How Can Small Businesses Use the Cloud Without Getting Lost in the Fog?

When it comes to adopting new technology, small companies have it far tougher than most. Although their size and agility can make it easier to shift gears, these factors might also work against them: Cloud-based solutions, IoT deployments and other modern IT tools often raise major data safety concerns, and compliance is a full-time job. As if to make life even harder, consumers are also asking more questions about who they trust with their data.

How can firms satisfy the demand for agile, distributed services without falling afoul of hacks, human errors or bad PR? Here are a few ways growing enterprises work with Microsoft Azure consulting partners to stay transparent without leaving themselves overly exposed out in the cloud.

Leveraging Existing Solutions

Companies face many distinct problems when they attempt to migrate to the cloud or expand their distributed computing presences. One of the most pressing is the fact that it takes time to transition from one business system to another. After all, if using the cloud requires a ton of work to get started, then is it really worth the effort?

It’s not difficult to see why so many small businesses can confidently answer in the affirmative. Tools like Azure make it possible to build unique business systems using third-party tools and custom development practices. It’s just as easy to deploy a barebones cloud computing instance and populate it with proprietary software as it is to begin with a full stack. Such flexibility may also minimize the amount of time required to go from an idea to a practical business solution.

Automating Fundamental Data-handling Tasks

Another hurdle that many small companies work harder to overcome is the problem of making data useful. The more process information business leaders have, the better their odds are of making effectively informed decisions. From analyzing app responsiveness to improving data storage trends and fighting downtime, service quality revolves around having sufficient feedback to make choices that lead to quantifiable improvements.

Getting ahold of high-quality data can be extremely challenging for smaller companies. Without exhaustive client networks already in place, some struggle just to track performance accurately. Others hit the ground running with the best intentions yet fall behind as their own successes outpace their capabilities.

Azure helps smaller firms manage Big Data with less hair-pulling. Features like binary large object, or blob, storage make it simple to retain large files or custom-formatted records in an organized fashion. Even better, the Windows Azure Cache manages access intelligently: Instead of manually having to adapt to service usage trends to maintain availability, business leaders can trust their cloud deployments to self-regulate and fulfill data requests as needed. For small companies that have far too little time on their hands, not having to deal with such minutiae is a huge advantage.

Staying Compliant From Day One

Data security is no longer solely the realm of IT professionals. Now that household names like Facebook are making the news every few years for data leaks that place tens of millions of people at risk, it’s no small wonder that the general public is increasingly wary. Toronto IT service providers that want to win clients have to prove themselves first.

Establishing such trust is a lot more straightforward for enterprises that don’t have to backtrack to get compliant. It really doesn’t matter whether they’re trying to adhere to Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA, or break into EU markets by brushing up on the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. Regardless of where their regulatory focus lies, companies do better when their service backends already account for governance workflows and detailed gap analysis.

With more than 70 compliance offerings right out of the box, Azure helps firms get the ball rolling within the confines of the law. Since most data protection standards also involve practices like risk assessment, firms that implement compliant systems from the start hone their operational security stances and prepare themselves for rough trials ahead.

Achieving Corporation-worthy Uniformity

Companies that want to complete the journey from startups to established names require more than good ideas and drive. They also have to create sustainable business models and corporate cultures that can survive inevitable setbacks.

Although establishing a foothold in the cloud won’t guarantee that a firm succeeds, it can definitely be a deciding factor. Microsoft Azure helps firms unify diverse applications and open-source ecosystems to create more homogenous business models. When it’s time to expand, they can readily clone the apps, network management systems and other tools that let their operations run as smoothly as possible. They also gain the power to disseminate top-down information so that everyone from new hires to management veterans stays on the same page at all times.

Get More From the Cloud With an Experienced Azure Consulting Company in Toronto

Still curious about whether switching to Microsoft Azure might make it easier to do business safely in the cloud? Get in touch with a Sysoft specialist.