11 cloud migration benefits to know before making the move

1. Reduced costs

Cloud computing enables businesses to outsource their IT operations, thereby reducing or eliminating their budget for maintaining data centers, buying servers, software and other infrastructure and hiring IT staff to manage it all.

2. Subscription model

Cloud services are sold through a subscription model that can make planning more predictable for businesses and their customers, compared to the upfront licensing that was typical of on-premises applications. Much like a subscription to a streaming service, a subscriber can choose from several options, including paying a fixed amount each month or purchasing yearlong subscriptions at a lower price per unit. There are often discounts for committing to a certain level of spending.

3. Innovation

The cloud delivers far more of the latest technology than on-premises systems can, which helps organizations advance new ideas and create new products they can quickly introduce to the market. Today's cloud services typically come with advanced technologies, such as generative AI, machine learning and predictive analytics tools. Companies can more easily incorporate them in their applications and services, respond to changes in the market and stay competitive.

4. Scalability and flexibility

Companies that deliver their products and services over the cloud must be ready to handle growth in customer demand and support the additional staff needed. One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is its ability to scale up to meet these new demands by adding storage, processing power and networking capabilities. It's also more flexible than on-premises infrastructure in its ability to integrate with new technologies and manage changing workloads.

5. Elasticity

When there is an unexpected sharp increase in demand, such as on Black Friday or when ticket sales spike for a new Taylor Swift concert, the cloud can respond quickly. Cloud elasticity is the ability in real time to increase or decrease computing resources -- such as CPU processing, memory and storage capacity and network bandwidth -- to handle these unexpected changes in online traffic. The goal of cloud elasticity is to keep online services up and running to maintain business continuity but do so without adding unnecessary expense.

6. Security

Cloud security has become a compelling reason to move to the cloud. Big cloud providers are good at using the latest encryption and security protocols to protect their servers and prevent hackers from accessing data. They also use strong access controls and monitoring tools to block unauthorized access and detect malicious data breaches. Cloud providers can invest in security at levels most customers can't afford. This is especially true of SMBs, which typically have little to no IT security staff.

7. Sustainability

When organizations shut down their often outdated on-premises data centers and adopt cloud computing, they reduce their local consumption of energy and water and hand over management to cloud providers, whose data centers are increasingly designed with energy efficiency in mind. Providers are also using more renewable energy sources, sophisticated cooling systems and power management measures. According to data from Accenture, businesses can reduce their carbon footprint by 84% on average when they shift their operations to the cloud. But it's not all upside: Cloud providers' own data centers are coming under scrutiny as they gobble up more land and other resources to meet demand.

8. Integration and collaboration

Moving their IT systems to the cloud enables organizations to take advantage of the cloud's inherent integration. The improved connectivity of people and systems creates greater visibility across the enterprise, which helps organizations gain greater insights and respond quickly to change. Additionally, cloud integration helps businesses strengthen collaboration among business units, improve customer service and monitor costs more accurately.

9. Compliance management

Gartner estimated that worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services would grow from $561 billion in 2023 to $675.4 billion this year, concluding that the increase is driven by generative AI and application modernization. To help customers manage that growth in accordance with regulations about where data is generated, stored and transmitted, many cloud providers offer features like preconfigured compliance templates that arrange sensitive data to comply with laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

10. Backup and disaster recovery

Well-planned backup and disaster recovery are critical for any business, especially those operating in the cloud. With more disastrous weather events such as hurricanes, floods and fires occurring more frequently, there is greater risk of service interruptions and data loss. Additionally, cyberattacks such as ransomware can cause disruptions. By copying and archiving applications, resources and data at different locations in the cloud, organizations can protect their corporate resources from these disruptions, recover their data and quickly resume operations.

11. Storage

Cloud storage has significant advantages over on-premises storage. With cloud storage services, such as Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive and Box, users can easily access data from different devices as long as they're on the internet. Cloud storage also enables them to collaborate more effectively while working from different locations.

Nicole Lewis is an independent business and technology journalist who covers public policy, technology and business issues.