How Does Cloud Computing Deliver Value to Small and Medium Enterprises?

Understanding and perceptions can vary in the boardroom. IT leaders need to provide reassurance so that everyone’s bought in to the benefits of cloud computing.

Everyone’s talking about cloud, but not everyone has adopted it, nor adopted it in a way that brings competitive advantage and reduces risk to their organisation. In small and medium enterprises in particular, directors and stakeholders outside the IT function are understandably cautious about embarking on a complex-sounding and potentially costly cloud migration programme.

There are different drivers for every organisation. The convincer could be better system security, compliance, capital expenditure reduction, enhancing customer experience, analytics and reporting, or speed and efficiency – to name a few. A merger or acquisition, or the need to upgrade inadequate systems, can also clinch a decision.

Can you answer the tough questions about SME cloud computing adoption?

But at the same time, there will be debate and challenges. Savvy IT leaders in SMEs know better than to dismiss them. Gaining support and buy-in from everyone makes IT programmes far easier to land and increases the chance of willing and consistent organisation-wide adoption, which is key to achieve the predicted benefits. Colleagues may be concerned about disruption, project resources, skills and staffing, security during the deployment, governance of off-site systems, or hidden costs.

Working through risks and objections to make sure everything has been foreseen and factored in is critical to the success of any SME cloud project. We’ve worked with many different types of organisations, so we understand the kinds of challenges and drivers that IT leaders are working with as they seek to make cloud migrations happen. Our Cloud Transformation for SMEs eBook steps through these key real-world issues and recommends tactics to address objections and articulate benefits, based on our experience of supporting SMEs across a range of sectors.

Moving to the cloud can be a resource-intensive and multi-faceted programme, especially if you intend to bring all your systems on board and potentially upgrade or introduce new digital capabilities and applications. But you don’t have to migrate and enhance everything all at once. The key is to understand where you’ll gain the most benefit and to prioritise your cloud investment carefully.

Moving to cloud computing is so much easier with a trusted partner

If you can find a cloud partner with a real-world, commercially intelligent approach, they can work with you to understand your priorities and assess what you can achieve with the resources and systems you already have. They can help you map a path to your ideal cloud state, including dependencies and pre-requisites. This will make moving to the cloud manageable, reducing risks and enabling colleagues to understand the positive impact.

Cloud really is for you – when you have a partner that’s willing to listen rather than using an out-of-the-box, one size fits all approach. The cloud team at Six Degrees has developed a practical and achievable route to cloud transformation, based on working with many SMEs who want the robust and agile capabilities of enterprise organisations but need to achieve it with fewer resources and smaller budgets. The Six Degrees approach aligns with Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework, which is proven guidance and best practices that help you adopt the cloud and achieve your desired outcomes with confidence.

Download our free cloud transformation for SME eBook, Let’s Get Real with Cloud Transformation – a practical approach to meet your SME’s needs, to find out more about launching your project successfully and using cloud to improve your organisation’s competitiveness and efficiency. Or get in touch to arrange a discussion about how Six Degrees can help you get into the cloud in the way that’s right for your SME organisation.