companies: the hybrid work environment. The new status quo will be employees choosing whether to work at home or in the office, most often with a mix between the two. We’ll see businesses downsizing their office space, clearing out unused desks, printers, and servers to increase cost savings while decreasing administrative overhead, maintenance, and management. These cost savings can now be applied to a modern and secure business platform in the cloud.
Once in the cloud, staff will have access to their work email, files, and communication systems from anywhere. That means seamless transition between the office and home workstations, as well as easy access when traveling or visiting clients.
Increased Productivity
Modernizing the work model by utilizing cloud services will increase productivity. Cloud services are securely Modernizing your business platforms with cloud services has been proven to increase productivity in the workplace. Cloud services are easily accessible, and communication and collaborate are at the forefront the cloud universe. With applications like SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams focusing their efforts on improving communication and collaboration tools, including multi-user editing in real time, you can expect productivity to be on the rise after your team adapts to their new cloud environment.
Less “Stuff” to Manage
We’ve alluded already to the cost savings you can expect after moving to the cloud. Migrating to the cloud will also allow you to cut back on managing:
- Costly traditional phone services and lines
- On-premises servers and associated warranty renewals and maintenance
- Outdated software solutions installed on servers or your machine
- IT administrative and management costs
- Associated service costs such as:
- Threat-protection (anti-virus)
- Office application software or subscriptions (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.)
- Third party collaboration, chat, and video conferencing tools
- Email hosting services
- Data hosting services
Increased Security
Threat and identity protection policies exist throughout the many levels of the Microsoft 365 cloud services platform. For users, this security begins the moment they log in with their own unique credentials. Their authenticated login allows seamless access to all available Microsoft 365 services without the need for repeated logins or multiple passwords. Beyond this, users can configure multi-factor authentication (MFA) to increase identity protection and further secure access to company assets..
Other available security services include:
- Exchange Online Threat Protection Policies
- Anti spam
- Anti malware
- Anti phishing
- Endpoint protection used to manage and secure users devices
- Anti-Virus
- Windows Updates
- Managed software installs
- Compliance policies for access control to your corporate environment
- Data protection policies and rules to mitigate breaches and leaks
These options introduce just the beginning of what’s possible, specifically in the Microsoft 365 cloud environment. Once your users have been set up with these security features, your organization can make use of the Security and Compliance Centers, and even implement phishing test emails and security education to your end users.
Automate Tasks and Work Flows
The benefits of using automated processes in the cloud to streamline tasks is abundant, and new possibilities arrive by the day! Microsoft’s Power Platform can be used to build a range of automated tasks.
Some examples include:
- Automatically save email attachments
- Automated approval processes
- Convert word files in OneDrive to pdf and store in SharePoint
- Forward emails to a Teams Channel
- Create Power Apps to view information from a SharePoint list using Charts
- Provision new Teams
- Send voicemails with audio and transcription to a Team Channel
Conclusion
If you’re thinking about moving to the cloud, you’re not alone. Businesses all over Canada and around the world are moving the cloud services in droves to reap the benefits of anywhere access, increased productivity, lowered maintenance costs, increased security, and automation. Need help getting to the cloud? We can do that! Get in touch with us at regroove.ca to get started.