Cloud Hosting Guide - Decision support for stepping into the cloud

Are you planning to renew your IT environment and are still unsure whether you should move your IT infrastructure to the cloud? We show here under which conditions a cloud-based infrastructure or cloud hosting makes sense for SMEs.

According to a study by the renowned market research company Gartner, two-thirds of all companies worldwide will rely on cloud data hosting in 2022. Cloud computing is expected to continue to grow over the next few years and, according to a senior Gartner researcher, the cloud has "delivered on all promises" even during the COVID crisis.

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Your IT infrastructure should meet these five requirements in 2021
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If you are still not sure whether cloud hosting is suitable for your business, please answer the following questions:

• Does your industry have a peak season from time to time, during which the hardware covers peaks but its potential is otherwise not exploited?
• Does recruiting suitable IT specialists involve a lot of effort for you?
• Does it give you a headache to secure the correct terms for a data center?
• Would you like to grow but scaling your business applications is currently not an option because the additional server costs would be too high?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you should consider cloud services and cloud hosting for business. Here's how SMBs can benefit from cloud services:

👆 Monthly billing

Cloud storage is often billed monthly and is therefore the best option for businesses that cannot or do not want to make huge upfront payments.

👆 Payment according to effective use

Own on-premise servers are expensive and in most SMEs not permanently utilised to capacity. Purchasing cloud server services or cloud hosting from an external partner and monthly billing according to effective use is easy on the budget.

👆 Lowering labour costs

By working with a cloud hosting provider, you no longer have to struggle with the time-consuming recruitment of new IT talent, saving on labour costs and time. The external partner now takes care of maintaining and servicing the software, performing backups and keeping the facilities up and running. Since all updates of your apps are done in the cloud by the provider, you save time - and thus labour and licensing costs - and can always use the latest licensed versions of the apps.

Outsourcing of security issues

When working with an IT infrastructure provider, the external partner usually takes care of the security of the IT environment. For SMEs in particular, it is advisable not only to purchase servers or the IaaS packages from hyperscalers, which are often geared towards large companies, but to rely on a reliable cloud service provider or cloud hosting provider. In addition to integrated security programmes, automatic recordings, continuous operation ("business continuity") and emergency planning are often included in the packages of cloud service providers. 

The infrastructure partner also assumes responsibility for software and hardware and carries out regular patching of the systems. Patching again minimizes security risks and ensures the best possible functioning of the systems. 

👆 Maximum data protection

Companies must guarantee the security of all stored personal data. Both employee and customer data must be protected as best as possible. If this data is accidentally or intentionally compromised and it turns out after the cyber attack or data leak that the affected company had not taken appropriate security measures, it may face fines and sanctions. Local infrastructure providers comply with Swiss data protection laws and can thus guarantee the highest data security standards. 

👆 Disaster recovery

In the event of an IT disaster, you will not lose valuable data because it is stored externally. As a result, your company will not suffer any system failures. 

👆 More space

This point is not only about the physical space in your premises, but also about the storage space on the computers. Your computer network is not crammed with data because only the most important information is stored on site. This makes the computers work faster.

👆 Scalability

The requirements for the application and IT environment can change quickly, especially in growing companies, depending on the order situation or team development. One of the biggest advantages of a cloud-based infrastructure is its high scalability. If a small business grows into a medium-sized company, there is no need to purchase new servers and software at every milestone. With cloud servers, more computing power can be unlocked within minutes.

👆 Flexibility for employees

The option to work remotely can be a great advantage when recruiting new employees. In surveys conducted years before the outbreak of the pandemic, many digital natives said that flexible working hours and the option to work remotely were a non-negligible aspect when choosing an employer. Access to a cloud infrastructure is possible from anywhere in the world. The only requirement is an internet connection. This leads to more flexibility for your employees and can give you a competitive advantage in the recruitment process.