It’s been said that one of the main leadership skills is the ability to delegate. When you assign tasks to other people, it allows you to tackle more important decisions, and for a business owner, this means spending more time handling business responsibilities, instead of being burdened by lesser tasks.
Within the frame of IT, this is what managed colocation allows a business to do. It provides a means for managing technology services, whether the client is an enterprise or start-up, without the need for the same level of IT requirements. The cloud storage team of a managed colocation service provides constant support and surveillance of a company’s website and data systems, allowing internal IT teams to be free from basic practices and refocus attention on enhancing a company’s infrastructure.
Moving to the Cloud
When you move your company’s data to cloud storage, a learning curve will definitely be involved. Transferring files, updating systems and backing up data will be slightly different than what your IT team is used to with an internal server. However, since managed colocation means that your servers are managed by the hosting provider, the issues of security, power delivery or other operational issues are no longer the responsibility of your in-house IT staff. Instead, the team at your cloud hosting company will handle these tasks properly and expeditiously.
Opportunities for Growth
When your IT team doesn’t need to focus on the everyday tasks of managing your server and data backups, your team is free to accomplish new projects. New opportunities to improve your business’ workflow arise now that your IT department has the time to focus on company needs and start building upon what’s already been established.
As an example, if your company runs on a custom application, your IT team could enhance and perfect it so that the application better integrates with other company software, or so that the application provides additional utility. If you’ve been meaning to get your company’s old records in order, your IT team could create a system for data input from old files. Or if your company website doesn’t bring in the traffic you’d like to see or it fails to meet all your customers’ or clients’ demands, your IT team could turn their focus to your Web presence. A variety of different opportunities open up when managed colocation is adopted.
The Costs of Cloud Management
When it comes to the cost of managed colocation services, the old adage of you get what you pay for comes to mind. Despite its reputation for efficiencies in small business circles, the move to cloud storage isn’t cheap. Depending on the type of storage and services for which businesses opt, they may spend more on off-site technology than they would on the same services in-house. However, with the advantages of storing data on the cloud and utilizing cloud-based applications from anywhere, cloud storage makes sense for many companies, from start-ups to conglomerates. The real savings here is in time and energy, so you can focus your internal team on better operations and the expansion of your business.
According to Forbes, the reliance on cloud services for businesses is on the upswing, and it looks to remain that way for the foreseeable future. Even with an IT team on board, the cloud’s versatility and accessibility make it a worthwhile expense. Managed services make the transition to the cloud easy, keeping your internal team focused on your company’s future and profitability.