The pandemic has accelerated the digitization of day-to-day business operations, ushering in a new era of reliance on technology, especially when it comes to cloud migration. Companies of all sizes are now racing to update their infrastructure, data and critical applications to the cloud.
With spending on public cloud services projected to reach nearly $600 billion by 2023, taking full advantage of the cloud is now a must for businesses. Over the past few years, industry leaders have looked to Fortune 500 companies as role models for cloud adoption. In reality, however, some of the most agile cloud adopters are small and medium businesses (SMBs).
Unlike Fortune 500 companies, which can be burdened by bureaucracy and less agile, SMBs can leverage their unique attributes to lead cloud migrations. With the right support, nimble small businesses have the opportunity to innovate in the digital race. Here are five reasons why small businesses are leading the way in cloud migration:
1. They are more scalable
SMBs can take advantage of their more manageable scale to rapidly scale cloud solutions. Cloud service providers can provide small organizations with the exact amount of processing power and storage they need to help small and medium-sized businesses scale their operations dynamically.
Smaller companies used to be constrained by lack of funds to expand local resource constraints. That’s the problem for GrayHair Software, a mid-sized business that provides data insights for mail tracking. Before migrating to the cloud, GrayHair had to spend a lot of time and money manually adjusting its traditional server environment to suit customer needs. By migrating to the cloud, they rapidly deploy computing resources to accommodate more complex systems and applications.
2. SMBs are more agile
As they transition to the cloud, SMBs will also use their agility to stay competitive in processing efficiency.
According to Dell, companies investing in big data, cloud migration, mobility and/or security are growing their revenue 53% faster than their competitors. Because they can transition their systems to the latest cloud technology faster, SMBs have a revenue growth advantage over less nimble tech giants.
Small and medium business cloud customers will also benefit from accessing advanced technology capabilities not yet available to on-premises facilities. Because cloud providers are responsible for maintaining equipment, updating underlying server hardware and network infrastructure, SMBs can experiment with the latest cloud technologies without slowing down revenue generation.
3. Cost reduction by adopting a comprehensive cloud solution
Traditional on-premises servers are expensive to purchase and maintain. Many of these expenses must be capitalized, adding to budgetary pressures. While larger companies may need on-premises servers to handle the vast amounts of data they process, small and medium-sized businesses can more easily move their entire systems to the cloud to save money.
With the cloud, small businesses can avoid the substantial upfront cost of a physical installation. Instead, they can rent the computer resources they need from the provider on a monthly or annual basis, incurring tax-deductible operating expenses from day one.
When looking for data systems technology, trying to cobble together imperfect solutions for legacy systems increases the likelihood of system errors and inefficiencies. Instead, the best cloud providers offer comprehensive solutions that SMBs can more easily adopt holistically. While cobbled data systems can drain large corporations of IT money and time, small and midsize businesses can adopt cloud systems to improve functionality and data security.
4. SMEs can protect their digital assets
As a company grows, so does the risk of its digital footprint, hacking, viruses and human error the increase. The cost of a data breach ranges from ransomware payments to irreversible reputational damage.
According to Salesforce, 94% of businesses claim they have seen an increase in security after switching to the cloud. While SMBs often lack a dedicated team of cybersecurity professionals to protect corporate data, enterprise-grade data encryption, cloud backup, and disaster recovery included in any reputable cloud service will help them quickly change their cybersecurity strategy from nonexistence Become world class with no additional investment.
5. SMEs can enjoy tax incentives to fund innovation
Digital transformation is not without costs, and Fortune 500 companies may be able to pay more easily. However, savvy of SMBs have a little-known advantage in one of the strongest federal tax incentives.
The Federal R&D Tax Credit was introduced in 1981 to encourage businesses to invest in innovation. Tax-paying businesses that develop, design or improve products, processes, recipes and even software can claim the credit.
Small businesses moving to the cloud can see this credit as one of the best opportunities to reduce their tax liability and reallocate those resources to be more competitive.
R&D credit for cloud-based integration finally creates an opportunity for SMEs to reinvest in themselves and go further beyond cloud computing.
With its agility, scalability, and access to dedicated tax credits, SMBs are poised to dominate cloud adoption for years to come.
