Despite growing adoption rates for cloud services worldwide, many organisations still aren’t ready to make a full scale move to cloud-based technologies. Those who want to take a measured approach to cloud adoption should consider starting with their phone systems.
“Organisations in South Africa are favouring cloud-based solutions over traditional local server solutions as they become more confident about the savings, security and flexibility offered by the cloud,” says Léon Rüsch, product and sales manager at SS Telecoms. “But many need a migration path that includes both cloud and hybrid systems.”
Rüsch outlines four reasons why starting your journey to the cloud via your business communications needs makes sense.
Since the deployment can be managed in phases, you can learn by transitioning smaller groups one at a time with little overall risk. Most cloud vendors have helped other organisations through similar transitions and they can also assist with your overall cloud application management. “Your partner probably has expertise your organisation may not have internally, making them an ideal resource to help you build a path to the cloud.”
Moving your business communications to the cloud doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. You can choose a full cloud deployment or start with a hybrid approach that combines both cloud and onsite solutions. “Hybrid solutions allow you to mix and match communications applications as you need them, and give your organisation the flexibility to deploy only what your business requires today, while keeping the option open to add additional cloud services or locations later.”
A system provider with cloud expertise can help you make better use of your internal IT resources. With a cloud deployment, applications are hosted remotely and maintained by the provider, relieving IT of most or all network-related tasks. The business then consumes the services on a subscription basis rather than owning the infrastructure.” In this model, the cloud provider manages the extra workload while freeing your IT team to focus on the initiatives that drive revenue for your business.”
By focusing on your phone system early in your migration, you can introduce employees to the cloud’s many time-saving, productivity-enhancing benefits. As their comfort grows, your ability to transition other systems and processes to the cloud will become easier.
In its projections for cloud services, Gartner sees a widely expanding market. The analyst firm says the overall worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow 18% in 2017 to total $246.8 billion by the end of the year, up from $209.2 billion in 2016. In addition, cloud system infrastructure services (IaaS) are projected to grow 36.8% in 2017 and cloud application services (SaaS) by 20.1%.
The trends are telling us that for many of today’s businesses, a move to the cloud is just a matter of time. “Choosing a phased approach with an early focus on your phone system is a smart choice, and tapping the expertise of a cloud phone service provider like SS Telecoms can make it an even smarter one,” concludes Rüsch.
