By Homer Enriquez, Tyco Kantech hattrix North American Sales Manager, Johnson Controls
Replacing on-premise software solutions with cloud-based technology can help businesses establish and maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. This is because cloud-based solutions provide the most effective computing infrastructure based on financing, flexibility, reliability, scalability and security.

The inherent benefits produced by cloud-computing has created a trend where a growing number of CFOs and CIOs are actively investing in a cloud strategy that can support several business outcomes including lower risk, greater efficiency, improved productivity and business agility.

Drivers causing the shift to cloud computing
There are several factors that are driving the shift to cloud. Businesses believe that the current cost of traditional software is disproportionate to the value which it provides. Paying for software and infrastructure is now getting “pushback” in light of emerging cloud computing services and solutions.

In addition, lower risk businesses want a more tangible relationship between software’s benefit and its cost. The drive for reduced risk demands a greater predictability of the cost of ownership and associated ongoing maintenance costs of a business’s software solutions. Cloud computing also enhances operational sustainability strategies for critical infrastructure which is a growing concern when considering risk reduction on a deeper level.

Overall, cloud solutions support greater efficiency and often come with a more robust stable of feature sets, enhanced capabilities, all without software. Companies are often faced with intense pressure to reduce the cost of purchasing and maintenance of on-premise software solutions, which can quickly add up to four times the original capital cost. Since resources and labor are no longer needed to support old on-premise solutions once cloud computing is deployed, previously required labor and resources can be refocused on core business tasks.

Cloud technology promotes business agility. The value of solutions is no longer only determined by functionality, but also by ease-of-use, user experience, and being able to administer their cloud-based solution from anywhere. Now businesses can be anywhere, not tied to a desk and due to the current migration to digitalization and remote work, this is now a necessity.

The Components of Cloud Computing
As cloud computing becomes more prevalent, there is much discussion about how to define cloud computing as a computing model. Maturity models have been published and debated, and providers clearly have a model for their own products.

Initially, cloud computing was about the ability to save operational costs. This may or may not be the case and depends upon each business and their pain points. Today’s metrics which play a role in determining cloud computing’s value are:

• user experience
• ease of use
• capital expenditure reduction
• transference to operational costs
• cost savings
• risk reduction
• increase of productivity
• increase to efficiency
• business agility

When considering cloud technology, it is essential to calculate the actual cost savings that cloud computing can bring to your business. Businesses should not only figure out how much money can be saved, but how much it will cost to save that money and compare that to the cost associated with on-premise applications.

If you would like to discuss how cloud-based technology can provide your business with clearly defined benefits where your access control system is concerned, please contact Homer Enriquez at homer.enriquez@jci.com or click here to learn more about how the hattrix cloud access control platform can help your business become smarter and safer.

Defining Cloud Computing: https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-145/final