Dear Data-Diligent Reader,

Chief Financial Officers typically care about three things when it comes to assessing new investments in IT.  They are:  1) Speed, 2) Focus and 3) Affordability.   I know this first hand! The key is to understand how replacing your current server and/or PC data protection processes with a cloud storage solution would address these three areas of concern.

In today’s economic environment, every spending proposal needs to have solid justification.  Often just speaking about a shift to a “pay-as-you-go” model is enough to get the CFO’s attention.  But the appeal of cloud storage extends beyond its financial benefits.  Here are three key benefits companies are realizing today when adopting cloud storage:

Focus: Companies want to focus on their core competencies, and outsource the rest to experts.  Are you still doing your own payroll?  Using a cloud storage provider allows your IT department to focus on projects that drive the business, such as customer service or e-commerce applications.  And cloud storage providers have the expertise to optimize their operations for better efficiencies.

Speed: How often have you been involved in IT projects that took longer than expected?  Chances are your CFO has felt the same pain.  Quick ROI is everything, and when it comes to competing for funding, decisions are being made about when companies can expect to see valuable returns for their investments.  This theme is a key one driving the adoption of cloud computing today.

Affordability: In addition to the “pay-as-you-go” model, cloud storage is appealing because it offers flexibility.  As a company you aren’t paying up front, predicting your storage requirements and investing in the hardware and software to support those requirements.  Instead you pay for what you use.  As you scale or reduce your demand.

With capital at a premium, and companies looking for faster returns from their investments, another appeal of cloud storage services is that they typically can be funded from the Operating Expense (OpEx) budget, without sunken Capital Expenditures (“CAPEX”).  This approach allows you to match the cost of the service to the period in which it is consumed.

If you aren’t already outsourcing your data backup and recovery, then its time you took a look at the cloud storage model.  Today’s solutions can provide you and your company with the technical functionality to protect your data better than you can probably do it in-house, with none of the headaches.  The 1-2-3 message of “Focus + Speed + Affordability” is often enough to cause any company to evaluate cloud storage. 

Data Mountain has been providing world-class cloud storage solutions since 2003, through our service partner, Iron Mountain Digital, and we truly understand what it takes to securely protect corporate information in the cloud.  Contact us to learn more if you think we may be able to help you.

We would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment below!

Tags: data protection services, data security, disaster recovery, HIPAA Security Law, The HITECH Act
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Bob Chaput wrote this blog. Bob is president of Data Mountain LLC, a data security, disaster recovery and data protection services firm. Data Mountain specializes in helping Covered Entities and Business Associates assure they are compliant with the Contingency Plan Standard of the HIPAA Security Law and The HITECH Act.

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Bob Chaput wrote this blog. Bob is president of Data Mountain LLC, a data security, disaster recovery and data protection services firm. Data Mountain specializes in helping Covered Entities and Business Associates assure they are compliant with the Contingency Plan Standard of the HIPAA Security Law and The HITECH Act.