Malcolm Mason, Professional Services Consultant – Cloud and Data at Sure Business, explores how technology is changing the digital landscape
As technology has now become a vital extension of the user, almost every business has transformed into a technology business to some extent.
This is, in part, due to the enormous number of applications and data that businesses rely on, and how we empower our employees, partners, and customers to use them.
With data proliferating at a prodigious rate, innovative new solutions using cloud technology have been created to adapt to this changing landscape. Here are just some of the latest developments we at Sure Business have noticed.
The post-pandemic effect
Perhaps the most obvious consideration is the changing work landscape. Where previously ICT firms were primarily tasked with kitting out offices with the latest tools and technologies, we now accommodate team members working from anywhere, be that in the office, on the move, or at home.
The pandemic has meant that the way we use cloud technology has needed to evolve and adapt quickly to meet this changing landscape.
This has also had a material impact on security, which has driven a shift in how intellectual property is protected from a user, access mechanism, and data perspective.
This relationship is indicative of every company’s need to become technology focused. While some firms may implement cloud solutions in a ‘DIY manner’, others will simply hire a provider to manage their cloud software.
Where Sure Business is unique is in our ability to provide a full-service ICT offering, ensuring our clients’ digital needs are met in full; relieving them of the need to run their technology and focus on running their business.
Cloud solutions are no longer ubiquitous
Where businesses could once apply any cloud solution to achieve its aims where there were fewer moving parts, this is no longer the case.
The critical need to drive technology solutions with security, policy, and governance at its core is ever more important to protect businesses’ intellectual property.
The increasing capabilities of the hyperscale cloud offerings are enabling business to drive increased value from applications and data through sheer breadth and depth of services available and their interoperability.
Solutions once thought of as state-of-the-art can be achieved through combining available services in single hyperscale solutions without additional vendor software or even leaving the cloud platform.
Hyperscale cloud solutions now provide end-to-end capabilities that the boutique firms simply don’t have the resources to offer. This is why Sure Business partners with major tech providers such as Microsoft and Mimecast to ensure our clients get the best service possible.
Some factors to consider with a cloud strategy
The ability to enforce both regulatory and policy requirements is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’; these are increasingly being embedded into hyperscale solutions.
Simplicity, ease of use, interoperability and cost are critical, but the human cost should never be underestimated. Organisation and technical measures to control how applications and data are used, by whom, how, when and where are essential to protect intellectual property.
The value of data should never be underestimated. The current impetus is on simplicity, cost, ease of use, auditability and, most importantly, security.
Personal and professional data has become too valuable and could potentially become cripplingly costly – due to reputation-associated revenue risk, risk of regulatory fines, and risk of ransomware – to not keep it as secure as possible using the latest cloud technology.
We at Sure Business have invested heavily in offshore private and public cloud platforms, keeping all our customers’ data in an environment where it is highly protected against the threatsfrom cyber criminals.
Find out more
To find out more about cloud solutions and how we can help your business, get in touch at contactus@sure.com
• This advertising feature was first published in the Trends and Disruptors Edition of Businesslife magazine in October 2022