When possible, it’s best to purchase things that appreciate in value and rent the things in life that depreciate. Why should your technology be any different?
There is a growing cultural trend towards subscription-based business models, like Netflix and Uber. In the IT world, that subscription model is implemented through the cloud. It’s not a new concept – and it’s one that cost-conscious companies would be wise to embrace.
Take a small business for example. With limited funds, when a small business wants to do anything technology related, they’re looking at tying up lines of credit to get it done. Rather than tie up credit and cash flow, an operating expense model that places the most up to date technology in their hands puts them on a level playing field with their competitors in a very cost effective way.
How Much Does Cloud Really Cost?
If you look at the cost of a cloud server and compare it to an on-site server, you might start to think that the onsite solution is more cost-effective. But if you consider the next 2 cycles of refreshing your technology and the capital expenses involved in maintaining your current infrastructure, the numbers start to look a lot different.
Moving to cloud is more than a server-to-server cost comparison. If you’re going to evaluate the cost, you need to consider these other critical factors:
- Migration costs
- Equipment needed
- Users supported
But you also need to look at some cost savings – though not direct, they certainly add up:
Productivity costs. With more up to date systems, you can streamline operations in many ways.
Security. Cloud brings superior security to your organization – how much is that worth to you?
Breach costs. If data is breached because of poor security, how much will that cost your organization in fines, data recovery and lost reputation?
Downtime costs. Downtime typically costs hundreds per minute or hour, depending on your business. Cloud reinforces your network and offers quick recovery from incidents that can take your network down.
Every company is going to have different numbers, that’s to be expected. We can help you figure out what your expenses and savings would look like.
You don’t have to dive in either. You can dip your toes in progressively, starting with something like Office 365 and taking the next steps from there. If you want to jump in more, but don’t have the resources, Connecting Point offers in-house financing options to turn the move into a monthly expense and offer the ability to refresh the components as needed.
In other words, you can turn everything into an operating expense.
The world is going to a subscription-based model for good reasons. Moving to the cloud should be part of your technology roadmap (check out our free eBook on building your own IT Roadmap). Rather than just comparing the cost of a cloud server to an on-site server, look at the long-term costs and the cost-saving benefits that cloud could deliver to your company. We can help you take advantage of these benefits without using capital. So why not see if cloud is the right move for you?
Contact Connecting Point at 970-356-7224 or online to see what cost savings a move to the cloud would mean for your company.
