It’s a scary scenario for any business – being caught without a relevant business continuity plan for an event that seemed previously almost unthinkable. In today’s always-on mobile-centric business, we operate in a world where access to data services is vital to keep businesses moving forward.
In recent times, companies have had to confront
the stark realities of a global pandemic and its significant and
potentially lasting business impact. Cloud computing offers a
lifeline to mitigate the deleterious effects that a pandemic of this
magnitude will undoubtedly bring. Without succumbing to panic, it’s
a prudent time to confirm or re-evaluate contingency plans and assess
business’s risk management and IT infrastructure readiness.
When deploying a cloud solution it is essential to
make sure that it is built out in a secure manner, with layers such
as multifactor authentication to ensure that you maintain the
integrity and security of your environment.
Employees do not require extensive retraining for
the shift and to get them up to speed in adopting cloud-based
services that will be deployed because they would use the same
familiar user interface, albeit the back-end infrastructure platform
has moved to the cloud. Businesses just need to ensure that their
employees can access data; business applications; and communication
and collaboration capabilities like phone, email, calendar, address
book, instant messaging, teleconference, and videoconference, to
ensure 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 there’s 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 cloud
computing services with a wide range of technologies and products to
choose from. Businesses using the cloud effectively will benefit by
quickly leveraging the ability to create resilient and
disaster-tolerant systems protecting data and business application
integrity, as well as support an increasingly remote workforce.
The cloud software, platform and infrastructure
services are relevant to both large enterprise and SME’s alike.
SMEs need to be flexible and as a result could also see great
productivity gains from using cloud based productivity tools without
the need for specialist skills. Storing files in the cloud enables
staff to access files from anywhere, on any appropriately secured
device.
Collaboration on projects is considerably easier
with cloud solutions that facilitate file sharing from remote
locations. When files are stored online, project teams can work
together and update documents in real-time. This provides more
convenience for employees on the road or those who have chosen to
work from home.
Vodacom Business’ cloud-computing services take
businesses continuity needs into account and help minimise service
interruptions:
- By offering a wide range of tools located outside the company, such as storage, computing capacity, communication, and collaboration capacity, it speeds up business recovery.
- Files can be shared and backups done via the internet making them accessible to all employees, whether they’re at the office, on the go, or even at home, from a computer, tablet, or mobile phone.
- The use of remote data centres makes it possible to be operational again more quickly in the event of a regional or global event.
- Sharing files and syncing multiple devices enhances the quality of operations and improves user experience.
As companies position themselves to maintain
productivity, pushing the corporation into employee homes, and
evaluating what to do in general when unanticipated challenges
present themselves, it is imperative to rethink disaster recovery
plans and explore cloud offerings as mitigation on the effects on
business.
Vodacom Business has adopted a practical approach to cloud. Every customer’s 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 cannot
afford to ignore. Technology, especially telecommunications
technology and cloud-computing is a viable solution to keep
businesses going in these globally challenging times.
* Kabelo Makwane is managing executive for cloud, hosting and
security at Vodacom Business
