Whether your business is small or large you’re no doubt managing a lot of data in one form or another. IT is now a much bigger part of your business than you probably thought (or feared). The required infrastructure is only going to continue to grow. It’s likely your team will need to be linked to each other and the business constantly. This is usually understood as a requirement these days you but the often overlooked issue is you’ll have to store all that data somewhere. Is a Private Cloud the way forward? We think but read below and see if a Private Cloud would benefit your business.
So what are the options?
Your choice will depend on several factors. The simplistic answer is that there are two basic types of ‘cloud’ services available, public and private. Two well know examples of a ‘public cloud’ service are those offered by Amazon and Google. These public cloud services offer you (the user) an account where you login via a web connection. It allows you to share both computer power and use the account to store data (files, video, images etc) on their hardware. The other option and the one we’ll explore in this blog is a private cloud.
What are the advantages of a Private Cloud?
Let’s firstly understand what a ‘Private Cloud‘ is. The private cloud allows organisations to create and use their own infrastructure. This infrastructure can be hosted either within the organisation itself or externally, perhaps via a third party (like us). This cloud shares the same basic features as that of the Public Clouds mentioned above in that it stores data, is scalable, computing resources can be allocated on an ‘as-needed’ basis and it has virtualisation capabilities. Much like a Public Cloud the Private Cloud will be accessed via login and resources can be shared across your network.
Now that’s understood, let’s explore the advantages of going private.
Cost Effective
You’ve probably hear this all the time it and always seems to be a top of the list item. Why? Simply because any business big or small can’t afford to waste money. A Private Cloud is not as expensive to implement as you may fear but naturally there are disadvantages to having it set-up on site and the cost of on-going maintenance is usually the one that spring to mind.
We have used NPIT for over 5 years and throughout that time, they have listened to our needs, suggested suitable improvements and ensured that our business functioned continuously.N Benady – Director
N Benady – Director
If your business is setup and capable of absorbing that cost then your own Private Cloud is a must have. But if you’re not setup for it there is another way – With the advances in technology available today your business can still have all the advantages of Private Cloud but without the costs of setting it up yourself on site. When you choose an off-site Private Cloud you avoid the continued cost of maintenance, hardware updates and the team required to keep thing working but still get all the advantages!
Controlled & Efficient
You have total control over your data and infrastructure which allows you to respond quickly to issues, and your IT team can monitor applications and respond to any issues at source and with immediate effect.
Private & Secure
One of the most obvious is in the name. Private means just that. Your privacy and security are much greater when you have ultimate control of access and security. Even if the server is not located on-site physically within your business you’ll have a team dedicated to managing the server and controlling all aspects of the server and it’s security on your behalf. This means greater security and stability of YOUR data, which of course also means that your business as a whole is more secure and protected.
Compliant
National laws and polices change as the world takes a grip on the digital age. Shared technology is great for trade etc, unfortunately the international community is yet to agree on specifics and laws. That means that you can easily make your private cloud complaint with country/local territory laws.
Your customer is the life blood of your business, without them you probably don’t have a business. This means customer’s information (which is classed as highly sensitive data) needs protecting. Telling your tech savvy customer that you have a secure private cloud helps them KNOW their data is kept private and that use of their information is kept under control. With the private cloud you also have access to any log files etc which would be invaluable if there was an attack or breach in security.
Business Continues
Ok, this is hopefully pretty obvious but the World is changing fast and so is technology. You’re no doubt planning to stay in business for a long time and (hopefully) so are those that provide your Cloud. But what if they don’t? Suppose they change business model or something happens outside of their control, in their own country? It may seem far-fetched but IF something like this happened imagine the problems you may have. You’d be trying to migrate all your data, and that’s assuming you can still access it. Is it worth the risk to your business? With a Private Cloud you’ll have that control and can ensure business continuity.
At No Problem Technologies we have a Private Cloud that is setup specifically to address the needs of your business. Our NPIT Hosted Exchange platform is not a resold service. We have invested heavily in our own data-centre implementation, which is called the No Problem Private Cloud (NPPC). We did this to ensure that you can have confidence in the accessibility, security and privacy of your business data and know that it is in safe hands at all times.
