Now that is a hefty question, in fact, it almost sounds like a bad sales pitch right? But no, this isn’t one, we’re actually asking you a real question. Why do you need “cloud ready” applications? What do they actually offer? Or rather let’s start with something easier;
Do you know what a cloud ready application is?
“Cloud enabled” or “Cloud ready” applications are exactly what they sound like, they’re programs created to run using a “cloud system”; an offsite server you can access via the internet, rather than the usual physical on-site server.
Created to replace applications that run through a physical server within the company, many see cloud-based systems and applications as the future of computation, not just commercially, but even within our day-to-day lives.
On the other end, there are other apps, that are called Cloud Native apps, these are build using the cloud technology stack and can only function in a cloud infrastructure. These applications can scale quickly and can take advantage of everything that the cloud platforms has to offer.
Five advantages of cloud enabled applications?
Cloud enabled applications have multiple advantages when compared to their “legacy” counterparts; these can be summed up into 5 categories;
Cost Savings
In terms of infrastructure, these applications and systems will save you money on having to buy expensive machines and infrastructure to implement them for business benefits.
In terms of IT, you save money since you won’t need to employ IT specialists or IT groups to help maintain that infrastructure. Any cloud software that may need some form of maintenance is often handled on the other side, by your cloud service provider.
And finally, in terms of long-term expenditure. It can be true that the maintenance of on-site servers and machinery, as well as the cost of upgrades, can exceed what you pay your cloud service provider! Oftentimes, contracts with these providers include the costs of maintenance, upgrades, and consultations.
Security Improvement
Believe it or not, cloud systems are generally more secure than on-site systems. And how is that possible? Well;
Firstly, this is because one of your provider’s main jobs is to make sure your information is secure. Keeping it physically on-site may seem safer, but you can not spend as much time or as many resources on protecting your data compared to them.
Secondly, since there is no physical machinery within anyone’s reach, the chances of human errors are slim to none. According to Varonis, 23% of data breaches are caused just by human error alone. Imagine being able to eliminate a risk factor like that almost completely, calling it an improvement would be understating it!
Reallocating Focus
The less your team has to worry about the management of physical on-site systems, the more time they can dedicate to getting other work done.
Maintaining these systems can actually have a significant load on your teams, especially if you don’t have a dedicated IT department or a contract with any external companies.
Not having to worry about these things let’s you focus on the more important aspects of running your company, like reaching specific business goals, improving customer satisfaction and building on your marketing game.
Reallocating your focus means working more efficiently, and working more efficiently means helping your work reach new heights.
Increased Mobility
One of the most well-known and well-received features cloud systems and applications tend to provide is their ability to let you and the people you work with be way more mobile.
Being able to access what you need, wherever you are in the world as long as you have an internet connection is an invaluable feature to have, especially these days.
Not only do communications between team members remain pristine thanks to cloud networks, but you have all the tools and information you need at your fingertips whenever you need to access them. A luxury that is not afforded to you with almost any “legacy applications”.
In terms of mobility, cloud systems have them beat on all fronts.
Better Disaster Recovery
When you sign a contract with a cloud service provider, nine times out of ten you will be offered some form of disaster recovery plan. Since these providers are constantly handling and monitoring your business’s data they need to be ready for anything.
In comparison to physical disaster recovery plans, which are what you would usually use on-site systems, the ones carried out by your providers are generally more efficient and have a much higher rate of success.
And if you don’t feel safe enough already, they also tend to offer multiple forms of “data backup” plans to make sure there is always a copy of your most recent data, at the ready in case of any worst-case scenarios. You will virtually never have to worry about any kind of data-loss ever again.
Cloud-ready apps posses lots of advantageous but a major disadvantage is with their inability to scale in the same way as cloud native applications. They also require a bit more planning and expertise when it comes to performance management and scalability. Nonetheless, moving from traditional to cloud-ready application is a big leap and can being in massive gains.
Conclusion
As time goes on technology is changing, and so is the face of what is considered the new normal, and cloud ready applications are the perfect example of this change. In fact they’ve actually been around for a while, but only now are people truly beginning to see the advantages behind using them.
Stay ahead of the curve, and start looking into how feasible using cloud services are for you. Going through the change from what-you-know to something new is definitely daunting, but unless you give it a chance you’ll never know to what heights it can take you.
We hope we were able to help you answer the initial question, and if you have any more please don’t be afraid to contact us!
