The Cloud: a Hybrid Solution

As you prepare for a new year, your IT Managed Services Provider may be considering a transition to the cloud. Or you may have migrated to the cloud a few years ago and want to optimize your infrastructure.

As cloud operations provide a few years of total cost statistics, your best choice may be a hybrid solution.

What is the impact of cloud migration on the total cost of goods? It is time to look at the effects of the cloud… the good and the bad.

The shiny side of the cloud

Without a doubt, the cloud may be the transition of a technology management generation.  There are many positives within a migration to the cloud. Here are the top three:

1. Infrastructure is available immediately.
2. The cloud solution can be quickly scaled to fit your business needs.
3. The cloud is efficient for operations and company resources.

In 2020, the MainSpring team published a blog providing five ways to optimize your business plan with the cloud.

The advice and tips provided in this original blog have stood the test of time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the cloud helped facilitate a rapid shift to WFH (Work from Home) and remote education.

As I look back on the blog now, I note that one of the five positives of moving business to the cloud is improved collaboration with teammates. When I first published that blog, little did I know that remote team collaboration would be a cornerstone of business stability during a pandemic.

But the positives of the cloud do come with a cost. Let's look at the actual cost of the cloud.

The true cost of the cloud

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you now realize that your business now sits in a different environment. There are a lot of factors and pressures on COGS (Cost of Goods Sold), and savvy managers are looking at factors under a microscope.

As business leaders and their accountants look at COGS, they note another financial impact of cloud migration. As your cloud migration ages, its impact on the cost of goods sold increases. Several in-depth discussions and reviews have been published since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, Venture Beat published a blog including an overview of the true cost of maintaining cloud infrastructure over time. In this post, they review the true “paradox of the cloud… You’re crazy if you don’t start in the cloud; you’re crazy if you stay on it.” (VentureBeat.com)

When determining the future of the cloud at your organization, my advice is to look at both sides of the story. Research, talk with your IT team and CIOs.

Your research may lead you to a hybrid cloud solution.

A hybrid cloud solution

Here is where I would be amiss if I did not mention the vCIO team at MainSpring. Virtual CIOs talk to organizations, government agencies, and entrepreneurs across many market segments. Discussions lead to a library of knowledge and solutions. At MainSpring, we foster a collaboration of expertise.

Why did I pause to tell you about our team? Because the collaboration of knowledge forms a hybrid approach to cloud implementation and management. While one hybrid cloud solution does not fit all needs, our team has experience with hybrid planning across many business segments.

Indeed, some business processes and data storage are best suited for the cloud, while some workloads are maintained at on-site real estate. For on-site storage, your company may need a new system design or may need special-purchase hardware. Or perhaps a third-party solution will fit your hybrid needs.

There is not just one firm answer when debating a cloud migration or a long-term solution. It is an answer that grows with time and will most likely include a hybrid solution.