Worldwide, spending on cloud computing services is expected to climb to $1073 billion. It’s reshaped our vernacular too. A cloud is no longer just an amorphous, gaseous blob in the sky. It’s an ever-present technology in our lives. Snap a photo and it’ll likely be uploaded to the cloud for safe-keeping. In the event that your phone breaks, you can access those precious memories by logging into your account on a different device. It’s a lifesaver.

For businesses, the same applies – on a much larger scale. And for many business owners, it’s a case of when not if they’ll be transitioning the framework of their organisation to the cloud. The benefits are many, the drawbacks few. Diving into a cloud-based system without an understanding of some of the risks however, is inviting disaster. In this article, we’ve tried to help you gauge whether or not you are ready to fundamentally transform your business by shifting the focus of your operations to the cloud.

Understanding the (sometimes hidden) costs

Many cloud storage providers depend on a pay-as-you-go model. Unfortunately, this can catch ill-advised business owners unaware. Download an unexpectedly large file and your outgoing expenses can spike. Having a detailed understanding of the fees associated with cloud storage and how they can change as your requirements evolve over time is essential.

Environmental concerns

Global warming is a problem that isn’t going to fizzle away over time. It’s long been overlooked by those with the power and resources to do something about it. Collective efforts to make a real difference have been derailed by indifference and ignorance. But that hasn’t prevented environmentally conscious individuals from altering their behaviour to limit the speed of change. Owning a business gives you a platform to make a difference. And migrating to the cloud can reduce your carbon footprint.

Harriet Perkins from Binary Blue agrees.

“Outsourcing your data storage requirements to a specialised, environmentally aware and efficient firm can reduce the amount of energy that is exhausted storing your data.”

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and their cloud computing offering, pledged to power all of their data centres with 100% renewable energy in 2014.

Does your current infrastructure allow you to realise your business goals?

Moving to the cloud can make rapid expansion much easier to achieve. As it stands, you might have to source new hardware from several different organisations just to accommodate the recruitment of new staff members. With a more cloud-oriented approach, you can simply get in touch with your service provider and ask for whatever you need: whether that’s increased storage, bandwidth or number of users. It drastically reduces the amount of time and money you have to spend on expanding your business.

If you’ve extensively assessed any security concerns, thought about the ways your business could evolve in the future and taken the time to drill into the financial implications, there is no reason why you shouldn’t make the move to the cloud.