| |JUNE 202219storage is acknowledged. Even in case of SMBs ­ ac-countancy application like Tally makes use of cloud storage, and thus they should not shy away from exploring wider cloud storage.Most people do not realize that cloud storage is much more secure compared to their on-premises data server. All cloud storage service providers (CSPs) spend millions of dollars on ensuring that security on their servers is top-notch. The business and reputation risk of getting their servers breached is so enormous that CSPs also hire the best security talent available. This level of security investment simply cannot be matched by individual companies. The enhanced se-curity becomes especially relevant when we consider the increasing incidence of ransomware attacks even in India. The other natural worry of organisations is about the cloud data compromise due to password is-sues. Depending on requirements, organisations can further secure their cloud storage by way of cloud storage encryption services.Cloud storage also starts the organizations journey towards lower IT costs. While the subscription cost of the cloud is an expense, the savings begin with the removal of need to keep the server upgraded and updated with the latest version of operating system and security software, thus immediately creating a cost saving. Additional savings are realized with re-duced time and attention requirement of IT team for managing data server related issues.Anytime anywhere access and related productivity gains that directly enhance the sales process, custom-er experience and employee experience is the other obvious reason to prioritize cloud storage. The ability to instantly access relevant files when in the midst of a critical discussion with a customer, vendor or pros-pect is essential for competitive advantage. The use cases for remote access of files have been well estab-lished during the pandemic lockdown. The advantage of cloud storage is the easier management, and near 100 percent uptime and security.Disaster recovery and business continuity solu-tions are easier and very much cheaper compared to on-premises data storage. Cloud storage service pro-viders have multiple levels of data redundancy built into their systems and offer versioning to enable ex-tremely high level of data recovery. Such a setup in an on-premises server system is quite expensive both in terms of hardware and IT personnel cost. Addition-ally, it requires regular trouble shooting and testing to ensure availability at the critical time of need.While I have listed the principal factors that should make the decision to prioritise cloud storage neces-sary, there are many more benefits both major and minor that will further ease ones decision. According to Gartner, "IT leaders need to formulate a cohesive cloud strategy that is expansive and forward-looking to fully reap the business value of cloud".The other key aspect of moving to cloud storage is the management protocol needed as best practices. I can assure you that these management protocols while important are extremely cost effective and re-source-light to implement as compared to on-premis-es storage. These include offline backup of cloud data, data access control protocol, subscription manage-ment, and data capacity management practices.While the cloud storage provides excellent data se-curity, data prudence dictates that an offline back-up of all data is also maintained. The good news is that this does not need the extensive high-end infrastruc-ture that was the case for on premise storage. Sim-ple regular back-up protocol to inexpensive drives is enough.Data access control is similar to what would have been implemented in the case of on-premises storage earlier. It defines who can access what location of the storage and takes cares of required changes, addition, and deletion of permissions as per business context. As cloud storage is subscription driven, there is a need to ensure timely payment to the service provider. Data capacity management protocol is actually linked to the scalability benefit of cloud storage. Reg-ular monitoring of available storage space and scaling up or scaling down the subscription plan creates cost efficiencies and adds to the RoI of cloud storage.Cloud storage will thus prove beneficial for organi-sations in every industry and of very size. It will create cost savings for the organisation, improve business competitiveness and reduce some dependency on IT teams. Importantly it will well position the organisa-tion for more productive cloud journey that delivers further benefits. THE ABILITY TO INSTANTLY ACCESS RELEVANT FILES WHEN IN THE MIDST OF A CRITICAL DISCUSSION WITH A CUSTOMER, VENDOR OR PROSPECT IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
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