3 Reasons To Migrate to the Cloud
3 Reasons To Migrate to the Cloud
The invention of network-based computing dates back to the 1960s, but cloud services as we know them now is largely credited back to 2006 when former Google CEO Eric Schmidt introduced the term at an industry conference.
For many of those who had already been part of the tech world, the cloud wasn’t exactly new, but to the average consumer, it was groundbreaking. After the release of the first iPhone in 2007, “the cloud” exploded as this foreign, fascinating thing no one understood, with “Where is the cloud?” being the number one asked question.
Fast forward to 2019 and the cloud is a known quantity among consumers, even those who don’t consider themselves technologically knowledgeable. Gartner predicts through 2025 the market size and growth of the cloud services industry will be nearly four times the growth of overall IT services.
SaaS (software-as-a-Service), in particular, is expected to grow over 50 percent in the next three years, as more than 30 percent of technology providers will shift to cloud-only offerings, according to Gartner. There are reasons to migrate to the cloud and for many organizations migrating to the cloud makes sense, with many companies already deploying a hybrid approach of on-premise and cloud. Even the social media platforms we use every day use the cloud. The most common reasons we find the cloud to be so appealing includes:
- No infrastructure to set-up or maintain
- Lower and more predictable costs
- Fewer IT staff to manage
- Easy and ubiquitous access
Security and Access Control
Manage and automate user permissions, file rights and privileges. Keep audit trails, guarantee NIST, ITAR, NERC/CIP compliance, and prevent file misuse.
1. Security is not your problem
A massive benefit of using a cloud service is that security is largely, or fully, the concern of the provider. For the cloud providers, security is a critical mission element and substantial resources are applied to maintaining the most up-to-date protections and processes. It is hard to think that in-house IT departments have both the same focus and resources to maintain the same or better level of security. People lose their jobs at cloud providers if there is a breach or vulnerability, often this is not true for corporate IT departments.
Being web-based is highly secure with a strong firewall provided by a legitimate providers, e.g., Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle, etc. Big companies with both substantial resources and intense motivations to ensure they attract new customers and retain existing ones.
Engine-Box.com, our purely cloud-based workflow and document management system, uses leading technology with commercial grade security provided by AWS. It is both NIST and ITAR compliant. For those companies dealing with the government , eQuorum also offers a version of Engine-Box on AWS’ GovCloud, a FEDRAMP and DFARS compliant platform.
Cloud migration strategies are the methods used to move applications, data, and other business elements from an on-premises data center to the cloud. The 7Rs is a popular framework that organizations use to assess their current IT infrastructure and determine the best cloud migration strategy.
2. Automatic updates save you time and effort
Smaller businesses are often tight on time and money, with much of both spent on installing or overseeing software updates. Updates can often be time consuming, with an estimate of businesses spending over 100 hours each month tackling installation and update issues.
We’ve all been there trying to update our computers with the latest software, just to watch the estimated time go from three minutes to three days, or just failing. The frustration is something we all feel and have in common, especially for those who don’t understand why it’s taking so long or how to fix it.
With a cloud provider you don’t need to be a tech wiz if you come across update problems. You can count on someone else to take care of it for you. Because it’s easier for the providers to reach their customer base, more frequent, and better tested updates become available. eQuorum updates its Cloud system, Engine-Box.com, providing new and valuable features to every user.
It’ll take longer than the next three years for the engineering industry to become a truly cloud-based society, but the massive jump we’re seeing from strictly on-premise to purely cloud-based, or hybrid, shows we’re only moving forward from here. Now is the perfect time to start thinking about the future of your business and how to best meet your growing needs.
3. Scaling becomes easier
A big upside to the cloud is the ability to quickly increase computing resources, including CPUs, storage capacities and device types, and graphic/visualization capabilities. For example, a start-up won’t need as much storage to begin with, but over time the need for storage increases as a business takes on new customers, clients, and projects, while established companies already have a greater need.
With the cloud, you can scale up your computing power as needed, accommodating temporary spikes in data or permanent increases, or easily scale down if needed. The ability to scale can be implemented in a matter of minutes, whereas it used to take days or weeks. This provides customers with better system response and better user experiences.The addition of virtual servers for graphics rendering, high resource computations, and large file transfers gives organizations greater computing performance. Large files, for instance, greater than 10 or 25 megabyte used to cause system headaches, now files over 1 gigabyte can be managed without bringing the application to its knees.
eQuorum’s scalability gives companies a clear and easy to implement path for adding files, even large files, for quicker rendering, especially for 3D models, and faster synchronization between the cloud and local computers or tablets.
Scale Your Business Effortlessly With a Cloud Document Management System
One benefit of the Cloud that is commonly overlooked is that scaling a SaaS-based system is easy. Comparatively, scaling an on-premise system can take a lot of time and can directly impact your company’s bottom line. While this should not dissuade you from using an on-premise system there are a number of areas in which SaaS systems excel.
Cloud EDMS Features
Our EDMS solutions
ImageSite and EngineBox are eQuorum’s robust workflow and document management solutions, created to help workers manage their essential workflows while maintaining complete control over their engineering files and documents. Not only do they provide a secure collaboration site for workers, but they also help organizations manage document distribution with third parties like vendors, contractors, and customers. Both systems are offered at a competitive price, enabling organizations to get a quick return on their investment by providing the features and functionality needed to help organizations improve efficiency, productivity, and collaboration. Companies can choose from concurrent user subscriptions or named user subscriptions, ensuring organizations have subscription options that make sense for their business.
ImageSite®
Our single source engineering workflow and document management system. Built in HTML5 so there is no software to deploy to client computers or mobile apps to download. Offered as an On-premise or Private Cloud system.
Our EDMS solutions
ImageSite and EngineBox are eQuorum’s robust workflow and document management solutions, created to help workers manage their essential workflows while maintaining complete control over their engineering files and documents. Not only do they provide a secure collaboration site for workers, but they also help organizations manage document distribution with third parties like vendors, contractors, and customers. Both systems are offered at a competitive price, enabling organizations to get a quick return on their investment by providing the features and functionality needed to help organizations improve efficiency, productivity, and collaboration. Companies can choose from concurrent user subscriptions or named user subscriptions, ensuring organizations have subscription options that make sense for their business.
EngineBox™
EngineBox is a cloud based workflow and document management version of ImageSite that resides outside the corporate network.
The eQuorum Customer Promise
In 2005, eQuorum developed the first all browser-based EDMS. The system, although for on-premise use, was still created to remove client software and JAVA from user computers and allow users to have a single viewer based on the simple navigation functionality of browsers. Today, eQuorum provides that same application in a private Cloud or a SaaS Cloud option. We can do this because we are, and have always been, browser-based, understanding the enhanced speed, security, and usability of this technology.
With the abundance of document management systems on the market today, there’s no doubt that choosing the right Cloud document management software can be a difficult decision. eQuorum is here to provide a comprehensive, powerful, and most importantly – affordable Cloud document management solution. We believe in providing real value to our customers by eliminating unnecessary costs, providing industry-leading functionality, and equipping your team with the right tools using cutting edge technology to bring your products to market faster.
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eQuorum®
We specialize in engineering workflow and document management. Our comprehensive, yet easy-to-use software provides the solution to manage data from design to manufacturing and production, to sales, support and administration.