Flexnet Networks LLC Blog

Whether you are just a fledgling small business just trying to get your feet off the ground or a larger-scale enterprise with a multitude of clients, one thing will always remain the same: in today’s business world, the cloud is king, and it has the potential to change the way that your business operates for the better. 

If the pandemic has done anything for businesses, it has given them a reason to innovate that cannot be denied—although many have let the opportunity pass them by. Let’s consider how technology has assisted businesses in various industries in their operations as they have needed to adjust.

Today’s technology provides businesses with more options than they’ve ever had, including where they want to host their critical infrastructures. This decision will often boil down to between an onsite hardware implementation or utilizing the cloud. Let’s consider the differences that your decision needs to reflect.

As businesses have been allowed access to more advanced tools, the cloud and its capabilities have been shown to be among the most useful to operations. Let’s examine some practical applications of the cloud to see why this is.

As technology has developed, the tools available for businesses to use have gained considerable benefits. One particularly paradigm-shifting advancement, the cloud, has allowed businesses access to better solutions than ever before, and with the bonus of making them easier to manage. Let’s go over a few such solutions that many businesses are now embracing.

For the past decade, cloud computing has grown fairly rapidly, but as a new decade, and a pesky virus has people (and businesses) leaning on hosted computing solutions more now than ever, it seems like a good time to review the types of cloud options that are available, and how they provide value to businesses just like yours.

All types of businesses use cloud resources as a part of their IT infrastructure. It allows them to turn what was once a major capital expenditure into a controllable operating cost; and, it does it while offering solutions to almost any business problem. The one drawback that most IT professionals agree on is how to gain enough control over a cloud platform to ensure that the platform is secure. 

Thanks to the increasing capabilities of modern computing networks, businesses have been able to experience enhanced productivity. One such capability, cloud computing, has allowed businesses to reach outside of their physical location to conduct their operations. Here, we’ll review some of cloud computing’s other benefits.

Many businesses have taken the cloud into consideration as their next technology implementation… but there’s more to adopting a cloud solution than going to the cloud store and asking for one. First, you need to determine what kind of cloud solution is best suited to your needs.

Cloud computing can be used for many things, and nowhere is this more true than in the business environment. Organizations of all shapes and sizes use the cloud to keep operations moving forward. Some have even moved their entire human resources and payroll departments into the cloud. We’ll help you decide if this is the right approach for your organization.

Evernote is a neat note-taking app that many users have found works for them, as it can be used to keep notes organized in a better way than a traditional notebook. With new features that can offer you plenty of functionality, Evernote might just be the note-taking solution you’ve been looking for all these years. This week’s tip is dedicated to one of the best new features of Evernote: templates.

Thanks to the public cloud, which has amassed around $150 billion in annual revenues, the software as a service model has grown tremendously. In fact, it’s grown by approximately 20 percent a year for the past five years. The public cloud currently houses over a third of all applications used worldwide, making it a significant contributor to the success of software as a service (SaaS). Has your organization begun to take advantage of this phenomenon?

Cloud computing is a major player in the way that businesses are approaching their daily operations. This might bring into question whether or not your organization is actually using the cloud in the first place, but one thing is certain--if you haven’t implemented the cloud yet, it’s difficult to not do so, especially considering how great it can be for your company.

You can never know whether or not that app you just downloaded to your smartphone can expose your data or identity to risk. While Google Play and the iTunes store certainly put efforts into ensuring that users can safely browse their app stores, it’s unlikely that they can find every single malicious app out there before it infects someone’s device. Therefore, you need to consider the following measures to ensure that you don’t put your business at risk by downloading unsecure apps.

Technology is a big deal for the modern business. This doesn’t mean just your organization’s workstations and servers either. Today there is a big shift in the way that small-to-large businesses get the computing resources they need to succeed. As cloud-based offerings continue to offer organizations computing options they haven’t had before, one hosted solution stands out for the value it presents: file sharing.

There are quite a few cloud solutions for file management out there, each offering something that sounds slightly different...but how different are they, really, and which would be of most use in your business? We’ll examine your options to find out.

Virtualization can change a lot for your business. Since you can use multiple types of solutions to expand the way your operations work, virtualization is the perfect strategy to improve your business. But what is virtualization, exactly?

When it comes to quick and easy document sharing, most people will reach for a USB drive without a second thought. However, you may want to reconsider and use the cloud instead. Let’s explore why.

By now you’ve heard about the cloud and all that it can do for businesses, but not all cloud providers can claim equal levels of availability and overall quality as others. Therefore, one of the most critical considerations you have to make when rolling out a cloud service regards who will be managing your company’s cloud computing platform.

Are you still hesitant to adopt cloud computing for your company’s IT needs? For the cautious business owner, adopting new technologies isn’t a move that’s to be made lightly. However, cloud computing is much more than a passing fad. In recent years, the cloud has become such a reliable and efficient tool for businesses that it deserves your attention. Take for example these three misconceptions about the cloud.

Misconception 1: The Cloud Isn’t Secure
It’s understandable why business owners are hesitant to store their sensitive data in the cloud. After all, stories of hacks against major corporations appear in the headlines all too often. Although, it’s important to keep in mind that these sensational stories don’t accurately reflect the state of cloud security today. In fact, studies show that in some instances, the cloud is actually more secure than storing one’s data on-premise. This proved to be the case in a study by Schneider Electric where 40 percent of participants were found to be hosting their security applications in the cloud, and 45 percent of participants said they are likely to move their security application to a cloud platform.

That said, you should still exercise caution when selecting a cloud platform to host your company’s data. It’s prudent to perform your own analysis of costs, opportunity, and risk, as well as to be wary of exaggerated security claims by cloud providers. One way to go about this is to check with vendors for references. They will be able to tell you what cloud providers are reliable, and which ones tend to overpromise.

Misconception 2: The Cloud Costs Too Much
In the past, a move to the cloud may have been perceived by budget-minded business owners as too major of an expense to commit to. Today, the cloud computing market has become so varied that you’ll end up with several different estimates when you shop around with different cloud providers. Therefore, it’s worth it to be diligent when shopping for a cloud provider.

Then there are the cost benefits you should consider that extend beyond the initial price tag of cloud migration and the subsequent monthly fees. This includes opportunity costs such as time to market, disaster recovery savings, and customer satisfaction. Also, a business owner shouldn’t overlook finally being able to avoid paying for on-premise maintenance, remediation, hardware costs, application upgrades, and the list goes on.

Misconception 3: The Cloud Doesn’t Offer Enough Flexibility
If you’re hosting your data and applications in-house, then you know firsthand what it takes to make a modification like an enhancement to your hardware or software. Often times, such an IT initiative will be expensive and take considerable time to implement. Now imagine needing to make the same performance enhancement to an infrastructure that’s hosted in the cloud. With the cloud, when you need more computing resources from your provider, it’s as easy as making a phone call or submitting a ticket. The time and money saved by simply requesting your cloud provider make the adjustments on their end will free up resources for you and your IT staff that can be better invested elsewhere.

Do you still have reservations about the cloud? If so, then you owe it to yourself, and your bottom line, to discuss these roadblocks with the IT professionals at Flexnet Networks LLC. You may be surprised to learn that the cloud can do exactly what you need it to do and more. To have a conversation about the cloud, call us today at (432) 520-3539.