Cloud technology shouldn’t be a privilege of large companies only. SMBs can save a lot, too…”
The pandemic has shown that “home office” is a considerable option for many workplaces that were previously seen as on-site only. Even today, some managers stick to the attitude that not being present in the office equals skipping work.
This comes from an outdated mindset, especially nowadays when all the technological solutions are available, allowing us to work smoothly, regardless of whether one is sitting in the office, in a coffee shop or at home.
„As we could see, in the beginning of the pandemic many companies had to face difficulties because they haven’t ever thought about the possibility of their employees working from home,” said Zsolt Fábián, CEO of Hallenbeck IT Services. “These companies still worked by the principle of acknowledging only colleagues who sit physically in the office.”
He pointed out that the fast-changing conditions due to COVID-19 resulted in the IT infrastructure suddenly becoming scarce for several businesses. He mentioned that they met companies that used to have a maximum of 3-5 users working on the corporate VPN, while during the lockdown not less than 80-120 people had to be served by the same technological solution. No wonder it caused serious issues.
„The existing infrastructure was blocked. At the same time, we also noticed that those who had already switched to the Cloud previously, found it easier to get through this extraordinary situation. Everyone was aware of their own responsibilities and opportunities” – he added.
“We received feedback from several clients being grateful for pushing them into this direction earlier, because if this had not happened, their business could easily have been broken.”
Companies that had not yet switched to Cloud-based operation had to overcome many difficulties. Even though managers tried to deploy fast development, due to the sudden surge in demand they simply couldn’t manage to find either hardware, or the experts for the setup.
What does convince a CEO about the benefits of the Cloud?
A huge advantage of Cloud-based technologies is that each company needs only as much of it as it uses indeed. There’s no need to buy expensive server machines, only to have them sit unused in the office corner for most of the time. The essence of the Cloud is that you can dynamically change the capacity to serve the current projects and the employees. As soon as a project comes to an end, it all can be scaled down, and then expanded again next time when needed.
„In accelerated situations like the emergence of the coronavirus, managers tend to rush and usually look for whatever kind of solutions. No matter what it is, it only has to work immediately before tons of money go to waste” – explained Zsolt Fábián. “The problem is that by this approach they cause unnecessary expenses because they pay too much either out of haste, or to cover a so-called urgency premium.
Going for Cloud, combined with thinking forward and flexibility to learn is effective because no physical devices must be purchased. At the same time, in case of an emergency everyone knows what to use, how to use it, and what to expect from the system.
Unfortunately, today eighty out of a hundred CEOs in Hungary do not even know the concept of the Cloud. They cannot live up to its potential. In addition, it is also a common matter that many consider this technology to be the privilege of large companies, even though Cloud solutions are also available for SMBs. In fact, it truly is an ideal choice for SMBs, since they get access to a professional IT infrastructure for a fraction of their previous costs.
According to the specialist, not being prepared is a serious problem for domestic companies. Hungarian CEOs often don’t think systematically, their only focus is to somehow save on expenses. The lack of long-term planning is also a roadblock; because of this, developments are driven by the intention to survive current issues instead of concentrating on the future.
„It is often a problem that CEOs exclude certain items from the budget like education. If they sat with us to review how much it would actually cost, they could save a lot of time and money in the future.” says Zsolt Fábián. “In such cases, we always ask, how much would it hurt if we were to take the printer away now? The usual answer is “Very much” because then they wouldn’t be able to print documents. Or if the internet were to go down, how much would it hurt? What would happen if the server running the webshop stopped?
With questions like these we usually manage to shed light on the risks taken by not working in a remote, professionally prepared IT environment. Not to mention that let’s say, a server would cost HUF 1 million, but if there is an error, the CEO easily pays HUF 2 million for it, saying that it needs to be fixed quickly and there is no time to browse among the offers. To this, we are used to say that instead, for HUF 70,000 per month, the virtual server in the Cloud can be secured, so for the same cost you can forget about the problems and costs associated with the operation of the IT infrastructure for an entire year and a half.
“We even met an accounting office that insisted on a thousand-year-old technology so much that in the end, they had to say goodbye to accounting forever, because due to a two week long virus attack, thousands of employees could not submit their tax returns on time.
He pointed out that companies voting for modern technology make a wise decision simply because continuous operation is ensured in a data center, even in case of an emergency.
„Once we were contacted when a company suddenly discovered that there hadn’t been electricity on their site for 72 hours,” said Zsolt Fábián. “They didn’t count on this possibility at all, so their server simply stopped, which caused a significant financial loss. This can also be traced back to the lack of consultation with a specialist.”
Obviously, one doesn’t need to be a system engineer or an IT specialist to see that: modern infrastructure is now a fundamental asset of the operation of any company, regardless of the given company operates in the construction or hospitality industry or in the financial sector. These days, the flow of information, data access and corporate mailing are indispensable, even in non-pandemic times.
With its IT solutions and extensive experience, Hallenbeck can provide effective support to all domestic businesses, whether it be about Cloud infrastructure, data privacy, operation, or supporting remote teamwork.
Even more than that; they provide trainings to help companies establish an up-to-date mindset and operate in a more cost-effective way.
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