Much has been written about the rapid acceleration of cloud adoption, undoubtedly driven by the pandemic and the need for remote access to applications and services critical to business continuity. The closure of offices worldwide may have shone a light on the importance of cloud services, yet they have been on the radar of many companies since before COVID-19 made its dramatic appearance.
According to IDC, the Q1 spend on computer and storage products for cloud infrastructure, including dedicated and shared environments, increased 12.5% year on year to $15.1 billion this year. Cloud infrastructure spending is forecast to grow 12.9% to $74.6 billion for 2021 overall. Businesses are gradually finding their way around the new cloud environments, investigating the possibilities, and working out what works for them.
The outstanding economic benefits of cloud — its flexibility and cost-effectiveness — are transforming the way in which organizations consider their investment in operational processes. The cloud is at their service — enabling pay-as-you-need business models where requirements can be scaled up or down as needed. The reliability of today’s cloud connections, with close to zero downtime, ultra-low latency and multiple points of access, is bringing the “as-a-service” option firmly to the forefront of the market.
Infrastructure, communications platforms — including programmable communications — and software can all be delivered as a predictable costed service. Key to the efficiency of all these is the reliability and security of cloud connections. BICS’ global network underpins these services, with direct connections to the leading cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and IBM SoftLayer.
A key area for growth is the migration of telecom services to the cloud, particularly for companies looking to create global footprints. A virtual telecommunications service hosted in the cloud means there is no longer the requirement for expensive on-premises equipment, or the associated maintenance and upgrade costs. There is however a crucial area that can be overlooked in the migration planning process, and that is regulatory compliance.
Governments globally are conducting deeper investigations into cloud platforms to ensure users’ protection and safety. Regulations differ around the world, and it is essential to understand and integrate the requirements at the very beginning to ensure all virtual numbers are immediately compliant. With our extensive experience in cloud telephony, BICS guides and supports customers through the migration process.
Our whitepaper on cloud communications and regulatory compliance can be downloaded here and provides an overview.
The cloud, with its lower costs, greater productivity, and increased flexibility, is there to be leveraged to the benefit of all businesses. The full potential can only be realized, however, with the right technology, expertise, and support in place to fully exploit the transformational effect that cloud services can deliver.
