If you haven’t made the move to the cloud yet, now is the time. A recent Forbes study predicted that cloud computing would be a $162 billion industry by 2020 – less than two years from now. Add to that the finding that 74% of IT CFOs attribute most of their most measurable growth impact to cloud services and you have all the reason to make this important leap to increase your company’s longevity.

So what is the cloud exactly? At the most basic level, the cloud is a collection of computers, servers and databases that are connected together. Users can lease access to this infrastructure to share its combined power. But how can any of that future-proof your business? We’re going to show you how.

• Lockdown your data against cyber attacks, human error and other disasters – The cloud delivers security for your most sensitive data. The combined computing power in the cloud has robust security defenses, whose architecture is multi-layered, and safeguards against any weaknesses that would allow cyber criminals to hack your data. There are different types of security controls employed: deterrent controls, preventative controls, detective controls and corrective controls. All of these things work together to protect your sensitive information and intellectual property.

• Cost Reduction – By migrating to the cloud you can say goodbye to replacing expensive, legacy infrastructure and outdated software. Programs and applications are scalable and more cost-effective than ever – Microsoft Office 365 is a perfect example of that. Office 365 has become a powerhouse platform for business productivity and now is more affordable than ever (subscriptions start at $12.50 per user per month) with all updates, security patches and service packs included, and also 1 TB of cloud computing storage per user. Using cloud-hosted applications like O365 means an infrastructure that will self-update on a daily basis.

• Increase performance & productivity with seamless collaboration – Moving your data, network and applications to the cloud gives your staff the freedom to not only work while they’re mobile – whether it’s in their favorite coffee shop, their home office or across the world – but to access all the same tools they have on their work desktop. Cloud computing also allows your staff to collaborate on projects real-time, wherever they may be located. That greatly increases your company’s productivity and performance, letting you bring in more customers, more business and more profit.

To get the most out of your cloud services, you need a great MSP partner. With an MSP there is very little to no downtime for data migration. Not sure which cloud computing services are right for your company’s needs? An MSP team of experts will evaluate your servers and network and consult with you to come up with the perfect plan for cloud migration minus the worry. Seamless implementation without the hassle.

Firms that handle their own migration on average take 2 months to complete it and can spend up to $3,000. Partnering with a managed IT services provider (MSP) to handle your move to the cloud reduces – and even eliminates – downtime and speeds up deployment by managing your data with new integrated tech solutions, upgrading your performance seamlessly. That’s where we come in.

Give us a call and we’ll help you take that leap into the future. Come join us in the cloud – life is better is up here.