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Recent findings from Osterman Research has shown that while currently 62.6 percent of businesses use Exchange on-premises, only 39.4 percent plan to be using Exchange on-premise in two years. Conversely, only 19.6 percent of respondents said that they currently use Exchange Online in Office 365, while 47.2 percent intend to be using it within the next two years. In other words, businesses are ready for the cloud. 

So why are more businesses deciding to migrate to the cloud? 

Cheaper and easier to maintain: With no expensive on-premise hardware to maintain, automatic updates, and streamlined IT maintenance. 

Improved collaboration: Anyone who has been the unfortunate soul in charge of implementing an entire team’s Excel edits after everyone has made their own changes, some on paper, and then emailed them back when creating a report can vouch for SharePoint’s value. With SharePoint, everyone can make their edits live, which saves time, prevents obfuscation, and prevents your employees from causing bodily harm to each other. Well, maybe at least the first two. 

Data loss reduction: While many fear that the cloud is going to bring about Fahrenheit 451, the reality is that it’s going to prevent it. With the cloud, you don’t have to worry about your employees losing files after their kid drops their laptop, because their files are saved on the cloud.

 Streamlined natural disaster planning: After a natural disaster, getting to the office can be challenging, especially if there’s major damage to roads or employees’ homes. While before your employees would need to lug their physical computer home to work, now they can login to Office 365 and work from home with ease. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about your on-premise servers being damaged with the cloud, so you don’t have to worry about interrupted communication. 

Nearly unlimited storage: If you asked a 14-year old girl why she needs the cloud for her smart phone, she’d tell you, duh, she’d run out of room for her pictures within 48 hours. When you’re a business, running out of storage on your computers and servers can be costly when there’s a need to purchase new hardware to keep up with your files. With the cloud, there’s no need to purchase an external hard drive, because you can buy more cloud storage (if you ever run out) instantly. This goes back to data loss prevention; if it’s in paper or on hardware, it’s subject to be damaged or even lost by the five elements Earth, wind, fire, water, or employees. 

If you’re ready for your business to move to the cloud, or you want to find out more about it, visit http://www.appriver.com/services/office365/default.aspx or contact sales@appriver.com for more information.