If the former applies to your customers, they have certainly already thought about whether a cloud solution would be a more cost-effective alternative or supplement to your on-premises infrastructure. The short answer to this question is yes, it definitely would be!
But we also know that this answer alone will not help you and your customers. Therefore, we would like to support you as your partner to argue the cost benefits of a complete or partial shift of the IT landscape to the Netstream Cloud cogently with your customers.
Parallels between cloud and leasing
Imagine you are leasing a car. What are your advantages? With a leasing contract, the focus is on your use and enjoyment of the vehicle, not its ownership. This means you avoid high one-off purchase costs and finance your car on a monthly basis. In the process, you benefit from a current model. "It's similar when switching from on-premises to cloud technologies - except that with us, the customer can also switch models on a monthly basis," said Alexander Burkert, Head of Sales & Marketing at Netstream. "Your customer pays monthly for their cloud infrastructure with us and only for what they actually use."
Reduction in longer-term fixed assets
In the on-premises infrastructure, the purchase of new hardware such as computers, printers, on-premises software or servers leads to an increase in longer-term fixed assets. From a business point of view, this means tying up capital and thus reducing liquidity while at the same time incurring business risk, because an advance payment is made before sales.
The complete or partial switch to the cloud, on the other hand, leads to a reduction in fixed assets. This is because the monthly costs for the cloud count as ongoing operating or administrative costs. Admittedly, this all sounds very financially technical now. Alexander Burkert explains the importance of this aspect as follows: "We think it is important that our partners point this out to their customers. After all, a shift in costs from fixed assets to ongoing operating costs is very interesting from a business point of view, as it allows you to avoid high one-off investments. It also gives your customer the opportunity to make his investments in his core business."
In terms of costs, the cloud is ahead in the long run
The next question your customer will be interested in is: What is the cost situation? Does a switch from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud mean potential savings for my company?
The cloud scores with the fact that its costs are usually significantly lower in the longer term than with an on-premises solution. This is because cloud services do not require server rooms or maintenance. Cost-intensive additional services such as repair, replacement and license fees are also eliminated. And as your partner, Netstream takes care of the complete maintenance and administration of the cloud solution for your customers.
The savings potential for your customers with the cloud at a glance:
- Server hardware and UPS
- Redundant emergency / back-up infrastructure
- Maintenance contracts
- Power consumption
- Personnel costs
It pays to take precautions
The damage caused to companies by digital extortion with so-called encryption Trojans (ransomware) is forecast at 20 billion dollars for the year 2021. Alexander Burkert sees Ransomware Backup Protection as a worthwhile investment that pays off: "Our cloud services provide you and your customers with comprehensive protection. Because they help you save costs in the long term with a secure backup architecture in the event of a possible attack by ransomware."
Time is money - the cloud as a time saver
Unexpected things often happen, as this year in particular has shown: suddenly, the majority of employees are in their home offices and simultaneously accessing company data via the Internet. If the infrastructure is then located in the on-premises data center, performance is often impaired due to the insufficient resources of the on-premises infrastructure. The result: processes slow down and cost valuable working time. In addition, dissatisfaction spreads throughout the organization and motivation suffers. Alexander Burkert knows this problem from many customers. With a complete or partial switch to the cloud, however, this situation can be avoided. "Because the cloud allows you to flexibly use technologies such as GPUs to meet increased requirements. Furthermore, the simple creation of virtual machines and additional resources offers your customers the possibility of flexible coverage of their performance peaks or availability requirements. This saves them expensive labor time and keeps them flexible in any business situation."
Entrepreneurial agility as an added bonus
What is difficult to depict in figures should nevertheless be taken into account when customers ask about costs: the possibility of flexibly expanding and scaling back the IT infrastructure for new projects at any time with a cloud solution. Because this factor plays an increasingly important role in today's disruptive markets and has an enormous influence on a company's ability to innovate. In reality, many companies have IT infrastructures that limit business growth because of their rigidity. Alexander Burkert sees the agility of the cloud as an important additional bonus that speaks for a complete or partial change. This is because it offers companies an enormous strategic advantage and increases their competitiveness in the long term.
Contact us
Have we made you curious? Learn more about the advantages of the Netstream Cloud and a partnership with us. Alexander Burkert and his team look forward to hearing from you!
All potential cost benefits at a glance
- Leasing aspect:
the latest model at low acquisition cost
- Financial aspect:
Shift from fixed assets to current costs
- Savings aspect:
lower costs in the longer term compared to on-premises
- Precautionary protection aspect:
Cost savings in the event of a possible attack by ransomware
- Time-saving aspect:
faster work with flexible working models
- Agility bonus aspect:
Increased innovation capability through flexible adaptation of the service package
