Small Business IT – The Pros and Cons of Moving To the Cloud

“On-site or cloud?” is a question you’re sure to hear a lot when working in small business IT. Widespread fast broadband connections mean that SMEs now truly have the option of putting all of their IT services in the cloud and maintaining no on-premise server infrastructure. This article compares the basic pros and cons of the cloud option.

Cloud-Based Small Business IT – The Pros

1. Lower initial expenditure, as cloud services are usually paid for on a monthly basis.

2. Improved geographical flexibility, as the speed of data access is consistent wherever users choose to work.

3. Additional flexibility – companies can shrink and grow and pay for the exact systems and services they require.

1. Complex support accountability – sometimes support issues may have to be escalated to a cloud service provider if the IT support provider doesn’t have control of every nuance of the system.

2. Potential high costs – although cloud services may seem cheaper, when extrapolated over 3-5 years the total cost can exceed that of a traditional on-premise system.

3. Loss of performance – if a business is used to the performance of an on-site system, the speed of data access via the Internet may feel like a considerable step back.

If you work in small business IT, do you prefer cloud or on-premise systems? Share your view in the Comments box below. 

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