Coordinating data is always a good idea, but too many companies still shy away from aggregating their information because they’re not sure 1) why it’s a good idea or 2) how to do it.
What they don’t know is 1) their aggregated data holds infinitely more actionable business intelligence than when it’s segregated across systems, and 2) a hybrid cloud configuration can unleash that capacity without eroding existing IT investments. Ergo, what these organizations need to know before leaping into the cloud computing universe is 1) their competition is already doing it, and 2) there are helpers out there for both the transition and the resulting unified corporate functionality!
Microsoft’s SharePoint 19 Maximizes Hybrid Computing Capacities
By now, your enterprise may have already invested in SharePoint Online, so you already know how integral it’s become to your company’s operations. Or, perhaps you’ve acquired a SharePoint Server and are enjoying the myriad of Microsoft programs within your existing enterprise IT environment. The release of SharePoint 19 is the perfect opportunity to hybrid your on-prem and online services into a single, homogeneous computing network that multiplies the benefits of both systems.
There are many benefits available when accessing a hybrid on-prem/cloud computing configuration, but two main attributes stand out:
1) You preserve the best of your existing on-prem IT assets.
After years in business, you’ve invested strategically in an IT and programming infrastructure that is tuned uniquely to your company’s needs. Ditching it all for a strictly cloud-based option also ditches both those investments and the stability they’ve provided for your organization’s growth.
A hybrid configuration maintains your existing libraries and functions while marrying them to cloud-based IT wizardry. The cloud capacities convert the disparate data styles into a single searchable format, then organizes it to optimize its usability. Cloud-based programs and services can now analyze your data and systems to glean deeper insights into how your business runs (or should run).
2) You gain the best that the cloud has to offer
Maintaining core corporate functionality in the cloud also opens up organizational opportunities that can’t be matched by your on-prem systems.
- The single, homogeneous data pool provides a single site of control over all your digital environments, regardless of their locations. You can set rules, policies, and standards for each individual element within your company, then monitor adherence to those from the same site. That means you don’t have to spend the resources necessary to apply or monitor them in each separate department or location, either.
- The hybrid configuration also empowers your workforce to do their best work from wherever they are, whether that’s in the next office or on the other side of the planet. Because cloud computing automatically synchronizes both desktop and mobile applications, your digital assets are accessible to your staff regardless of where they are working on any given day. And their remote data feeds to common databases, too, with no added patches or programs needed to facilitate that critical function.
- You also gain the signature flexibility for scale and innovation on the cloud side that is not available on the on-prem side. Your hybrid SharePoint services can scale up or down when you need more or less resources, making it an ideal solution for companies that have fluctuating seasonal demands. Additionally, your SharePoint services provider does all the updating, upgrading and maintenance on the cloud side, so you always have that support and assistance available. In today’s astonishingly competitive markets, where technology needs to modify on an almost daily basis, that level of intelligent support and partnership is an invaluable asset that you can’t get from your on-prem system.
The hybrid cloud can elevate your enterprise beyond what your on-prem servers can do.
