Why is cloud adoption taking so long?
Our cloud specialist Andy Powell on the opportunities from adopting cloud.
For almost ten years, the benefits of migrating away from on-premise systems have been discussed at length. But still, cloud adoption remains a particularly conspicuous elephant in the room for many of the UK’s largest public and third sector organisations.

The reticence is partly understandable given the volume of contradictory advice on the subject. Some claim, incorrectly, that cloud technologies are insecure, whereas others preach that migration is the panacea.
The reality is that cloud adoption should form part of an extensive, well-researched digital strategy. When it’s implemented intelligently, it saves money, creates opportunities and actively protects your data.
Reduce your liability and save money
For every day that passes, it becomes increasingly more complex to maintain a robust data centre. Creating your own is the equivalent of building a high-speed express train, rather than catching the 14:45 from Euston.
Microsoft and Amazon spend billions on infrastructure, security, governance and skills. Guards patrol huge buildings that are protected by barbed wire fences, multiple card readers, metal detectors and CCTV.
Thousands of engineers around the world constantly develop new services, while security specialists preempt threats. It’s just not feasible to get even close to this level of resource with an on-premise infrastructure.
Buy only what you need
When you maintain your own servers, there’s a tendency to invest in extra capacity to cater for busy periods. By doing so, you miss the opportunity to save money during quieter times. Cloud scales to meet your demand, so you only pay for what you use.
Access new technologies
Amazon and Microsoft continually innovate and release services that are useful for public sector teams. These include emerging technologies, such as machine learning, and new development frameworks. For example, Serverless lets you build highly cost effective applications that only charge you when they run.
Piggyback military grade security
It’s no coincidence that the CIA prefers to use cloud technology rather than maintain its own data centres. Leading cloud service providers are heavily scrutinised and spend huge sums protecting their data. Microsoft alone spends over $1 billion a year in cybersecurity research and development.
Allow your IT team to focus on other activities
All over the UK, in-house server administrators are carrying out similar routine maintenance tasks that could be handled externally. It’s more efficient to outsource these repetitive duties and allow your team to spend time elsewhere.
Avoid data loss and boost uptime
Cloud Service Providers store multiple versions of your data across a vast infrastructure. So even in the event of a natural disaster, your information is safe. Also, due to 24/7/365 monitoring, uptime is usually higher than on-premise systems.
Get the answers you need
Cloud adoption has been on the agenda for years, but it’s not always easy to take the first step. Questions often linger, such as “how much will it actually save?” and “will it be safer than our own servers?”. You may also be considering a hybrid solution, whereby certain services move to the cloud, but others remain.
Eduserv offers a range of fixed price assessments that give you all the facts you need. We provide clarification for organisations with contrasting internal viewpoints.
- A Cloud Adoption Assessment considers your objectives and makes evidence-based recommendations on the benefits, costs and risks of migration.
- The Total Cost of Ownership service calculates your current IT spend and allows you to clearly highlight savings.
- A Cyber Resilience Assessment provides an impartial appraisal on your current level of cyber-attack protection.
To learn more, take a look at how we helped Adur and Worthing councils to understand the benefits of cloud migration.
You can also join our live webinar on Dispelling public cloud myths.
