What are cloud services?
Most cloud services fall into three main categories: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Understanding their differences makes it easier to choose the right solution for your business while maximising availability, security, and productivity.
- IaaS provides virtualised computing resources like servers, storage, and networking. Businesses use IaaS to replace physical infrastructure, scaling resources up or down as demand changes while maintaining high availability.
- PaaS offers a ready-made platform for developing, testing, and deploying applications without managing hardware or operating systems. This accelerates development and enhances productivity.
- SaaS delivers software over the internet. Popular examples include Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace, which provide secure access from anywhere, supporting both security and team productivity.
How does cloud hosting differ from traditional hosting?
Traditional hosting involves renting a fixed server or part of a server. It can be limited in capacity and requires manual maintenance. On the other hand, cloud hosting uses a network of virtual servers, offering scalability, flexible resource allocation, and enhanced availability. Failover systems improve security and ensure teams can maintain productivity even if one server encounters issues.
Why switch to the cloud?
Cloud computing drives efficiency, resilience, and cost-effectiveness for businesses of all sizes. By providing on-demand access to infrastructure, platforms, and software, it reduces administrative overhead and boosts productivity. Its distributed architecture ensures high availability, automated backups, and robust security, keeping operations running smoothly even during outages. Flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing allows businesses to scale resources as needed, optimise costs, and experiment with new services without large capital investment. In short, the cloud combines reliability, flexibility, and efficiency to help businesses operate smarter and more competitively.
Cloud migration services
FlexIT’s cloud migration services guide your business through a structured, end-to-end migration process:
- Define goals - we start by establishing the goal of the migration, looking at the benefits and limitations of the end-result, so we can assess the viability of the project.
- Assess your current environment - we work with you to undertake a thorough assessment of your current infrastructure, workloads, identifying key security, availability, and operational requirements.
- Develop a tailored strategy - our migration strategy addresses common challenges such as downtime risks, compatibility issues, and particularly team readiness. We work to ensure everyone affected is aware of the tasks and timetable, so they know what to expect at each stage.
- Execute the migration - data and applications are transferred securely, all while the team are kept informed.
- Validation - finally, we validate performance, optimise resources, and provide guidance for ongoing management.
By following this sequence, we achieve a successful migration meeting the intended results, helping your team maintain high productivity and making the transition to the cloud seamless and reliable.
Managed cloud hosting services
Managed cloud hosting means FlexIT manages your cloud environment daily. This includes monitoring, security, updates, and 24/7 support, ensuring high availability. FlexIT offers services like Microsoft Office 365, hosted email, and secure file storage, helping your team stay productive and secure.
Why Choose FlexIT?
FlexIT combines expertise, reliability, and a people-focused approach. The biggest challenge in any major change is keeping operations running smoothly before, during and after. Unlike many migration providers, we don't just focus on the technical aspects because they are only part of the operation; the non-technical aspects need to work too.
Whether modernising infrastructure or improving efficiency, FlexIT is a long-term partner you can trust. All our cloud services can be customised to align with specific requirements.
Cloud & Hosted FAQs
Are there any disadvantages of cloud computing?
Cloud computing requires a reliable, fast internet connection. Businesses may need to upgrade connections or add redundancy to maintain availability and ensure teams can remain productive.
Legacy systems may not be suitable or capable of being migrated to the cloud - in some cases their architecture simply is not compatible with the remote workplace.
What costs are associated with cloud computing?
Costs can include subscription fees for SaaS tools, storage fees, and charges for data transfer or premium support. FlexIT provides transparent pricing so you can budget effectively while maintaining security, availability, and productivity.