Is your organization ready to move on from your on-premise phone system?
Congrats. Change is good. It’s time to step into a new world (that really isn’t all that new anymore); the Cloud.
These days, we all know some of the benefits of the Cloud.
- Less obsolete pieces of equipment and lower cost per user.
- A truly networked, seamlessly upgradeable communications platform makes for improved employee productivity.
- And a completely mobile deployment, allowing access from anywhere.
But did you know that Cloud comes in three flavors? And it’s critically important to do your research on this before choosing a path forward.
So which Cloud option is right for your business, PUBLIC, PRIVATE, or HYBRID? The decision is based on firm size, security, existing infrastructure, and IT partnerships–and what your business culture is and what your needs are.
Public Cloud
Public Cloud is the most popular option for small to medium businesses. Why? Well, you simply purchase on a per-user, per-month basis, and the system runs on a basic public internet connection. Let the hosting and IT management happen off-site so that you can focus on running your business. A drawback here is that this is public we’re talking about. So storage, security, and other features are dictated TO you, giving you decidedly less control should you ever need to make changes down the road.
Private Cloud
Next, we’ll take a look at the Private Cloud option. Perhaps public was a little too uncomfortable for you? Maybe you’re an enterprise organization or a government with very particular needs. It’s true, the number one reason to go private is security. Your entire Cloud environment exists behind your firewall.
Of course, there’s still always a risk of a breach. Your IT team will need to pay very close attention to security measures and make sure things are locked up solid. Because with a private deployment, what you gain in security, you lose in redundancy.
Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid Cloud gives you back that redundancy and more. With hybrid, you can leverage that super safe private security and in-house IT team, as well as some of that on-premise equipment, and combine that with the low cost and flexibility of the public Cloud. Moving directly from an on-premise system to the Cloud can feel like somewhat of a cliff, but with hybrid, the transition is more manageable, moving at the pace you prefer. You have complete control of which servers you’d like to host in the Cloud and which you’d prefer to keep in the office. And as I’ve said earlier, having one foot on-premise and the other in the Cloud makes for a redundant system providing less opportunity for failures.
Whichever path you choose, know that TSAChoice will be here to help your organization along every step of the way.
