For many years after cloud computing became possible, businesses were reluctant to migrate their software and operations to the cloud. This was because the cloud-based versions of their software lacked the functionality of their desktop based software. This meant that many businesses, especially those using complex accounting software such as Sage Pastel Partner and Pastel Evolution, didn’t migrate and had to make do with an older, less secure, way of working but could at least continue using the software that suited them.

Best of both worlds

Time and technology has moved on and today it is possible to use most software in the cloud. What this means for business is:

• a simplified IT infrastructure
• the ability to work from anywhere at anytime
• the security of an “off site” system
• having the functionality and familiarity of existing software

While cloud hosting isn’t a new idea, technology has improved so dramatically in the past few years that this “new way of working” has become streamlined and hassle free. For example:

• Internet speeds have created a very responsive and slick user experience
• Printing, which was a major irritation a few years ago, is no longer an issue
• Moving to a hosted environment is now simple and can be done in a few hours

No more hardware upgrades

Once you’ve moved your infrastructure to the cloud, your hardware maintenance costs effectively disappear because all the compute power necessary to run your solutions is handled in the cloud.

If you need more power, you can request more RAM or CPUs to be added to your environment and this will be done with no interruption to your operations.

Minimal cyber security risk

And then there’s your cyber security risk, which plagues every business today. Having your IT infrastructure in a hosted environment means that everything is stored in one location behind a firewall that prevents attacks before they spread through your network. A hosted environment further minimises your cyber security risk by including:

• an instant Disaster Recovery service that replicates your information every hour
• VPN access rather than public facing IP addresses
• protection against zero day ransomware threats through dedicated cyber security software

Thousands of businesses around the world already use virtual hosted servers to simplify their IT environments. And the trend is growing in South Africa.

If you’re interested in migrating your business to the cloud, let us steer you in the right direction.