Everyone's in the Cloud: See Why

Put simply, there's a solid case to make the switch to cloud operations or better use cloud solutions you already have in place. To help get you started, let's break down five operational real company examples of the cloud in action and the benefits they provide.

1. Accessing Greater Storage Quickly for Bitly

With data volume and variety rapidly growing, on-site storage can become a challenge for companies of any size. Consider Bitly, a highly scalable hosting platform that migrated more than 25 billion data-infused links to IBM. The move allowed them to access more storage in just four hours, an astounding improvement on the usual six-week lead time to handle hardware storage increases on-site.

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Veterinary practices now face a similar need for storage flexibility as clients expect on-demand appointment scheduling, records access, and treatment plans based on historical data.

2. Ramping Up Reliability with Valet Vet Mobile Veterinary Services

For Dr. Gina Finney, veterinarian and owner of Valet Vet Mobile Veterinary Services, the shift from on-premise to cloud practice management systems offered a significant upgrade in reliability. "We were attracted to cloud-based software," says Dr. Finney, "because we had recently just lost our data for the second time."Thanks to cloud services, the fear of losing data disappears, as it's always accessible in the cloud, keeping critical services functioning at all times.

3. Controlling Total Costs on 25 Systems for a Virginia Utility Company

Cost control is often highlighted as one of cloud technology's top-tier benefits, but how do companies capitalize on this potential profit booster? Consider a 2020 Deloitte case study, which detailed the adoption of cloud-based systems by public utility Loudoun Water in Northern Virginia, where they shifted more than 25 systems into the cloud. The results speak for themselves: Along with increased performance, the utility saved several hundred thousand dollars that would otherwise have been spent on the capital expenditures (CapEx) required for hardware purchases.

For veterinary practices, this advantage also applies. By moving away from irregular, out-of-pocket hardware updates to cloud-based solutions, changeable CapEx costs can be converted to more consistent operating expenditures.

4. Securing Data Backup and Disaster Recovery for Ottawa Hospital

Data stored only at the practice becomes especially vulnerable to disaster or accident. Here, too, the cloud can provide critical support, specifically when it comes to data backup and disaster recovery (BDR). That was the impetus for the Ottawa Hospital's move to Microsoft Azure recovery services. Given the critical nature of patient data for real-time decision-making, downtime simply wasn't an option. The move has already proven its worth: The hospital has reduced its BDR costs by half and now enjoys the peace of mind that comes with constant, cloud-based data replication.

This type of availability is also critical for animal care practices and can be offered via your cloud-based practice management software. In the event of power outages or malware attacks, critical client and patient data remain unaffected and accessible on-demand.

5. Achieving Scalability for Coca-Cola

Scalability is often seen as the most fundamental cloud benefit. The access to more computing and storage power on-demand provides a level of flexibility that on-premise solutions can't match. Consider retail giant Coca-Cola, which sells more than 500 brands in 207 countries. Moving most of their operations to cloud giant Amazon not only reduced total operational costs by 40%, but also cut the need for costly IT assistance by 80% thanks to automated cloud services.

For veterinary practices, scalability offers a dual benefit: Scaling services up or down on-demand can help reduce total costs as well as streamline key processes such as onboarding new staff or clients, in turn driving improved ROI. "Because it's so simple," says Dr. Finney, "we can literally see four or five extra clients per week. That's allowed us to grow and add two doctors to our practice in the last year."