The Microsoft Cloud has been helping businesses for over a decade now, and yet there are still many more organisations who have yet to embrace cloud computing fully. We spoke to a number of tech companies about the cloud, and the consensus is that most businesses are probably already using it in at least one area of their organisation, but migrating fully to the cloud can do a lot of good. One of the companies we spoke to, a Microsoft Partner that provides managed IT services London businesses use to outsource their tech needs, told us about the top applications of the Microsoft Cloud.
What is the Microsoft Cloud
Lots of tech companies have their own public cloud, which will be supported by a global network of datacentres. This is precisely what Microsoft has, and within their cloud, they have built and deployed a wide array of products and services – this ecosystem of solutions is commonly referred to as the Microsoft Cloud. Examples of the products and services include Microsoft Azure (cloud services), Dynamics 365 (ERP & CRM capabilities), and Microsoft 365 (office productivity).
When we spoke to TechQuarters, the IT support company London businesses have partner with in the past, they told us about some the benefits their own clients have experienced from leveraging the Microsoft Cloud.
10 Ways the Microsoft Cloud Helps Businesses
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On-Demand Scalability
Thank to Microsoft Azure, businesses can build a highly scalable cloud infrastructure that can be adapted to the size and demand of the organisation with ease. Normally when businesses build on-premise infrastructures, they purchase just enough hardware and software needed for the configuration at the time – which means scaling up means additional work and investment. With the Cloud, however, scaling up one’s infrastructure can be completed in a matter of hours, with minimal costs incurred.
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Lower IT Overheads
All of the Microsoft Cloud products and services work on an access over ownership, pay as a you go model. This means that you pay for precisely what you use, and nothing more. This is a great way for a business to minimize their IT overheads. As mentioned in the previous point, the overheads associated with scaling up one’s service or product usage are much lower with the Microsoft Cloud, because of the fact that you only pay for what you use, and also because of how quick and easy it is (you won’t be spending too much billable time on it).
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Office Productivity
One of the things that TechQuarters mentioned to us was that Microsoft 365 boosts office productivity. With years of Office 365 consulting for various businesses, TechQuarters have seen first-hand how the Office apps facilitates productivity through more efficient communication and collaboration. For example, Microsoft Teams unifies chat, videoconferencing, and telephony into a single platform, which simplifies communications. As well as this, the Office apps are all integrated with each other – so, for example, you can create documents and spreadsheets directly within Teams, or save a document directly to OneDrive.
Windows 10 and 11, which are both included in Microsoft 365, have some excellent productivity features, as well. For instance, the Task View and Virtual Desktop features allow users to organise their desktops more effectively.
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Backup and Disaster Recovery
Data protection is a huge priority for businesses nowadays. Between the industry regulations that businesses must comply with, and the risk of cyberattack that threatens all businesses, it is impossible for a business not to operate without robust data protection solutions. Luckily, Microsoft Azure makes processes like Data Backup and Disaster Recovery a lot more streamlined, thanks to features like single-click backup support.
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Industry Applications
Microsoft Cloud offers businesses a lot of unique industry applications. For instance, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Azure offer a wide varieties of unique applications that help businesses in different ways. For example, Microsoft 365 Compliance Manager helps businesses keep on top of the regulations in their sector. In Azure, you have a wide range of products – such as Azure Digital Twin, an Internet of Things platform which is geared towards industries like manufacturing.