SMBs Need Cloud Monitoring Now More than Ever

The world, and your business, can change on a dime. Customers want what they want, and they want it now. We have all come to expect this. This need for instant gratification is not a new concept, of course. Still, the urgency of quick responses and reliable uptime continues to snowball as we are more and more reliant on the web for our businesses and lives. In a time when we are hyper-connected, the need for quick answers and instant satisfaction can be too much sometimes, too unnerving.

If your small-to-medium-sized business website fails to load or loads slowly, you can lose customers to your competitors. You will almost certainly lose prospective customers.

When is the last time you asked yourself these questions:

What are you doing to ensure that your business is reliably accessible and that your data is locked down?
Is your business meeting the demands and expectations of your customers and prospects?
How confident are you in your IT infrastructure?
Can you say with confidence that your internal server, website, and mobile applications function correctly, smoothly, and efficiently?
When your IT team clocks out, are you certain that your data and website are protected and functioning reliably and securely?
How frequently do you have to call your IT team when they are recharging their batteries with family time, hobbies, or worst of all, when they’re sleeping?

If you have any doubts about any of these questions, you may be one of the many small-to-medium-sized business owners who could benefit from cloud monitoring. Not only can cloud monitoring address security and reliability concerns, but it can also improve your company’s productivity, service, reputation, and profitability.

What is the Cloud?

You have probably heard of “the cloud,” and you might already know that it doesn’t have anything to do with meteorology in the context of IT. Just in case, let’s clear up the terminology. “The cloud” refers to applications, software, and services that run online instead of locally on your computer. Examples of cloud services include Microsoft OneDrive, Netflix, Dropbox, and Spotify, to name just a few. By storing data and applications in the cloud, you can access everything you need from anywhere on the planet, as long as you have a device and an internet connection. One of the wonders of the modern world, right?

According to leading research and advisory company Gartner, 94% of enterprises already use a cloud service. The chances are that you use multiple cloud services every day.

Having everything out there in the cloud has opened up myriad business and communication possibilities. But it also means that our businesses and lives are dependent on the reliability and security of this nebulous “cloud” in a way that is totally new, complicated, and at times, daunting. This is where cloud monitoring comes in.

So, What is Cloud Monitoring?

Cloud monitoring is a way for businesses to track the performance, security, and availability of websites, applications, servers, and other cloud infrastructure. There are many cloud monitoring solutions available. We recommend employing a suite of manual and automated tools to monitor, analyze, and report on your cloud assets. Cloud monitoring, often part of an overall IT management strategy, can help you or your IT administrator recognize and address anomalies and emerging issues, such as unauthorized changes, logins, and website defacement. This allows you to address problems while small before they have grown into something impossible to manage.

Why Cloud Monitoring is Essential

Cloud Monitoring services can detect possible breaches, can help IT administrators identify gaps in security, and can secure your network long before a cyberattack happens.

Cloud monitoring can also help identify and correct errors- whether caused by humans or machines- to keep your applications running smoothly and preventing the end-user from experiencing gaps in service. This helps with improved sales and customer retention. Cloud monitoring is also one of the most agile solutions for keeping your small-to-medium-business website and applications running smoothly and consistently.

How Cloud Monitoring Works

The most effective cloud monitoring is multi-faceted. Since cybersecurity is a constantly changing landscape, cloud monitoring services and tools should be reevaluated on a regular basis. Some of the primary functions included in a comprehensive cloud monitoring plan include:

Cloud Storage Monitoring
Virtual Network Monitoring
Virtual Machine Monitoring
Database Monitoring
Website Monitoring

These are just a few examples. Each organization has its own set of needs and problems to solve. To find out more about building a cloud monitoring plan that is tailored to the needs of your small-to-medium business, contact us today for a free consultation.

Looking for Additional IT Security Support?

We help our customers improve all areas of security with scalable solutions so that they can attain high productivity levels for their teams while keeping costs under control.

For a free consultation and IT security assessment, please contact us today. We know what it’s like to run a business, and we know your time is valuable.

How we help: