How and Why You Should Use Scalable Technology Infrastructure

All growing businesses know the struggles and challenges that scalability brings on a regular basis. It can seem like an impossible task to accurately predict the growth rates of your company’s technology infrastructure, especially as the businesses needs and capabilities are changing rapidly.

The last thing you want when your business is in a vital growth phase is for your technology to reach its capacity limits and slow you and your staff down. Even the most robust business plan in the world with the most talented leaders in the driving seat can fail if there is no scalability plan in place.

What is scalability and why is it important?

Simply put, scalability is the capacity for a business to adapt and evolve over time. It is an essential part of any business wanting to grow and expand in the future. Usually, scalability involves growth and the adaption of technology systems to sustain expansions and upgrades. If your small business does not have the processes and infrastructure in place to accommodate growth, then you will be limited in how much you can succeed.

A technology system is often considered scalable if it can increase its output and load when additional resources are added. These additional resources are often hardware, software upgrades or storage space that are utilised to meet the new and growing demands on the business. Scalability can also refer to staffing and employees, as some companies may need the ability to scale their workforce up and down to meet the growing needs of the organisation.

As your business grows, the primary objective is to continue to meet market demands, and this can be a struggle when market demands are continually evolving. To stay ahead of competitors your business needs to be able to adapt its approach to filling the ever-changing needs of customer demands.

Adapting your business

As your customer base grows, your resources and technology need to do the same, and if you have no way of handling these increases, then your efficiency and quality can suffer. An effective, scalable technology infrastructure will help to support these increases and allow you to take full control over your business without the need for additional time and resources.

Scalability is an excellent and cost-effective way to manage your business growth and avoid unexpected expenses, including replacing hardware and software that is no longer doing the job it should be. From a financial perspective, scalability drastically lowers your outgoing costs for technology, even if the initial bill is higher to begin with.

For example, if you have 10,000 customers within your database and invest in a technology system to support 500,000, you will not need to replace that system until you reach maximum capacity. It means your technology will not become outdated and redundant quickly and allows you and your staff to focus on the growth and progression of your business.

Many businesses across the country are focusing their time and efforts on creating a scalable technology infrastructure to support their growth. Toto Energy was founded in 2016 with plans to grow rapidly, they fully understood their need for a scalable infrastructure in their early days and recruited the help of technology specialists Cyan Solutions. The company has grown quickly, gaining 55,000 customers within their first year, and Cyan Solution’s cloud-based hosting system has supported and enabled their growth every step of the way; read the full case study here.

How to implement a scalable technology infrastructure?

Once you have decided to take the leap and transform your IT infrastructure into a scalable one, it can be a struggle knowing how and where to start. The use of cloud technologies is highly beneficial for scalable infrastructures and for helping small businesses to grow.

The cloud allows you and your system to be fully flexible and adapt to various changes as and when is necessary, as well as allowing you to make the most of easy implementation processes. Cloud software will enable you to add and remove software and applications without complicated reinstallation processes, making scalability an easy and straightforward process.

It is normal to want to get a head start and make as many areas as scalable as possible within your business, but it is crucial to properly understand that this may not be feasible for everything. This shouldn’t stop you from moving forward with the scalability where relevant though. It just should be taken into consideration when coming up with a scalable system design and purchasing equipment. It is just as essential to understand and recognise where you can’t change as it is to recognise where you can.

Scalability and migrating to a scalable technology infrastructure is not a simple task to tackle alone, but a worthwhile one if you are serious about growing your business efficiently. Often it is worth enlisting the help of professionals such as Cyan Solutions who can help you to understand where and how your IT infrastructure can be scalable, and the best way of implementing a new infrastructure.

Cyan delivers a tailored cloud based solution

The way businesses need to work is changing fast. Employees, and consumers, want more flexibility, quicker access to information, and the ability to work and communicate from anywhere at any time. All without compromising security or giving people a muddled or fragmented experience.

Why move to the cloud?

Fewer and fewer companies are choosing to invest in traditional onsite hardware. Instead, they are embracing a modern way of doing business that removes the upfront expenditure and burden of onsite IT whilst empowering staff to work more efficiently.

A cloud solution allows you to leverage industry-leading technology, often too complex and expensive for small and medium sized businesses to afford. You get the performance and reliability of enterprise-grade infrastructure without the associated costs or management overheads. You also significantly reduce cyber risk as key business assets are protected in secure data centres.

Why choose Cyan cloud services?

With so many cloud services available in a swamped marketplace, selecting the right solution for your business is crucial. Standard cloud models often aren’t a good fit and business suffers as a result. When you start to lose control of important IT assets or governance of sensitive corporate data, then the risks quickly escalate. You may also need to respond rapidly to fluctuating customer needs. This is a modern-day challenge for any business.

Cyan cloud services are built and tailored to suit your exact needs. Your servers, software applications, company data, licencing and security concerns all taken care of in a protected, dedicated cloud environment, fully managed and supported by our team of experts.

Everything you need is delivered in a single solution, giving you the performance and control of onsite IT, but with the flexibility and efficiency of a cloud model. With no upfront costs and affordable monthly subscription payments, you can scale and budget as you grow.

Benefits of a Cyan cloud desktop

  • Integrated desktop experience: All users see a familiar Windows user interface from any device.
  • Centralise company data and file sharing: Moving your company data and network shares to the Cloud allows you to manage all your files in one location and take control of access. We can set permissions for file and folder access, prevent files from being moved to public Cloud storage such as Dropbox, or even prevent files from being downloaded to external USB drives.
  • Application compatibility: Your business applications – including industry specific software, finance suites (such as Sage), CRM, etc. – that currently run on your onsite servers will be migrated to the cloud and used in the same way they are now. This also removes any dependence on your software vendor making their app cloud-ready.
  • Microsoft Office 365 integration: Continue to enjoy the benefits of Microsoft Office 365 including SharePoint and Exchange email. We even install the familiar Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc) on your Cloud desktop, so your team will have a single place to go to access everything they need.
  • Cloud desktop personalisation: Your team can personalise their Windows desktop and use the familiar shortcuts and desktop settings they’re accustomed to.
  • Cross-platform capability: Your team will be able to connect and work from any device including PC, thin-client, Mac OSx, iOS, and Android.
  • Reconnect from different locations: The Cloud desktop reconnect feature allows you to start working on one device, for example, your office computer, and then easily continue working on another device, for example, your home computer, without losing what you were working on.
  • Exceptional performance: You will experience fast and reliable performance even if you are using older computers or connecting over slow Internet connections. This greatly improves the user experience and productivity.
  • Access to locally attached devices: Print and scan as normal, directly from the Cloud, to locally installed printers, scanners or copiers.
  • Enhanced security: Meet compliance and regulatory requirement and reduce cyber risk; protect against loss of sensitive corporate data; restrict access to software applications or files and folders for tighter security; centralised roll out of critical security updates and patches instantly protects all your assets.

Our approach

We work with you to truly understand your business and your needs not only now but in the future, to ensure we plan technology solutions which will support the delivery of your growth and development ambitions. We will then create a flexible infrastructure, harnessing the cloud technology to ensure your data is secure and accessible whenever you need it. But it doesn’t end there. We also provide ongoing support and maintenance, proactively updating software and monitoring your systems, making changes and recommendations as necessary.

To discuss how migrating to a fully cloud based platform could help develop your business further contact one of our experts today.

Why Use A Virtual CIO? 

The fast-paced world of IT can make it very difficult for small businesses to keep up. Having a full IT department to not only maintain the day to day core functioning but also to strategise for the future of the organisation comes at great expense. Fortunately, there are ways for enterprises to enjoy the value of a strategic IT department, without the significant costs and impact on the whole business budget. Introducing a Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO).

What Is a Virtual CIO?

A Virtual Chief Information Officer provides all of the services of an on-site IT department, such as maintaining computers, protecting servers and troubleshooting IT issues. However, as you do not need staff, it is a service that provides IT protection at a significantly reduced cost.

As well as maintaining IT systems in a way an IT team or managed IT service provider can offer, a virtual CIO has the ability, knowledge and skillset to strategise your IT requirements and plan for the future.  Using in-depth analytics and expertise in strategy, budget planning and operations, a virtual CIO can go beyond traditional IT services and be proactive for your organisation. This advanced skillset can not only help your business to save money, but by utilising a virtual CIO instead of employing a full-time CIO, you can enjoy superior services for less.

Having a virtual CIO allows your business to remain competitive. Your organisation can enjoy an advanced strategic role without the staffing costs. With a virtual CIO, you have the flexibility and reduced costs that your business needs. You can utilise virtual CIO services for a few hours a week or choose a service on an as and when basis. At Cyan Solutions, we will work with your organisation to plan your virtual CIO needs so that you have the right level of virtual CIO assistance that your business requires.

What can a virtual CIO do?

Ultimately, a virtual CIO can seek out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for your business and help your organisation to be proactive in its response. One aspect in which small businesses can particularly gain an advantage is with risk, governance and compliance. Penalties in the technology sector can be rife, particularly when it comes to data. With a virtual CIO, you can stay ahead of the changes in the industry and make sure that you put your compliance plan in place before any deadlines.

Other areas that a virtual CIO can help with is improving all aspects of your IT planning both in the short-term and long-term, to help lessen the impact on your bottom line. Virtual CIO service may help you to evaluate aspects of your IT that you have yet to consider. Looking beyond the architecture and service you provide, a virtual CIO can help with elements including;

  • Performance analytics
  • Web and communications strategy
  • Telecommunication
  • Knowledge sharing and information database
  • Auditing
  • Change and change management.

With all of these aspects considered, a virtual CIO can be a great investment to help reduce costs and improve productivity and efficiency.

Benefits of a virtual CIO

Comprehensive coverage:As discussed above, a virtual CIO covers all of your IT requirements, from day to day maintenance to long-term strategy and planning solutions. With no hidden charges or separate billing, you receive the services you require for the time that your organisation needs. For some organisations, this can mean a fixed monthly cost with 24/7 protection and monitoring. For others, they may require more from a virtual CIO at peak demand periods.

Proactive prevention: A virtual CIO managed system can help to monitor your current IT health with the help of dashboards and analytics. By forecasting and real-time monitoring, you can be sure of a proactive response which can eliminate problems before they arise. With full visibility through an impartial system, your business can make the right decisions based on accurate information.

Increased productivity: By making sure your IT system is well structured and carefully managed, you can reduce the risk of downtime and impacted operations. With a virtual CIO, you can make sure that everything is running efficiently. With updated software, hardware and cloud technology, you can seamlessly increase staff productivity and project uptake to maximise success and keep your projects profitable.

Virtual CIO with Cyan Solutions

Of course, the core benefit of a virtual CIO is how cost effective it can be. By covering all services from a comprehensive IT department in a virtual manner, your business can reduce costs and increase efficiency leading to further savings. At Cyan Solutions, we want every company to realise their potential. After a comprehensive IT audit, we can explain the benefits a virtual CIO can bring to your business and tailor a virtual CIO package to suit your needs.

Find out more about what we can do to help your business and take the first steps to IT efficiency by arranging your IT audit with Cyan Solutions by contacting us.