Cloud Hosting

Its a scary scenario for any business being caught without arelevant business continuity plan for an event that seemed previouslyalmost unthinkable.In todays always-on mobile-centricbusiness, we operate in a world where access to data services isvital to keep businesses moving forward.

In recent times, companies have had to confrontthe stark realities of a global pandemic and its significant andpotentially lasting business impact. Cloud computing offers alifeline to mitigate the deleterious effects that a pandemic of thismagnitude will undoubtedly bring. Without succumbing to panic, itsa prudent time to confirm or re-evaluate contingency plans and assessbusinesss risk management and IT infrastructure readiness.

When deploying a cloud solution it is essential tomake sure that it is built out in a secure manner, with layers suchas multifactor authentication to ensure that you maintain theintegrity and security of your environment.

Employees do not require extensive retraining forthe shift and to get them up to speed in adopting cloud-basedservices that will be deployed because they would use the samefamiliar user interface, albeit the back-end infrastructure platformhas moved to the cloud. Businesses just need to ensure that theiremployees can access data; business applications; and communicationand collaboration capabilities like phone, email, calendar, addressbook, instant messaging, teleconference, and videoconference, toensure business continuity.

Cloud servers can host mission-critical apps without the requirements for a large administrative and support team which means local resources focus on supporting user enhancement and functionality, which also negates the need for investing in building datacentres to house servers, storage, networking appliance, power backups, cooling and various devices needed to run a data centre. Similarly, voice and video communications critical tools for maintaining communication outside of the office but also tools that can put a large strain on resources, can also be consumed natively as cloud services.

For the remote worker, cloud-based solutions mean the convenience of accessing services from anywhere, anytime, from any device. Document sharing and workflows can be pushed out easily and securely to enable dynamic collaboration in work group and to effect business transactions. As long as theres power and internet access, cloud makes it possible to ensure the continuity of the business, whether from an office hub or in a situation where employees are compelled to remote working.

There are a number of different types of cloudcomputing services with a wide range of technologies and products tochoose from. Businesses using the cloud effectively will benefit byquickly leveraging the ability to create resilient anddisaster-tolerant systems protecting data and business applicationintegrity, as well as support an increasingly remote workforce.

The cloud software, platform and infrastructureservices are relevant to both large enterprise and SMEs alike.SMEs need to be flexible and as a result could also see greatproductivity gains from using cloud based productivity tools withoutthe need for specialist skills. Storing files in the cloud enablesstaff to access files from anywhere, on any appropriately secureddevice.

Collaboration on projects is considerably easierwith cloud solutions that facilitate file sharing from remotelocations. When files are stored online, project teams can worktogether and update documents in real-time. This provides moreconvenience for employees on the road or those who have chosen towork from home.

Vodacom Business cloud-computing services takebusinesses continuity needs into account and help minimise serviceinterruptions:

As companies position themselves to maintainproductivity, pushing the corporation into employee homes, andevaluating what to do in general when unanticipated challengespresent themselves, it is imperative to rethink disaster recoveryplans and explore cloud offerings as mitigation on the effects onbusiness.

Vodacom Business has adopted a practical approach to cloud. Every customers journey will differ a one size fits all approach cannot address elements that are unique to each environment, which is why, in collaboration with our industry-leading partners, Vodacom Business engages uniquely in a transformational journey with each customer.

Cloud computing provides solutions SMEs cannotafford to ignore. Technology, especially telecommunicationstechnology and cloud-computing is a viable solution to keepbusinesses going in these globally challenging times.

* Kabelo Makwane is managing executive for cloud, hosting andsecurity at Vodacom Business

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Cloud in a time of crisis - Gadget