The coronavirus pandemic has made clear the impact of hosting business applications in the cloud, as it has granted unprecedented flexibility to work from home. However, if your company has lagged behind adopting digital technology, then you are probably lacking in up to date information on all the choices available. To help understand which solution will provide your business the most value, we will take a look at defining cloud application hosting, the most flexible and secure configuration type on the market. .
Known also as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), hosting your software through a cloud service provider (CSP) allows you to deliver your IT resources remotely while still granting direct user access. You retain control over your system applications while the digital infrastructure is managed by a vendor such as SWK Technologies - and in the case of Secure Cloud Services, the network’s cybersecurity is persistently monitored as well. Cloud hosting and IaaS enable you to shift your business to a whole new paradigm, one that empowers your team to work from home with the right CSP.
Here are seven key points that will help you define cloud application hosting, and illustrate the value it can deliver to your business for working from home:
Application Cybersecurity in the Cloud with Smart SOC
The first thing on every skeptic’s mind is cloud security; the reality is that outdated conventional thinking is the true danger when it comes to ANY modern software implementation. Staying analog does little to nothing to protect you in practice. Even legacy on-premise applications can become connected to the Internet unknowingly through integration or modification, exposing your network to cyber attack through undefended channels - not to mention the already existing remote code gaps in on-premise solutions.
Real-time connections permeate every technology system these days, which means that your business must always address a broadening attack surface with cybersecurity that’s just as active. Consolidating all of your application security controls under one roof makes it significantly easier to monitor your network activity and watch for malicious behavior. CSPs familiar with hacker footprints can quickly identify and isolate suspected bad actors within your system, allowing you to keep your software technology stack up and running smoothly.
Secure Cloud Servers for Data Privacy Compliance
Another advantage of real-time cloud security through a hosting service is the access to continuous updating, patching and upgrading for your software system. Hosted applications are always connected and constantly kept up to date with the latest regulations by your provider as part of your contract. As information security becomes a greater factor in the digital era, your databases are going to face harsher regulatory scrutiny and could be subjected to fines for noncompliance - your CSP will help you avoid this.
Latest Security and Software Updates Through Hosting Provider
Hosted applications not only receive the benefit of continual security updates, but also developmental upgrades from behind the scenes. Staying connected through the cloud gives your system access to the latest publisher improvements to functionality, yet without the usual downtime that would affect an on-premise retrofit. Hosting your infrastructure lets you keep your software running while updates are delivered seamlessly in the background, preventing them from interfering with your operations in the real world.
Access to Real-Time IT Resources While Working from Home
It can be easy to overlook the most obvious benefit when hosting your applications in the cloud - the ability to work remotely from anywhere, including from home during COVID-19. However, be mindful that not every CSP inherently provides cybersecurity like Secure Cloud Services does. Even bigger vendors like Amazon Web Services (AWS) will place the burden of user network protection on you instead of defending your endpoints.
As long as your cloud hosting connection is cybersecure, though, the benefits are very advantageous in a critical situation like the one the coronavirus pandemic has created. You already gain an extra layer of cybersecurity by avoiding the rampant remote desktop access coding bugs that grant hackers a backdoor through your many distributed users. Additionally, you’ll no longer have to maintain space just for servers to live without anyone needing to remote access them.
Hosting QuickBooks or ERP as a Service
Speaking of on-premise servers, the traditional IT model has you loading your software through these machines while they sit around aging. Cloud-hosted applications are delivered as a subscription service - in other words, those resources are loaded in digitally as you need them on a regular basis. This makes your accounting and ERP solutions - like Sage 100 or QuickBooks - accessible through a web browser, which is much easier to acclimate to for all of your digital native Millennial users.
Stop Paying for Recurrent Onsite Server Maintenance
Without the burden of cumbersome onsite equipment, your business will also save a significant amount of time, stress and - most importantly - money with cloud application hosting. Replacing those on-premise servers constantly can be painful, to your time AND to your wallet. Yet relying these machines into old age creates serious risks for your operations, in both slowing down processes and cybersecurity backdoors.
Hosted software cuts down all these expenses to only the cost of implementation and service from your cloud provider. You will no longer have to pay to keep hardware in shape or to replace it with even more expensive upgrades, or have to engage multiple vendors for every product that contributes to your technology stack. Your applications and IT resources are consolidated to one streamlined bill without all the extra pieces to make your system work.
Scale Your Network Resources More Efficiently
Digitally hosted applications provide a new level of flexibility not granted by traditional solutions, allowing for much greater scalability. Cloud networks can be expanded and contracted according to need, making way for shifting numbers of users and streamlined resource deployment much more quickly than with on-premise servers. Hosting your software affords your business greater agility and the ability to adapt your digital processes to the speed of your value chain.
Start Hosting Your Applications with Secure Cloud Services
The wide spread adoption of digitally-delivered IT infrastructure has made adjusting to the new normal in COVID-19 times much more bearable for many prepared businesses. Don’t let your own company be held back by outdated technology models - learn how to migrate to cloud application hosting with little to no upfront costs and position your business for success in this crisis.
Sign up here to discover how you can migrate to Secure Cloud Hosting with 30 days free, plus with no set up fees.