IT spending is on the rise—66% of companies say they expect their IT budgets will increase in 2024. Gartner expects double-digit growth in software and IT services spending during 2024—with some companies spending up to 18% of their revenue on IT. With a budget line that large, it makes sense to find ways to optimize your company’s IT spend—and moving to a private cloud hosting model is one smart tactic. The emergence of virtual private cloud hosting providers, like Cloud at Work, revolutionizes how companies manage their IT infrastructure. Such providers represent more than accessibility and convenience—private cloud hosting can significantly reduce an organization’s IT expenses.
Let’s explore how a private cloud hosting provider like Cloud at Work can lead to substantial savings for your company—but first, just a bit about how Cloud at Work works.
How Cloud at Work Works
Traditionally, businesses have invested heavily in on-premise IT infrastructure. This requires significant capital expenditure on hardware, software licenses, the physical space to house these systems, and the personnel needed to maintain them. Cloud at Work disrupts this model by offering a virtual private cloud environment, where virtualized resources replace the need for physical servers and storage. This transition alone can result in massive savings, eliminating the hefty upfront costs of purchasing and upgrading equipment.
Unlike other private cloud hosting services, Cloud at Work specializes in hosting Sage ERP applications along with access to a suite of services, including Microsoft 365, Hybrid hosting, Disaster Recovery as a Service, Virtual Desktops. It all combines to help you simplify, streamline, and secure your IT resources while minimizing traditional IT-related expenditures.
Here’s how virtual private cloud hosting can help your organization reduce its IT infrastructure costs:
Eliminate the Cost of Servers and Storage
The average cost of a mid-range server can be around $7,500, while high-end servers can exceed $20,000 depending on the specifications and software requirements.
When you choose Cloud at Work, you no longer need to invest in physical servers and storage devices. Instead, you tap into a virtualized environment that offers the same capabilities without the associated capital expenditure. This shift from a capital expenditure (CAPEX) model to an operational expenditure (OPEX) model means your business pays for only what it uses, transforming significant upfront costs into manageable monthly expenses.
Reduce Maintenance Costs
The ongoing maintenance costs for legacy servers can be as much as 18-22% of the original hardware cost per year, and that doesn’t include the cost of the initial setup and installation.
Maintenance costs plummet as the responsibility for hardware upkeep shifts to Cloud at Work. With a team of experts dedicated to ensuring the high performance and availability of the hosted infrastructure, you can reallocate your internal resources to focus on strategic initiatives rather than day-to-day maintenance.
Streamline ERP and Software Management
For organizations relying on Sage ERP applications, keeping the software up to date can be time-consuming and disruptive when the software is housed on your on-premises server. Cloud at Work specializes in hosting Sage ERP applications, providing an environment where updates and upgrades are handled seamlessly by our experts. It reduces the internal labor costs associated with these activities and mitigates the risk of downtime due to update errors or incompatibilities.
Reduce IT Labor Costs
The average salary of an IT systems administrator is over $80,000. Plus, they’re hard to find and expensive to keep.
Consider your business costs related to the salaries you pay your system administrator and any other IT staff member who maintains your hardware or fixes software bugs. Add any contract consultants and additional staff time to implement new systems, support hardware and networking, and upgrade software. Private cloud hosting through Cloud at Work minimizes or eliminates your organization’s need to hire and retain skilled IT professionals. This can potentially save you tens of thousands each year.
Enhance Business Continuity and Reduce Recovery Costs
Downtime is expensive. For 91% of mid-sized and large enterprises, a single hour of downtime can cost over $300,000. An on-premise IT disaster can lead to lost revenue, data, and customer trust.
Cloud at Work offers robust business continuity solutions with regular backups and disaster recovery plans in place. Should an issue arise, the recovery process in a cloud-hosted environment is significantly faster and more cost-effective than traditional methods, minimizing the financial impact on your business.
Capitalize on Scalability and Flexibility
A recent report from Statista found that companies can save 15-30% on their IT costs over 18 months by using cloud infrastructure—due to the platform’s ability to scale resources on demand.
By using a cloud provider like Cloud at Work, you can align your spending with business growth more effectively, only paying for the computing resources you actually use. Private cloud hosting offers a level of scalability that is challenging to achieve with an on-premise setup. As your business grows, Cloud at Work’s infrastructure can easily accommodate increased demands without the need for physical hardware changes. The scalability ensures that you only pay for additional resources when needed.
Optimize Workforce Efficiency with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Employee workstations, with corporate programs and data held locally, pose an enormous security risk to your organization. Virtual desktop solutions, like Cloud at Work’s purpose-built workspaces, mitigate risk by centralizing data and programs in a controlled environment. The desktops run on virtual machines located on servers in a data center (such as Cloud at Work’s) instead of the actual desktop/laptop hardware. A “virtual image” of the user’s desktop is sent over the network to the remote user, allowing them to access the desktop image as if it were rendered locally. It allows employees to access their work environments anywhere, on any device, promoting a more flexible and productive workforce. It also means your business can reduce expenditures on office space and workstations while still providing employees with the tools they need to succeed.
A Smart Move for Modern Businesses in 2024
Leveraging the services of a virtual private cloud hosting provider like Cloud at Work offers many cost-saving opportunities for businesses. From minimizing capital expenditure on hardware to reducing operational, maintenance, and personnel costs, the financial benefits are clear. By simplifying software updates, enhancing business continuity, and offering scalable resources, Cloud at Work positions companies to thrive in a competitive market while maintaining a leaner, more cost-effective 2024 IT budget. Learn more about private cloud hosting by speaking to one of our experts.