The potentially devastating impact of COVID-19 on businesses worldwide has made one thing crystal clear: the world of work as we used to know it has changed forever. With vast numbers of employees forced to work remotely, many businesses have experienced stress on technological infrastructures, e-service providers, and e-commerce readiness in ways never before imagined.

At Tentacle Solutions, we believe that cloud technology can provide effective and innovative solutions to your current and future business needs. Here are the top five reasons that now is the time to migrate your business to the cloud.

58% of all cloud migration projects in 2020 are hybrid in nature

Reason #1. Operational resilience (how your business handles stress) and responsiveness (how it responds to the challenges and opportunities) are two traits that have been highly valued during these trying times. Together they create business agility. Traditional server-based infrastructure was not designed for the swiftness required when data sharing and data security were being strained to the limits. Working from the cloud ensures that services, information, and communication can respond quickly and seamlessly to the sudden demands of doing business remotely. Your cloud operations can kick in immediately if the situation demands a stable, secure backup in usual times, keeping you operational and productive while competitors scramble to catch up.

Reason #2. Cloud migration does not happen overnight. For Netflix, the complete cloud journey took 8 years, for instance, but the benefits the company realized were astronomical. As the company explained in 2016:

"Supporting such rapid growth would have been extremely difficult out of our own data centers; we simply could not have racked the servers fast enough. Elasticity of the cloud allows us to add thousands of virtual servers and petabytes of storage within minutes, making such an expansion possible."

All of which underscores one key message: planning for the next COVID moment starts today, not months or years from now, to ensure that your business can respond immediately to the opportunities that a major disruption brings.

Reason #3. Planning a strategy, gaining experience, and pivoting business operations also take time. The fact is that complete migration might not be the best solution for your company, so taking the time to consider all options is always the best approach. 58% of all cloud migration projects in 2020 are hybrid in nature, combining some level of both public and private cloud services. You will also want to become familiar with 3 significant terms:

• SaaS (Software as a Service)
• PaaS (Platform as a Service)
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

At Tentacle Solutions, we are always about finding the right solution for your company at the right time, so detailed strategic planning about your future needs is how we approach your business’s journey to the cloud.

Reason #4. The future is already here. Industry projections are that the cloud will power 94% of business operations by 2021, with the following countries leading the way in cloud-based spending: United States ($124.6 billion), China ($10.5 billion), the UK ($10 billion), Germany ($9.5 billion), and Japan ($7.4 billion). Globally, cloud infrastructure spending reached $80 million in 2018 and is projected to top $623 billion by 2023. 

Reason #5. The time is right in terms of cost and service options. As more and more multinational providers enter the cloud-service sector costs, the selections are bound to go down (competition does that). Cost optimization is currently the primary reason for 47% of cloud migrations, and expectations are that the cost benefits will continue to grow as more companies understand how working from the cloud can enhance and grow their business.

The bottom line: with the perfect storm of pandemic-driven necessity and market competitiveness, the time is right for a conversation about the best cloud options for your business.