Tag Archive for: Remote Desktop

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Your Path to Full Cloud Adoption

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As a small or midsize business, you already use the cloud for daily work.

You likely run Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for your email and calendars, and there’s a good chance you are storing and sharing files.

In short, your team is already familiar with cloud tools. However, do you still keep a physical file server in the office? This hybrid setup often creates technical hurdles for your remote and hybrid workers.

Here are three steps you can take to smoothly finish your cloud journey.

1) Upgrade to Cloud File Services

Move your files completely to the cloud. Doing so removes physical hardware headaches.

When you shift your data into shared environments like SharePoint or Google Shared Drives, your team still sees their files in a familiar layout. On the desktop, the cloud files look like a traditional network drive.

When you move to cloud services, you can expect to:

  1. Eliminate the cost of maintaining old office hardware
  2. Empower your team to work securely from any location
  3. Enable productivity with advanced file locking and approval workflows

Central control gives you the power to manage access, permissions, groups, and folders.

2) Migrate Your Business Applications Connect with a Cloud Advisor

Do you rely on local software for accounting, inventory tracking, or other line-of-business functions? If a web-based version exists that has the features you need, switching is a great choice. If not, a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solves your problem.

With VDI services, your software runs inside a secure cloud environment. Your local computer simply displays the screen and receives your keystrokes.

VDI services:

  • Provide your team with a consistent user experience, whether in the office or working remotely
  • Improve security, as your software runs inside a hardened perimeter
  • Lower costs and give you the ability to scale resources up or down as needed
  • Replace large capital expenditures with predictable operating costs

While some systems, such as manufacturing automation, diagnostic lab equipment, and medical tools, need to run locally, the vast majority of business applications thrive in VDI environments.

3) Secure and Manage Your Cloud Environment 

Many leaders think that cloud providers handle every aspect of data safety. In reality, cloud providers operate on a shared responsibility model. They keep the core system running and protected, but you are solely responsible for securing your data. You control access. You control permissions.

Your data protection plan should include a few regular practices:

  • Creating independent backups of all cloud files to prevent data loss
  • Monitoring sharing permissions to ensure that sensitive data stays private
  • Setting up data loss prevention rules to block unauthorized sharing

We recommend using Managed Cloud Services to handle these ongoing security tasks. This proactive approach aligns with our Security CPR® framework to help keep you safe.

You would not leave a physical office server unmanaged. Your cloud environment requires the same consistent care and oversight.

Your Next Steps

Finishing your cloud journey does not need to happen all at once. We will help you analyze your current systems and your needs. We will design a practical path forward to ensure a productive, secure, and affordable cloud solution.

When you are ready to simplify, secure, and save, contact us or schedule a time to chat with a Cloud Advisor to discuss your options.

 

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

11 Reasons for Remote Desktop

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In a recent survey, we learned that half of small and midsize businesses still have remote workers connecting to local systems to access files or applications. While this approach was once the standard, it misses out on the robust, managed file services now available via Microsoft 365 (SharePoint and Teams) and Google Workspace (Shared Drives).

While moving core business applications to the cloud is more complex than moving files, doing so provides clear benefits for your IT management, as well as for on-site, hybrid, and fully remote workers.

The Challenges of Remotely Accessing On-Premises Files and Applications

Before cloud services became mainstream, remote access to on-premises systems was the only viable solution

Hosted data centers were expensive, and most users worked on-site. While these legacy solutions have been modernized over the years, relying on local, on-premises systems still poses significant challenges:

  • Increased Complexity: You have to manage additional hardware, software, and services.
  • Performance: VPN services and local network bandwidth limit throughput, causing lag and latency for off-site users.
  • Fragmented User Experiences: Remote and on-site users access to the network, systems, applications, and files differently. Hybrid users must navigate two user experiences.
  • Security Vulnerabilities: You are responsible for protecting and patching multiple layers of physical and virtual IT components.
  • User Experience Conflicts: Managing local storage versus shared access can become complicated and confusing for users trying to collaborate.
  • Resource Access Conflicts: Document version control, file synchronization, and shared access often break down when using older applications over a remote connection.

11 Reasons to Choose Cloud-Based Remote Desktop ServicesConnect with a Cloud Advisor

You can dramatically simplify your IT infrastructure by moving file servers and applications into cloud-based environments. Let’s look at the 11 key benefits, broken down by Productivity, Security, and Affordability.

Productivity

1Unified User Experience:
A single method of accessing systems, applications, and files provides a single user experience for on-premises, hybrid, and remote users

2Optimized Performance:
Cloud environments are hosted on high-speed infrastructure, meaning users can get fast, reliable access even on lower-cost home broadband

3Centralized Collaboration:
Keeping all user activity within a single environment simplifies internal communication and file sharing

4Streamlined Administration:
An integrated cloud ecosystem simplifies access requests, permissions management, and user administration.

Security

5Centralized Identity Management:Cloud-based remote desktop services provide a single security service that integrates with your domain and can integrate identity and access management services.

6Enterprise-Grade Infrastructure:
Both Microsoft and Google ensure that the underlying data centers and networks are secure. Your focus shifts solely to securely configuring your specific applications and user accounts.

7Unified Backups:
You can backup all of your productivity data, including emails, calendars, files, drives, and shared drives, with a single service.

Affordability

8Reduced Capital Expenses:
Removing on-premise systems and applications reduces capital expenditures and eliminates periodic, large upgrade expenses.

9Consolidated Software Costs:
You can eliminate the recurring licensing and maintenance costs of standalone VPNs, third-party remote access software, and specialized server backup tools.

10Maximized Existing ROI:
Moving file servers to cloud-native services leverages features already available within your existing Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace subscriptions at no additional cost.

11Scalable Cost Control:
Remote desktop environments can instantly scale up or down to match your current headcount, ensuring you only pay for the computing resources you actually use.

We understand that some applications may still need to run locally, especially those tightly integrated with operations like manufacturing, process controls, and distribution solutions. However, for the rest of your business architecture, a cloud-based remote desktop environment provides unmatched flexibility. Migrating your file servers to the cloud allows you to maximize the value of your existing IT subscriptions at no additional cost.

Help is Here

Completing a seamless migration of your files and applications to the cloud requires careful analysis and strategic planning. We are here to help you succeed.  Send us a message or book a meeting with our Cloud Advisors today to get started.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

Effective Cloud Strategies for Small Businesses

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As small and midsize businesses (SMBs), most of us have cloud strategies centered around productivity suites for email, calendars, chat, and file services. Beyond Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, we need cloud strategies for small businesses that differ from those used by larger organizations.  Although our goals and objectives may be similar, we differ in the scope of our IT services, how we acquire and use IT services, and our budgets.

Understanding these differences, we need appropriate strategies to guide our plans and decisions. We need to focus on getting the most value from our current systems and new, managed cloud services.

What is a Cloud Strategy?

Cloud strategy refers to a comprehensive plan and approach that an organization adopts to leverage cloud computing technology effectively. It involves determining how to utilize cloud services, platforms, and infrastructure to achieve specific business objectives, optimize operations, enhance agility, and drive innovation.

A typical cloud strategy includes several key components:

  1. Cloud Adoption
  2. Cloud Service Models
  3. Cloud Provider Selection
  4. Data Management and Security
  5. Cost Optimization
  6. Integration and Interoperability
  7. Governance and Compliance
  8. Training and Skills Development
  9. Performance Monitoring and Optimization

Evolving Business Strategy into the Cloud

Historically, we ran our applications and databases on local workstations, servers, and networks. Evolving markets, business models, and hybrid work patterns drive change. The on-premise architecture no longer meets our needs. Remote access to on-premise systems is cumbersome, more difficult to secure, and likely to be slower. 

From a cost perspective, most of us have outgrown the on-premise model as well. Servers, storage, and related infrastructure represent significant capital expenditures and fixed configurations. Infrastructure and services add hardware, software, and service costs. If you have a managed service provider, or MSP, you pay monthly per-server monitoring and management fees.

Our Big Cloud Challenge

Most cloud services are designed for larger entities that will rebuild systems, applications, and databases to use specific cloud services. As small businesses, we use the cloud differently. We rely on software packages rather than custom-built applications or highly customized systems.

Moving our applications and systems into the cloud is challenging for a few key reasons:

  • Our software vendor may not offer a SaaS version
  • The SaaS version of our software may be missing key features we need, or does not support our customizations
  • Integrations may not be available for the applications and systems we use and need.

Cloud Strategies

If we want to take advantage of the benefits of the cloud, we need better strategic services for the cloud.

Selective Cloud Services

We define selective cloud services as point solutions for a specific need, often in support of other cloud or on-premise services. You can leverage cloud solutions to meet specific business and IT service needs.

Server to Service

Simply stated, the Server to Service strategy replaces your servers – on-premise or hosted – with managed cloud services.  Replacing your file servers with managed cloud file services is the best example of the Server to Service strategy. File servers come with the added burdens of backup/restore services, hardware maintenance and upgrades, and with most managed service contracts, per-device fees for monitoring and management.

Lift and Shift

As noted above, many small business software packages lack a cloud version comparable with the traditional version. In these situations, you can still move into the cloud using the “Lift and Shift” strategy. With “Lift and Shift”, you move your applications and systems from their existing on-premise servers (physical or virtual), to cloud-based servers. You access the applications over a secure VPN or using remote desktop services.

Remote Desktop / VDI

As the name ‘remote desktop’ implies, your actual desktop is running remotely in a cloud environment. You access your desktop via a thin client application running locally on your PC, Laptop, or mobile device, or through a web browser. Using Remote Desktop / Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) services gives you a complete, secure environment in which you have your private network, servers, and clients. Using Remote Desktop / VDI enhances Lift and Shift solutions.

Final Thoughts on Cloud Strategy for a Small Business

These cloud strategies are NOT mutually exclusive.  With proper analysis and planning, you can match the services to your business and technology needs. More information is available in our eBook, Cloud Strategies for Small and Midsize Businesses.

Call To Action

Contact us or schedule time with one of our Cloud Advisors to discuss if, when, and how expanding your cloud services will help your business thrive and grow.

About the Author

Chris CaldwellChristopher Caldwell is the COO and a co-founder of Cumulus Global.  Chris is a successful Information Services executive with 40 years experience in information services operations, application development, management, and leadership. His expertise includes corporate information technology and service management; program and project management; strategic and project-specific business requirements analysis; system requirements analysis and specification; system, application, and database design; software engineering and development, data center management, network and systems administration, network and system security, and end-user technical support.

Webcasts

Finish Your Move to the Cloud

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(06/16/26) – Remote access to local systems creates complexity and challenges that can distract you from running your business. Completing the move of your shared files and applications to the cloud improves your team’s productivity, security, and affordability.

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Be Prepared for New Cybersecurity Requirements

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(03/26/24) – Increased governmental and industry regulations, a maturing cybersecurity industry, and supply chain best-practices are driving requirements for advanced security services and business continuity solutions.

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Using VDI to Improve Hybrid Work

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(02/27/24) – Supporting hybrid workers comes with additional security, BYOD, access, performance, and budget challenges. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) & remote desktop services improve security, access, and performance without damaging your budget.

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7 Questions to Ask Your IT Provider

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eBook | Source: Cumulus Global — For small and midsize businesses like yours, the information technology and services environment continues to change. Here are seven questions, across a range of topics, to ask your current IT provider to ensure they are actively helping you look forward.

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5 Things Your IT Provider Should be Telling You

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eBook | Source: Cumulus Global — Beyond Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, SMBs use cloud services differently than larger organizations. Understanding these differences, we identify strategies to guide your plans and decisions for getting the most value from your current systems and new, managed, cloud services.

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Cloud Strategies for Small and Midsize Businesses

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eBook | Source: Cumulus Global — Beyond Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, SMBs use cloud services differently than larger organizations. Understanding these differences, we identify strategies to guide your plans and decisions for getting the most value from your current systems and new, managed, cloud services.

Read more