4 Reasons Texas Businesses Should Look at Amazon Web Services

Just because you’re a smaller business doesn’t mean you can’t have access to the same services enterprise-level organizations do. Cloud computing allows your business the ability to invest the resources you need when you need to. If you’re not sure if cloud computing is right for your needs, here are four reasons why Amazon Web Services can benefit your business.

4 Ways Smaller Businesses Benefit From Large-Scale Web Services

First, let’s take a look at a few businesses that are on the record for using Amazon’s AWS cloud hosting. You’ll see big names like NASA, Pfizer, Adobe, Disney, Spotify, and Netflix. These major players require massive amounts of computing resources on a major, often global scale.

So you probably think—my business only has one server, or maybe a couple of servers, I’m not even on that level. The thing is, the biggest game-changer of the cloud is and has always been scalability. There is hardly a minimum requirement for entry. If you need to store data or serve centralized applications to your end-users, the cloud could be the right choice.

On-premise servers are expensive to buy and configure, and cost time and money to support and maintain. That’s another reason why the cloud makes so much sense—cloud services like AWS factor in the cost of maintaining their equipment, and they are able to do so much more effectively than a small business that just has a couple physical servers. 

Migrating to AWS can reduce infrastructure costs related to traditional physical servers and other devices. AWS allows your organization to only pay for the amount of storage they need, which makes it cost-effective, and flexible to scale up and down as the need arises. Here are three ways how:

AWS Facilitates Your Team’s Communication and Remote Access

One lesson your business should have learned during the pandemic is the importance of your team being able to continue to work regardless of where they are located. Embracing the cloud will give your staff the ability to do so. AWS allows your team to access a workstation or virtual machine from anywhere they have broadband access. This allows your team to continue being productive because they can remotely access applications, documents, and resources anywhere. 

There are some hurdles organizations need to overcome when establishing a fully remote workforce, which is something many Texas businesses have had to experience. The cloud is designed from the ground up to be accessed remotely and securely, so that capability is baked in and made as accessible as possible.

AWS is Flexible and Cost-Effective

We already touched on this; cloud solutions such as AWS are scalable and based on your needs and demand. Unlike physical servers, there is, for the most part, no limit to how much storage or computing resources you can access without needing to invest in new equipment. Additionally, AWS provides access to a wide range of upgrades and options.

For example, you’re not locked to a specific operating system, and you can choose your preferred OS, web application platform, programming language, and more. Moreover, you can load virtually any service or software to your virtual machine. This flexibility makes it easier to migrate from any existing platform, increasing your efficiency at an affordable price point.

Here’s a great example of this in action - let’s say you use a line-of-business CRM solution to manage your contacts and sales processes. You are ramping up for a big trade show and hiring several new sales people, marketing people, and directors. They all need access to the software, and these added users are going to ramp up the minimal hardware requirements of the software. If you were running your CRM software on AWS, scaling up to get more computing resources would be straightforward. If you have to scale back down, that’s going to be pretty painless as well. Not so much if you had to deal with the physical hardware.

Efficient Disaster Recovery

With ransomware leading the news seemingly every day, the one thing separating businesses that recover from an attack from those that don’t is their backup. Once a ransomware attack disables a business’ ability to access its data, the cybercriminals are in control of the company. This loss of data is an IT department’s worst nightmare, as it requires a significant investment of resources to correct… assuming it can be at all.  

Disaster recovery goes beyond ransomware too. Power outages or surges, software and hardware failure, data corruption, and human error are all potential causes of data loss. Investing in AWS allows your organization to develop a cloud-based recovery solution that not only runs automatically but is backed by Amazon’s support systems.

You Aren’t Sacrificing Control

This is something we’ve noticed a lot of business owners are concerned with. Entrusting another business to not only manage a central part of your business but also house it, is more than a little daunting.

The security-minded business owners will ask us if they can still withhold the same network policies and access control they could with a physical server, and the answer is yes.

Business owners who take great pride and stock in their data often ask us if, at the end of the day, they can always access it and touch it and keep a physical copy for themselves. The answer, again, is yes.

The cloud is almost no different than having a physical device on site. In fact, the physical on-prem device suffers from even more risk than a carefully replicated, redundant cloud system. The only difference is that the hardware is controlled and managed in a data center instead of your office.

Are You Ready to Fully Embrace the Cloud?

The benefits of cloud computing aren’t isolated to larger organizations. Small and medium-sized businesses can also benefit from investing in the cloud. Unfortunately, many smaller companies aren’t sure how to go about doing so. We have the experience to help Austin businesses of all sizes take advantage of the cloud, increasing productivity while reducing costs.

If you’re interested in learning more about AWS or any other cloud solution, call (512) 343-8891 today to schedule an appointment.