Remember DOS? Windows 2000? Blackberry? Technology and cloud infrastructure evolve fast, and what we once considered state-of-the-art quickly becomes inadequate, especially with the evolution of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.
Outdated or underperforming IT infrastructure holds your business hostage and stifles your ability to achieve key business objectives as older systems struggle to keep up with modern demands. It limits your ability to scale, innovate, protect data and promote operational efficiency—and that puts your business at risk.
Obsolescence in cloud infrastructure is a common concern among businesses today. In a recent Deloitte survey, 50 percent of business leaders reported that challenges with technology infrastructure are a barrier to success, while 71 percent of organizations say their network assets are mostly aging or obsolete.i
It’s time to move away from traditional hardware refresh cycles and embrace more flexible, efficient cloud infrastructure solutions that support your goals and grow with your business.
Growing pains: Is aging cloud infrastructure stifling your growth?
Aging cloud infrastructure limits a company’s ability to leverage new technologies, impacting everything from cloud infrastructure transitions and human resources to customer service—slowing productivity and hindering growth.
A study by NTT DATA reports that 94 percent of C-suite executives believe that legacy infrastructure is hindering their business agility, and 80 percent of organizations agree that inadequate or outdated technology is holding back organizational progress and innovation efforts.ii
Worse, this outdated infrastructure puts businesses at increased risk of security breaches, license violations, and compliance issues. The NTT DATA report underscores the importance of robust infrastructure lifecycle management to improve business continuity and reduce operational risk. “Misaligned lifecycle patterns can result in inappropriate coverage levels, labor-intensive renewals, extended incident resolution times, security breaches, and even costly license violations and compliance issues.”iii
Expensive hardware upgrades: A pain you can do without
IT experts agree that aging infrastructure can hold back your business, stifling growth and dulling your competitive edge. BizTech summarizes the risk: “By holding on to aging IT infrastructure, organizations may limit their ability to move forward and take advantage of modern technologies that could provide new capabilities while enhancing productivity and efficiency in current processes.”iv
But what about the cost? Hardware updates can run into the thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars,v and when you factor in other costs such as software updates, training, and loss of productivity these costs can escalate into the millions.vi
The cost of frequent hardware refresh cycles can disrupt cash flow and make it hard for organizations to invest in innovation, security, skills talent, expansion, or customer service enhancements—investments that accelerate business and boost customer and employee satisfaction.
As bad as all this sounds, the solution is simpler than you might think. Implementing customized cloud migration strategies designed to evolve with your business needs can reduce the pain—and recurring costs—of rescuing your business from IT obsolescence.
Obsolescence made obsolete: Scalable cloud solutions with enhanced security and compliance
Cloud computing provides the tools you need to secure your operations while expanding capabilities. The right combination of private cloud, multi-cloud, or hybrid cloud environments creates a framework for security, compliance, sovereignty, expansion, data protection and operational efficiency that is tailored to your business needs.
Unlike constant hardware upgrades or public cloud solutions that take a one-size-fits-all approach, customized cloud solutions are cost-effective, eliminating the need for capital-intensive investments and allowing you to pay only for the cloud services you use.
A cloud-first strategy for seamless growth, efficiency, and reliable high-performance compute power
The long-term advantages of using a cloud-first strategy to enhance operational efficiency and ensure future scalability hinge on your ability to choose what you need, as you need it—without unpredictable or hidden fees, such as ingress and egress fees. Seamlessly moving data between cloud environments gives your IT strategy the flexibility and agility it needs to evolve alongside your changing business needs and long-term strategy.
Bare Metal, Multi-Tenant Cloud, and Private Cloud Critical Compute services from ThinkOn take a one-on-one approach to operational efficiency, helping you navigate complex cloud migration issues so you can focus on your business goals.
In other words, we do all the work for you—maintaining servers, upgrading hardware in our global data centers, and ensuring compliance, security, software upgrades, and business continuity—all without hidden or unpredictable fees.
And unlike the hyperscalers, we guarantee true data sovereignty with our local data management policies, eliminating compliance headaches.
Bare Metal
For businesses bound by strict compliance regulations, that need absolute privacy for sensitive information but don’t want the hassle and expense of owning and maintaining on-premises servers, ThinkOn’s Bare Metal servers are an efficient and cost-saving option. And because ThinkOn is committed to cutting-edge computing, you’ll never have to worry about those pesky hardware upgrades—we take care of everything. With global data centers in major markets, we guarantee sovereignty for sensitive data, and because bare metal servers are dedicated to you, you have control over your operational efficiency and privacy.
Multi-Tenant
For organizations that want an affordable virtual compute environment with a dedicated cluster of computing resources and access to dedicated data storage volumes. You’ll maintain control over operations, with extensive controls for self-management in a shared environment, providing the ability to scale quickly and efficiently in response to changing demands and growth.
Private Cloud
For organizations that need high-level performance, reliability, and security, private cloud is the perfect solution. ThinkOn’s Private Cloud service is designed for businesses that need to operate their compute workload on a dedicated service delivery environment—think Finance and banking, healthcare, retail and e-commerce, government and defense, and legal services.
Hybrid Cloud Computing
If bare metal or multi-tenant options vs. cloud computing don’t quite meet your needs then a hybrid approach might be the answer. Organizations need to store and access many different kinds of data. While sensitive data might be safer locked away in an immutable, offline server, functional, less sensitive data might be better off in the cloud. A hybrid approach combines your need for security and compliance with the power and flexibility of cloud computing, allowing you to seamlessly and securely move data between your cloud infrastructure and your physical servers.
ThinkOn Critical Compute Service solutions are designed to help you achieve your business goals while staying competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape. We make it easy and cost-effective to move away from traditional hardware refresh cycles, leveraging flexible, scalable, and efficient cloud-based infrastructure that reduces costs, ensures business continuity, drives innovation, and eliminates the need for costly technical labor to manage and maintain IT infrastructure.
It’s time to refresh your cloud infrastructure for a more efficient and cost-effective data management strategy. A cloud-based solution will eliminate the pain of aging infrastructure and make you feel ten years younger!
[i] NTT DATA. 2024. “80% of organizations agree that inadequate or outdated technology is holding back innovation.” https://services.global.ntt/en-us/newsroom/80-percent-of-organizations-agree-that-inadequate-or-outdated-technology-is-holding-back-innovation
[ii] Ibid
[iii] Ibid
[iv] BizTech. 2024. Matt McLaughlin. “Why It May Be a Mistake to Stretch Out IT Modernization Lifecycles.” https://biztechmagazine.com/article/2024/07/why-it-may-be-mistake-stretch-out-it-modernization-lifecycles
[v] Panagenda. 2023. Karl Sand. “Reduce IT Costs With a Need-Based & End-User-Oriented Hardware Refresh Strategy.” https://www.panagenda.com/blog/reduce-it-costs-with-a-need-based-end-user-oriented-hardware-refresh-strategy/ [1] Business.com. 2024. Mark Fairlee. “Speed of Technology: The Business Cost of Keeping Your Software Updated.” https://www.business.com/articles/speed-of-technology-the-business-cost-of-keeping-your-software-updated/