In this day and age, a majority of companies are migrating their business process to the cloud. But, as a Chief Financial Officer of a company, you have to consider its financial feasibility. Does it make economic sense for an enterprise to move to the cloud?

Let’s explore five reasons why CFOs are currently open towards cloud migration and why they must be cloud-aware.

1. The Actual Cost of Migrating to A Cloud Environment

Migrating humongous volumes of data was never easy or cheap. However, cloud technology gives every IT team the opportunity to relocate or replicate critical company data without spending a fortune. Apart from the charges of the cloud hosting services you will be using, you need to consider a few additional expenses.

The additional costs of cloud computing include the charges of consultancy, maintenance, security, and support. In most cases, these are highly personalized services, and their prices can vary depending on the type of cloud you are using, the chosen cloud services provider, and the complexity of the issues you are facing.

There might be additional tax implications that you must not discount before planning the significant migration. Transfer pricing and energy credits can influence your tax considerations substantially.

2. New Outlook Towards Security

Technology has its share of risks, and unfortunately, the cloud is no exception to the rule. However, contrary to popular belief, the problems associated with the cloud aren’t necessarily better or worse – they are simply different. The cloud prompts you to consider compliance and security from a new perspective, making your overall enterprise more secure.

Most importantly, the cloud-related security risks that may have prevailed even five years ago are no longer a concern. The truth is, most cloud providers now practice advanced risk management practices to protect the clients’ data.

All you need to do is ensure the proper controls have been established and implemented. Start involving your compliance, legal, and security team right from the start, but do not get bogged down by these considerations.

Once you’ve set the security concerns straight, there’s no stopping you from utilizing the cloud to transform your services and product offerings, enhance efficiency, and increase the engagement level of customers.

3. Moving to The Cloud Can Attract New Investors

Apart from keeping an eye on the company sales and profits, a CFO has to consider raking in new investors as well. Adoption of new technology paints a brighter picture of any brand, and that makes the businesses more investment-worthy for new investors.

The first rule of successfully roping in investors is to show your achievements. Migrating to the cloud might seem like just another strategic move to improve data accessibility and security, but it is quite the achievement for any active business.

Moreover, migrating to the cloud is particularly lucrative to new investors since it signifies a substantial reduction in operational costs. Moving to the cloud might come across like an expensive move to the untrained eye, but investors are eager to invest in businesses that remain up-to-date with tech.

Migrating to the cloud might open up new investment opportunities for your company as long as the CFO is ready to market the changes.

4. The Cloud Can Enhance Customer Engagement and Satisfaction

When your business data and application is on the cloud, there is a significant reduction in downtime. Your dedicated clients can get the latest updates and insights on the cloud platform. Moreover, you do not need to send files to customers through emails. The data can be accessed directly by the clients by logging in to the cloud.

At the same time, cloud environments are more secure than local servers or physical storage devices. Multi-factor authorization and evolved encryption methods render consumer information impenetrable for hackers and malware.

Research shows that consumers trust companies that manage to keep their sensitive data safe and secure. Cloud-based administrations can offer smooth operations in a secure environment. Both of these factors can contribute to a high customer engagement rate along with the improvement of consumer satisfaction. 

5. The Cloud Aids the Evolving Role of CFOs

There may have been a time when CFOs were only concerned about the finances of a company. Right now, they have diverse responsibilities, including estimating the ROI of investing in new technologies like cloud.

Today, more than 80% of a company’s assets are intangible – intellectual property, brand image, customer data, and social media interactions. Traditionally, CFOs were never equipped to handle these, but the age of the cloud has made it possible to quantify almost every aspect of company finance using real-time tracking and automated data analytics.

The adoption of cloud-based tech can support financial analysis and prediction that were once exclusively manual tasks. That can open up several hours per week for the CFOs to consider new potential investors and browse new technology that can help the business.

At the same time, it is now the CFO’s responsibility to enrich the finance team of the company with digital talent. Recruiting people with an inkling for finances is no longer enough. CFOs must begin looking for finance experts, who have a thorough understanding of software operations and analytics automation.

Several sources predict that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will become essential parts of a business in the next five years. Without cloud computing, it might become impossible for companies to adapt to these next-generation technologies that require and generate enormous amounts of data with every interaction.

Wrapping Up

The role of CFOs is continually evolving, along with the evolution of marketing technology. Although moving to the cloud is quite labor-intensive, it can become a lot easier with professional guidance.

You can outsource your cloud needs for a pittance and relax while exploring the long list of interested investors. Furthermore, higher ROI on limited IT budgets make moving to the cloud an apparent money-making move for the smart CFO.