It is becoming increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to keep pace with the rapid developments in information technology. However, the need for an efficient and secure IT infrastructure is growing and above all, new technologies have become an engine of competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises. But to get the best of them in terms of availability and performance, infrastructures must be maintained in continuity, secured and adapted to technological developments.
But this complexity is compounded by the increase in cybersecurity threats over the years. As part of their digital transformation journey, more and more SMEs have therefore switched to the cloud in recent years: greater flexibility and scalability, higher cost efficiency and productivity are just some of the benefits that we have already explained
in this blog article.
For small companies in particular, maintaining their own IT infrastructure and management continues to tie up time, staff and money – all resources that are often lacking. Keeping their own data centre and internal IT up to date with the latest, fastest and most secure releases presents them with major challenges. The increasing complexity of data processing and the associated costs and effort for security and data protection should also not be underestimated. More and more SMEs are recognising that fact and are thus moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud with cloud-based solutions such as Infrastructure as a Service, IaaS for short. What are the advantages of IaaS for SMEs? And are there external providers and cloud services that cater specifically to SMEs and their needs?
Migrate IT infrastructure to the cloud: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
When companies migrate their IT infrastructure to the cloud and operate it there as a virtualised IT environment, this is referred to as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The IT infrastructure can include all servers, storage space, switches, networks, firewalls, etc. With Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), companies can effectively rent a computer-based infrastructure from a remote location and thus fulfil their technological requirements without making large investments. They simply pay a monthly fee to use these resources internally as required, and the cloud host is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the hardware.
Many reasons why IaaS is so attractive
According to eurostat figures, only 41.7% of small companies and 59.0% of medium-sized companies purchased cloud computing services in 2023. Of these companies, 73.0% of small companies and 76.8% of medium-sized companies purchased IaaS services in 2023.
There are several reasons that are persuading more and more small and medium-sized businesses to outsource in-house infrastructure and use external IaaS:
- They realise cost savings because they no longer have to invest in new servers without knowing now what they might need in a few months' time. If they need more storage and computing power, the cloud partner scales this up for them at any time. And they only ever pay for what they actually use.
- They no longer have to manage their servers on site, which can be very resource-intensive, thus relieving their IT colleagues.
- In the unlikely event that their organisation gets into a crisis situation and their requirements are reduced as a result, the cloud partner can scale down again at any time and the SME simply pays less.
- They also no longer have to worry about the longevity of the infrastructure installed on site - the cloud partner ensures that the virtual servers always meet the latest technical requirements.
- Infrastructure as a Service provides security throughout: a stable infrastructure and compliance with all security standards and levels, whether that relates to antivirus, backup and update management, or security monitoring.
- The cloud partner continuously monitors the servers. It reports critical incidents immediately and takes care of their immediate resolution so that interruptions are minimised.
Application hosting
When it comes to IaaS, many people think primarily of hardware. However, companies can also have software hosted by a reliable provider in its data centre. They benefit from all the advantages of IaaS, but they are still licence holders of the software and manage the software themselves. However, they achieve cost savings as they no longer have to invest in new servers to host their applications in their own data centre. They can also implement, test, deploy, operate, and scale new applications or updates faster and more cost-effectively than if they first had to set up and then manage their own platform on site. If they acquire new applications and need more computing, storage and network capacity, the partner can scale up at any time.
Konica Minolta’s Cloud Data Centre Services: Highest data security with IaaS
With its focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, Konica Minolta is very familiar with their requirements. With its
Cloud Data Centre Services, the company offers maximum data security and eliminates the challenges SMEs face in managing IT infrastructure and reducing costs, allowing organisations to focus on their core tasks.
Our private cloud solution operated by Konica Minolta is based on VMware virtualization technology, which allows us to offer you a powerful virtualization platform with the latest updates and which relies on leading technology partners in their markets. Our platform is fully compatible with VMware on-premises applications and our expert teams guide you through a personalised service, with tailored consultancy and support. Our experts provide detailed onboarding covering configuration of the network elements, as well as advice on how to best use your private cloud in combination with your software solutions to achieve your objectives. We turn a complex environment into a simple solution scaled and adapted to your needs, respecting all the European regulations that are relevant for you.
As SMEs store and process both sensitive personal and company-related data and information in the cloud, data and information security and data protection are particularly important when making a selection. The IaaS offering is located in Konica Minolta’s own European data centres in Hanover (Germany) and Stockholm (Sweden), so that your data storage and processing meets the requirements of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
To find out more about security in our two data centres, read
this blog article.
‘With our cloud services, we can offer our customers the exact IaaS solutions they need. Regardless of when, where and to what extent. The most important point is that we develop a payment model together so that they only pay for the services and resources that are actually needed and used.'
Philip Plischke, Senior International Business Development Manager, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH
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