Remote working isn’t a novel concept. For the past decade or more there’s been a trend toward agile working, convenience and mastering the work-life balance. Remote workforces are usually happy, productive ones, but switching to remote working doesn’t come without its fair share of obstacles and challenges. The global pandemic has forced many businesses to meet these obstacles head-on as they scramble to adapt to the so-called new normal.
For many, the answer lies in private cloud solutions.
According to analysts from Grand View Research, the global market for private cloud is likely to grow from $30 billion in 2020 to more than $200 billion by 2025. But any pre-pandemic growth estimate such as this is likely to be wildly conservative given the way this year’s panned out. Organisations that may have been considering the idea of remote, agile working as part of a long-term strategy are suddenly finding it right at the top of their priority list. They need to move fast, so we’re likely to see the uptake of private cloud solutions increase as businesses seek robust, secure and scalable networks in the post-COVID era.
When selecting a private cloud solution, businesses should be sure to implement policy and framework improvements that will allow them to derive the maximum benefit from it. Here, I’ll be setting out a few ways to achieve that, helping organisations to make the most of their private cloud solution. But first, let’s take a look at the private cloud option a little more closely.
What is a private cloud, and why choose it?
With a public cloud solution, organisations can effectively lease storage, hardware and software that’s shared between multiple businesses, taking what they need as their business grows. Private cloud is different, with all of the hardware dedicated solely to one individual organisation. Both solutions scale nicely, but private cloud offers a little more in the way of control and security, so is often the number one choice for large businesses or those handling sensitive data like financial or government institutions. In other words, it gives businesses all of the benefits of having private, on-premise hardware, without any of the negative consequences.
How to make the most of a private cloud solution
Implementing private cloud architecture is a huge deal for businesses. It often represents a shift in digital culture and should be underscored by changes in policy and framework to make the most of it. Here are five ways in which companies can optimise their policies or infrastructure to ensure their private cloud solution works effectively.
1. Establish clear security policies
To avoid rogue usage of cloud resources and avoid potentially catastrophic data failures, a clear cloud security policy should be established from the outset. A coherent security policy will ensure that everybody in your workforce utilises the cloud in the correct way, controlling things like end-point access and tiered authorisation. Of course, the more your workforce works remotely, the more important and complex your cloud security policy will become.
2. Back-up and disaster recovery frameworks
The post-pandemic era of remote working will, unfortunately, present more opportunities for cybercriminals to steal data. While moving to the cloud will generally reduce the impact of natural disasters or power failures, it is still a risk that businesses should consider. Loss of data can bring a business to its knees, so it’s important to have a disaster recovery contingent in place.
3. Optimise and consolidate storage
They say data is the new currency, and they’re right. Businesses that don’t organise, silo and safeguard their data in 2020 are asking for trouble, and a huge part of that is storage. Choosing an efficient and scalable storage option is crucial for long-term success, and it will also help with application efficiency and the impact the user experience of your workforce.
4. Cost allocation and expense management
This is one of the most forgotten aspects of cloud migration planning. Businesses should see cloud migration not only as an investment, but an ongoing cost that will constantly deliver ROI. As your business scales and grows, your dependence on the cloud and the resources you need will naturally increase. This should be factored into future budgets and forecasts, particularly when it comes to private cloud, which is regarded as a more ‘permanent’ investment than simply leasing resources via public cloud.
5. Performance measurement
This is critical and again, often forgotten. Not all private cloud solutions are created equal. Some will offer faster performance and quicker load times which could have a huge impact on productivity if you have a particularly large workforce. With so many users logging on to use various tools and remote desktops, it’s crucial to ensure network performance is up to scratch and never becomes an issue. To ensure this, you should monitor network performance constantly to ensure you’re getting what you pay for.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the prospect of cloud migration into the forefront of businesses minds. Those that were only loosely considering it before are now finding themselves all but dependent on it to ensure the survival of their businesses. So long as these businesses consider the points outlined above, they can ensure their businesses don’t just survive, but flourish in the new normal.
