SMALL BUSINESS
GUIDE TO THE CLOUD

Investing in cloud data storage is an excellent option to keep your data safe and reduce used space within your network. Your information is secure in the cloud, and most of cloud storage providers perform regular backups. Investing in a cloud storage solution can save you time in the future. It is not necessary to invest in a huge or expensive plan, as a small business a bespoke 1TB plan can work perfectly fine.

Your system is not invulnerable, so you have to be ready for attacks, however unlikely they may seem. Investing in a disaster recovery plan is a must, mixed with advanced storage and backup strategies. In case of a technical disaster or if your business is compromised, you can activate your recovery process and keep your business running smoothly. It is demonstrated that 60% of all companies that suffer a data breach are forced into bankruptcy within six months.

As a small business owner, you need apps that help you manage your business easily. Here come the cloud based apps to the rescue. There are several free options for startups like Slack to keep communications with your team, Trello to follow up tasks or Google Calendars to make appointments. There are also subscription-based low budget options like Microsoft 365 or Zoom.

Public Cloud solutions

Public cloud, is one of the most reputable types of of cloud computing. It’s when users take advantage of the resources provided by a third party cloud service provider such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud,etc.

The public cloud option gives you everything from infrastructure resources such as servers and storage to the security and maintenance of your cloud system. Since it is managed by a third party company specializing in cloud services for a range of customers, a public cloud system is great for organizations that want more flexibility, cost-effectiveness and scalability in addition to the ability to take advantage of the latest releases of various technologies.

Depending on the needs of the customer, they can select the resources on which the tasks will run. For instance, a system administrator who wants to configure a sophisticated application can take advantage of an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) which contains cloud servers (EC2 instances on AWS for example) and can also utilise simple storage units as well (S3 on AWS for example). However, a developer who doesn’t have a huge knowledge about system administration can make good use of a Platform as s a Service (PaaS) which provides a platform for development with a pre-installed operating system and software prerequisites.

Companies such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are good examples of public cloud computing services.

When to Use Public Cloud

Public cloud is excellent for startups. It enables small business owners and enthustistic ones to kickstart their projects at a small scale and at a very low budget.

It's also very beneficial for team software development and other collaborative projects. Projects can be tested on the public cloud and moved to the private cloud for production. Cloud providers usually include computing resources as part of their plans.

Public cloud can go from a completely virtualized infrastructure giving you just processing power and storage that you can exploit to build your applications (IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service) to specialised software programs which are ready to use (SaaS: Software as a Service).

Pros

• High scalability
• Possible cost saving plans
• Shared responsibility in security and resource Management
• Cost reduction by paying only for the OpEX
• Disaster Recovery Plans over Countries and Continents is possible
• Reliability and flexibility
• The possibility to have a technical support from the service cloud provider
• It’s possible to migrate easily from one region (UK for example) to another region (US for example) or to duplicate business infrastructure for a better user experience.

Cons

• It’s not possible to have direct and physical access to resources (servers, storage)
• Security is a critical topic: Your data is hosted on someone else’s datacenter.
• Requires a good knowledge of cloud resource management.
• Can become a nightmare in cases of bad management.
• Requires an expert to create the optimal architecture for your business.

Private Cloud Solutions

A private cloud gives you complete control of all your cloud resources. A company that needs its own private resources can build its own private cloud at its headquarters. It becomes the single-tenant of the organization’s IT environment. Thus it doesn’t share its resources with other users and it relies only on the headquarter’s capacity to build its solutions.

This gives you access to a dedicated environment, where you can control access for you and your team.

Your team will be able to access, utilize and store data in your private cloud also from anywhere if necessary, just as in a public cloud. The big difference is that no one can have a physical access to these resources except for your team.

Among the many benefits of a private cloud is not being at risk of any sudden interruptions or changes by a third party, that can ultimately disturb the functionalities of your websites or disrupt your company’s entire infrastructure.

This may be the preferred solution for businesses with a required set of compliances and very strict regulatory requirements such as banks.

That being said, private clouds are increasingy used in many sectors, especially those related to financial discretion, healthcare or governmental sectors with secret data and classified files, etc.

OpenStack is a good example of open source cloud operating system that is largely used by companies to build their own public cloud infrastructures throughout their own datacenters

When to Use Private Cloud

A private cloud solution is an excellent choice for businesses when they need a high level of security and when they have critical data that should never leave the headquarters.

Having a private cloud can be more expensive than shared cloud solutions. It is your own dedicated space, so you have to maintain it. This means keeping up with all the software and infrastructure. If you need to scale up, (or down) add hardware or more storage, this will need to be done in-house or with an outsourced IT provider.

Pros

• High Level of Security can be reached
• A good performance while accessing the headquarters’ resources locally
• It’s possible to have direct and physical access to resources
• Your data can never leave your headquarters

Cons

• Not easily scalable
• High Availability is not easy to implement
• Expensive because of paying for the CapEX and the OpEX
• Time and Resource Consumption
• Maintenance
• Deployment and Support

Hybrid Cloud solutions

A hybrid cloud solution, as the name suggests uses both private and public clouds.

With a hybrid solution, your own IT department manages part of the cloud and the rest is managed off-site.

This combination is designed in a way that both platforms can interact without problems, and data and apps run easily from one to another.

Hybrid cloud has two types of architecture:

The first one is known as Cloud burst where you use private cloud as primary cloud for store and run all your apps from a secure environment. But when the demand increases, you can start using public cloud, so you won’t have to invest in new servers or infrastructure.

A hybrid multi-cloud approach can offer optimal visibility, flexibility and customer service, as well as financial efficiency. It may involve consolidating systems and migrating data.The difficulty of this task depends on the cloud provider. Many small cloud and SaaS providers are recognising the huge sales potential of easy migration.

When to Use Hybrid Cloud

A Hybrid cloud solution is an excellent choice for businesses that need to combine the advantages of both private cloud and public cloud .

For example, a bank needs to keep all the critical data related to clients highly secure (such as the credit card credentials and login to bank account credentials). However, this bank needs to archive all the non-critical data of the previous 10 years related to accounting, employees vacations and bank social activities, etc as a requirement of compliance. The bank can take advantage of the public cloud cheap storage to archive 10 years of non-critical data. At the same time, it can keep the critical data in the headquarters by using it only on the private cloud.

Furthermore, a hybrid cloud system is perfect for a business that needs to manage business-related data (such as customer files) in house but wants to store less-sensitive information with a third party.

Cons


• Not always easy to Implement
• Capital Expenditure CapEx and (Operational Expenditure) OpEx
• Security Concerns due to 3rd Party Involvement
• Compatibility and Data Integration
• Visibility



A more cost-effective model for large and growing organisations is the multi-cloud model, which combines services from many public cloud providers and may include private clouds as well. Hosted software as a service (SaaS) products can be part of a multi-cloud model, too. According to the Nutanix study, multi-cloud is now the most commonly deployed IT environment, with adoption expected to jump from 36% to 64% in the next three years.

Backup as a Service (BaaS)

Backup as a service (BaaS) is when you buy backup and recovery services from an online data backup provider. Instead of performing backup on you computer or with your in house IT department.

BaaS connects systems to a private, public or hybrid cloud. It is a way to securely store all of your business digital data. Data is backed up to remote storage units, which are located in offsite data centers that are climate controlled, with alternate power supplies and 24/7/365 system security maintenance and monitoring.

Examples of BaaS solutions providers

Acronis, Barracuda, Synology, Wasabi, Carbonite, MozyEnterprise, SOS Online Backup, Vembu and Zetta.net.

When to Use BaaS

With BaaS, you will have an efficient way to access and restore your data.

BaaS can be the best option for;

• Startups or small companies
• Short-term large storage option
• Datasets that aren’t critical and which need huge storage capacity
• Archiving data for a long period

Benefits of Backup as a Service

• BaaS can be configured as automated. It’s not necessary to keep a close track on the backups. You just have to schedule the backups and tag the information that you need to save.
• Data is secure from attacks and disasters. BaaS providers offer data encryption.
• BaaS is affordable for small business, you don’t have to invest in servers, nor SSD or tapes. Your information can be safe under a professional IT team.

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service is when your cloud service provider manages your infrastructure for you. This mean your entire “hardware” infrastructure (hard drive disk, servers, etc) will be virtual.

Your employees can connect to your virtual infrastructure by using a CLI or a cloud management console, so this is a great option for “bring your own device” policies because it offers security to your information and network. Also it can be good for companies that handle sensitive data.

The cloud service provider takes care of the compute resources that you will use (Servers, storage units, networking equipements) in addition to the cooling system of the datacenter and the redundant power supply.

Examples of IaaS solutions providers

• Amazon Web Services: Servers (EC2 Instances), Storage (S3, EBS)
• Microsoft Azure: Azure Virtual Machine
• DigitalOcean: Servers (Droplets)

When to Use IaaS

IaaS is a great tool for companies with telecommuters or “bring your own device” policies because it offers a secure platform that can be accessed on any Internet connected device. It also a great tool for companies with lots of sensitive data. For example, medical offices and healthcare analytics companies will often use specialized Virtual Desktop software to better meet strict HIPPA guidelines.

Just as with SaaS and PaaS, there are specific situations when IaaS is most advantageous.

• Startups and small companies may prefer IaaS to avoid spending time and money on purchasing and building hardware.
• Larger companies may prefer to retain complete control over their applications, they have system administration experts and they just need the infrastructure on which they will build their own sophisticated solutions.
• Companies experiencing rapid growth or seasonal drastic peaks of traffic (like christmas) need for the scalability of IaaS in order to satisfy the excessive needs of clients at rush hour.

Anytime you are unsure of a new application’s demands, IaaS offers plenty of flexibility and scalability.

Benefits of Infrastructure as a Service

• You will pay just for the resources used: PayGO (Pay As You Go). You can add more resources if needed but you won’t be wasting resources anytime.
• You can save time and money since most providers will offer you support in case of problems.
• You can optimize resource consumption by using available cost reduction plans.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform as a Service is an advanced version of IaaS. While the IaaS gives you access to an infrastructure, PaaS gives you access to a framework to build, test, deploy and manage software. It also provides you with everything you may need as data storage.

This type of cloud is mainly dedicated to developers who are intended to focus only on building their applications. PaaS paves the way for developers so they can start working directly on their tasks without struggling with installation or system administration issues

Examples of PaaS solutions providers

AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Apache Stratos, Google App Engine, are some examples of PaaS, Heroku, Force.com, OpenShift

When to Use PaaS

Utilizing PaaS is beneficial, sometimes even necessary, in several situations. For example, PaaS can streamline workflows when multiple developers are working on the same development project. If other vendors must be included, PaaS can provide great speed and flexibility to the entire process. PaaS is particularly beneficial if you need to create customized applications.

This cloud service also can greatly reduce costs and it can simplify some challenges that come up if you are rapidly developing or deploying an app.

PaaS can be the best option for;

• Startups or small companies that need to launch e-commerce quickly
• Startups who don’t have time for troubleshooting server issues or short-term projects that require quick, easy, and affordable collaboration
• Startups with lack of expertise in system administration

Benefits of Platform as a Service

• PaaS can make software development easier even for non experts. This is thanks to their click and drop systems.
• The PaaS platform is upgraded and updated automatically so there’s no need to worry about it.
• It can be used from different developers in different locations at the same time.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is one of the most popular options for using cloud.

Software as a service (SaaS /sæs/) is the model that permits the users to take advantage of ready-to-use software without worrying about its infrastructure or how it was developed.

SaaS is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet. Today, most major software companies are transitioning to the SaaS.

These software are usually mobile apps or apps that can be used on browsers. All the updates are automatically set on the site, so the user doesn’t have to be worried about it.

You are probably already using a SaaS tool and may already be using some on the list below.

Examples of SaaS solutions providers

SaaS examples: BigCommerce, Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, MailChimp, ZenDesk, DocuSign, Slack, Hubspot.

Popular examples of SaaS include:

• Google Workspace (formerly GSuite)
• Dropbox
• Salesforce
• Cisco WebEx
• SAP Concur
• GoToMeeting

Instead of architecting the adequate infrastructure, building the application from scratch and updating the software, you simply access a ready-to-use application via the Internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware management.

When to Use SaaS

All-in-One solutions like Office365 or Google’s G-Suite are excellent examples of SaaS. Usually these applications can be free, but they are limited. So you have to join a plan to enjoy the full benefits.

SaaS can be the best option for;

• Startups or small companies that need to launch ecommerce quickly and don’t have time for server issues or software
• Short-term projects that require quick, easy, and affordable collaboration
• Business Email Solutions
• File Sharing and Collaboration Software
• Productivity Tools (such as word processors, slideshow builders, and spreadsheets)
• Calendar Coordination
• Unified Communication Software

Benefits of Software as a Service

• Most SaaS options provide you with a free plan, and others offer you a free trial. This is an advantage so you can actually test the software and check if it is good for you.
• You don’t have to worry about the updates. These are done automatically and you won’t get charge for them, not even if you are using the free version.
• These applications can be use on several different devices. You can simply bring your own device.
• You won’t need an IT engineer to start running the application. These apps are easy to use.

Backing up to the Public Cloud

One way to store organizational workloads is by duplicating resources in the public cloud. This method entails writing data directly to cloud providers, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. The organisation can use its own backup software to create the data copy to send to the cloud storage service. The cloud storage service then provides the destination and safekeeping for the data, but it does not specifically provide a backup application. In this scenario, it is important that the backup software is capable of interfacing with the cloud’s storage service API. Additionally, with public cloud options, IT professionals may need to look into supplemental data protection procedures.

When to backup to the Public Cloud

Backing up to the cloud is mainly used to save non critical data or archives related to the business of the company. Instead of buying several costly devices with many Terabytes of storage for old data , it’s better to rent the storage units at a minimal price from a service cloud provider

Backing up to a service provider.

In this scenario, an organisation writes data to a backup service provider that offers backup services in a managed data center. The backup software that the company uses to send its data to may support specific commercially-available backup applications.

When to backup to service provider

In case when the startup doesn’t want to subscribe to the services of a cloud service provider, relying on backup service providers is a good option.

Choosing a cloud-to-cloud (C2C) backup.

These services are among the newest offerings in the cloud backup arena. They specialize in backing up data that already lives in the cloud, either as data created using a software as a service (SaaS) application or as data stored in a cloud backup service. As its name suggests, a cloud-to-cloud backup service copies data from one cloud to another cloud. The cloud-to-cloud backup service typically hosts the software that handles this process.

When to backup to the Public Cloud

For big companies that want to achieve the best status of high availability and who want to take in consideration the outage of an entire cloud service provider in their disaster recovery plans, backing up data to the resources of another cloud service provider is a good option.

Online cloud backup systems

There are also hardware alternatives that facilitate backing up data to a cloud backup service. These appliances are all-in-one backup machines that include backup software and disk capacity along with the backup server. The appliances are about as close to plug-and-play as backup gets, and most of them also provide a seamless (or nearly so) link to one or more cloud backup services or cloud providers.

The list of vendors that offer backup appliances that include cloud interfaces is long, with Quantum, Synology, QNAP, Unitrends, Arcserve, Rubrik, Cohesity, Dell EMC, StorageCraft and Asigra active in this arena. These appliances typically retain the most recent backups locally, in addition to shipping it to the cloud backup provider, so that any required recoveries can be made from the local backup copy, saving time and transmission costs.

When to backup to the Public Cloud

Online backup solutions are always a great option for small companies. Small businesses have always many thing to struggle for. This is the reason why an easy to useonline cloud backup system can help business owners to gain time and to focus on more critical tasks.

Migrate Applications

Migrating applications requires a complete audit so you have a total overview of your business data. Before moving a software application from one environment to another, identify any issues, and plan for backups and recovery service levels.

Procedures may vary from business to business, depending on the type and use of data. For example, a legal or financial firm won’t have the same needs as a media agency.

Your IT provider or in house team will identify the different factors as part of the migration effort so your migrations and the infrastructure transitions go smoothly.

After the migration, keep evaluating your processes and efficiency.

Migrate Users, Email and Files to Microsoft 365

Moving your business to Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)

This includes the migration of emails and files with the least amount of disruption and no data loss.

You could be using an older non-cloud version of Microsoft Office, or a completely different collaboration solution that is not fit for purpose anymore and you need to be very cautious during the migration process. Even between different versions of the same software, some fundamental features are not aligned. Microsoft 365 is a foundation for business workflow automation and collaboration and setting it up “wrong” can cause you much grief and re-arrangement efforts later.

Knowing the flow of departmental and cross-matrix teams of users is key to aligning a structure to share files, messaging, team collaborations and intranet sites that will best suit your organisational needs.

As said earlier, every business is different and procedures may vary, a legal firm won’t have the same needs as a creative agency, for example.