It often makes you wonder why so many businesses are moving to cloud computing. The number of first-time users moving to cloud computing has increased by 27% over the last 18 months. It is expected that by the end of 2013 over 75% of UK businesses will be using cloud computing such as Office 365.

So why are businesses investing in cloud computing, rather than their own IT infrastructure?

Reduced costs

Services are acquired on a subscription basis which is usually charged on a per-user basis. This makes these ‘switch-on’ services more cost effective as large capital investment is no longer required to access enterprise-level services.

Flexibility and Scalability

As your business grows you can simply ‘switch-on’ additional users as and when needed. Likewise users can be disabled too to scale back down. If new functionality is required, just ‘click’ to enable it.

Mobility

As users access services and data via the cloud, it is possible to work from anywhere with a reliable internet connection! The same information can be accessed using a smart-phone, tablet, laptop and desktop computer.

Easier Upgrades

Microsoft update their Office 365 services every 90 days. You will see new functionality and features added without traditional software upgrades.

Business Continuity

Internet and server issues as no longer a concern. As users can work from almost anywhere, on any device, business can continue as normal! So in the event of fire, flood, theft, snow, system outage, log on from home instead.

Security

Microsoft and other cloud companies invest millions in internet and cloud security. The level of security, data protection and encryption offered is far superior to any system that is economically viable to small, medium and even large businesses.