54.2% of the Overall IT Infrastructure Expected to be Spent on Cloud IT Infrastructure by the End of 2020

Based on a report published by the International Data Corp., IT infrastructure products used in cloud environments, be them from public or private clouds, saw a 2.2 per cent increase during the first quarter of 2020. This is in stark contrast with investments in non-cloud infrastructure, which saw a 16.3 per cent decline when compared to the previous year.

As with just about everything else that has happened during the 2020 year, coronavirus has played a role in these figures. The pandemic drove infrastructure spending. Around the world, they locked businesses down. Businesses and governments reopened in stages.

As a result, businesses turned to cloud-based solutions as a way of keeping up with demands for their products and services while simultaneously having employees work from home.

Because of this demand for cloud services such as cloud storage, the public cloud was the only segment that did not experience year-over-year decline in the first quarter of 2020. Spending on private cloud infrastructure saw a decline of 6.3 per cent during the first quarter of 2020. It was down to $4.4 billion.

It is expected that the patterns seen during the first quarter of 2020 will continue throughout the year. Cloud adoption is becoming more popular. Increased demand has led to the creation of a stronger infrastructure, which increases the stability of the private cloud and its security. This makes it a more inviting option for companies that were reluctant to make the switch.

It is hoped that private cloud infrastructure will recover during the year and will make up for the losses seen in the first quarter. The projection is that by the end of the year private cloud infrastructure will see growth of 1.1 per cent. By the end of the year public cloud infrastructure spending will grow 5.7 per cent for $47.7 billion. This will be 68.6 per cent of the total infrastructure spend.

Why Are More Small Businesses Moving to the Cloud?

Cost

Money savings is probably the biggest benefit businesses are getting from moving to the cloud. When business technology and tools are hosted in the cloud, there is no longer the need for the expense of physically maintaining and storing data on-premises.

There is the cost of the hardware itself. There is also the expense of having an IT team on staff. It doesn’t matter if the IT team is in house or if they outsource it, there is still an expense in keeping hardware in tip-top condition.

Whether the business is using the cloud for a business phone system, storage, or anything else, chances are that an organization will experience some cost savings by using the cloud.

Scalability

A major advantage that cloud technology has over storing data on site is the ability to scale easily and quickly. For example, if an organization attempted to store all of its data on local servers, they would need to buy new servers every time they wanted to increase their storage capabilities.

With cloud service, a business can simply purchase the resources in the cloud that they need. If they no longer need as much cloud storage capacity, they can just purchase fewer resources. As a result, there is no money wasted on services that are not needed.

Ease of Access

Cloud-based technology can traditionally be accessed from any device as long as there is an Internet connection. Documents, applications, or videos can be stored on the cloud and can be accessed from a home desktop or a mobile device when a person is out and about.

Cloud-based financial apps such as accounting software could help you manage your finances on the go. The same principle applies when discussing cloud phone services. A cloud phone service app can send and receive phone calls in the same way one would if they were in their office. The caller will have the same phone number. And the user can access most of the same features they would have if they were using their office phone.

Improved Collaboration

A unique feature of cloud storage is that it allows multiple people to access the same tools and data and collaborate with each other in real-time. For example, if a document is saved to the cloud, everyone who has access to it can view it in real-time.

If they have permission, they can edit the document in real-time and all other users will see any changes that have been made. This means that no time is wasted trying to make sure that every person has access to the same version of the document.

Improved Support

Cloud services have the benefit of added support on standby. This is because the technology needed to make the cloud service work is not at your office or in your building. This means that the maintenance responsibilities do not fall on your IT staff.

If there is a problem with the cloud-based tool, all you have to do is contact the service provider and their tech support will fix the issue from there. This is beneficial for small businesses that are not enamoured with the idea of having an IT staff to maintain phone systems, web hosting, file storage, or anything else server-related.

Migrating to the cloud is the trend, but it is not without some challenges. Many IT executives understand that the cloud is more complicated than they expected. This complication has been a hindrance in some cases as businesses have quickly tried to adapt to cloud technology in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

To address this, many technology companies are offering cloud and managed services. They work closely with the business, providing support they need as they go through the journey of migrating to the cloud.

The support they offer includes creating the right approach to migrating to the cloud. This is done by making sure that the business using the cloud for the first time understands what it does and what the outcome for their business will be. Additionally, training has been given on how to use appropriate toolsets that are user friendly and secure. This makes the transition easier for many organizations.