Cloud technologies are everywhere, holding a presence in virtually every modern industry; from healthcare, to banking, to government, and beyond. Many of the apps on your mobile phone are reliant on the cloud – including GMail, Google Docs, Dropbox, Facebook, and more.
Global businesses of every kind are choosing to migrate to the cloud since the benefits are so vast, and the education sector is not exempt from the advantages of cloud technology.
So, if your respective institution hasn’t done so already, here are seven reasons to transition to the cloud.
1. Reduces paper resources
Compared to more traditional, resource-intensive educational infrastructure and procedures, shifting to cloud-based frameworks can be far more environmentally-friendly.
Investing in cloud-powered formats will significantly reduce institutional paper costs and simultaneously improve your school’s carbon footprint. There is an additional safety element to this, since less paper-based documentation also lowers the risk of the loss or damage of files.
Not only this, but committing to becoming paperless with the help of the cloud can be a real boon for students, since its ability to store an endless library of digital digital textbooks means learners no longer have to bear the hefty weight of classroom reading material.
On a more technical note, migrating to the cloud is also more environmentally-friendly due to its consolidation of expensive hardware, which demands energy inputs and emits heat.
2. Zero Capex and reduced Opex – in other words, less expensive hardware
Moving to cloud technology is easier on school budgets in plenty more ways than one – and its ability to replace costly hardware with digital alternatives is certainly not to be sniffed at.
Traditionally, schools have been forced to spend on assets such as models, presentation materials, instruments and so on to provide a high-quality education for students, and these materials are expensive enough on their own, before factoring in what it costs to store them. Instead, digital versions and resources can be stored in the cloud, providing substitutes that are both cheaper and more accessible. It gives students the ability to store or access software from their personal device, giving them the power to access learning materials anywhere, at any time, without having to be on site.
For these reasons, cloud-supported software carries virtually zero ‘Capex’, or capital expenditure, as it only requires high-speed, reliable internet and quality computers – which should already be on campus. On top of this, functioning via the cloud lowers ‘Opex’, or operational expenditure, as there are no maintenance costs other than the provider’s licensing fee.
3. Supports collaboration
When hosted on the cloud, there is no limit to the number of users that can access the system at the same time. This benefits students, teachers and parents alike, empowering learners to communicate and work with class mates on group projects regardless of location, while giving parents and teachers fast, convenient and secure access to data – such as behavioural information or exam results – at the simple click of a button.
4. Flexibility
Investing in the cloud gives your teachers the valuable gift of flexibility. It means they can carry out their work – such as planning or marking – in school or from the comfort of home, and that can provide a much appreciated boost to their overall wellbeing. What’s not to love about that?
5. Automatic updates
Moving to the cloud means your school will save money that would otherwise have been spent hiring a full-time system administrator to keep software up-to-date.
Wave goodbye to the time-consuming process of downloading, installing and configuring the latest versions of software, because solutions that are hosted on the cloud take care of this all on their own.
6. Disaster recovery
Relying on traditional software installed solely on the device puts valuable data at risk if said device is damaged or infected by malware. Even more worryingly, damage to the laptop or computer could impact the school’s ability to operate, resulting in a visit from specialists who will need to fix both the software and device before things can get back up and running.
Alternatively, software hosted via the cloud is maintained by expert developers who have support systems in place to help manage disaster recovery quickly and efficiently.
7. Increased security
Following on from the point above, migrating to the cloud means better security for your school’s software and data. It’s pretty much impossible for schools to provide security for traditional hosted software on site, so it’s worth investing in a cloud provider since their developers are aware of both the physical security and the program embedded in the software. They are on top of developing threats in the industry, meaning your institution and data are much better protected.