Let’s look at some of them:

The pandemic

COVID has changed the way we do business. Companies that had moved to the cloud before the pandemic had an advantage over those that had not. Matt Twomey of Electrical Terminal Service explains why being in the cloud helped him and his employees when the pandemic hit in this video. Having systems like email, ERP, and customer relationship management (CRM) in the cloud allows employees to work from anywhere with internet access.

According to an article on The Techportal.com: “It is estimated that at least 1,000 new variants of ransomware were detected on a daily basis, and some nations were subjected to a dramatic increase in attacks. The United States has seen a rise of at least 125% in ransomware attacks, while the UK surpassed that with a surge in cases that exceeded 225% compared to previous years.”

Moving your systems from on-premises to the cloud allows you to take advantage of the billions of dollars the major hosting companies like AWS spend on digital security.

Growth & costs

A cloud-based system grows as the company grows. You only pay for what you use. With an on-premises solution, your company is responsible for purchasing and maintaining the hardware necessary to store your data.

As the business grows, the need for additional hardware and IT professionals to maintain them increases. Distributors can save upward of 30% or more on total cost of ownership by moving to the cloud. This move frees up valuable IT resources to drive innovation in other areas of your business like improving customer experience. Lastly, growth with innovation like artificial intelligence or AI is easier and less expensive in the cloud.

Always operate on the most current version

With a cloud-based multi-tenant system, you always have the latest version with the newest capabilities. Bringing an on-premises system down to upgrade to the next version introduces unnecessary risk into a distributor’s business.

Real-time access to data and inventory

How often do sales reps have to call the distribution center to see if an item they are trying to sell is in stock when levels are lower? How often is customer-specific pricing not immediately available? Storing your data in a data lake for immediate updating and retrieval makes your people more efficient and enables them to serve your customers better.

At the NAW 2022 Executive Summit in Washington, D.C., I asked Adam Isenberg, VP of Strategic Partnerships at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, why he thought it was important for distributors to move to the cloud. He said, “Distributors find themselves squarely in the center of the supply chain. As technology demands from both customers and suppliers continue to increase for distributors, their ability to adapt and invest in new technologies to maximize efficiency, transparency, and profitability is key. Many firms throughout the $6-trillion distribution industry have migrated their technology to the cloud with measurable success.”

The bottom line

To cloud or not to cloud? The benefits of cloud are compelling: the ability for employees to work from anywhere, data security from ransomware attacks, ability to grow and only pay for what you use, no upgrade disruption, and access to data in real time. You decide.

Source: www.inboundlogistics.com

Image: www.

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According to Satcom Global, for the very first time, vessel managers and owners will be empowered to make unlimited changes to their onboard connectivity. ‘They will have the ability to upgrade, downgrade and even suspend their service on-demand via a dedicated and secure customer portal. Unlike existing VSAT services available today, AuraNow customers will not be penalised for lowering their service plan or suspending their service.’

Ian Robinson, CEO at Satcom Global, commented: “AuraNow is a true industry first, designed to support the real needs of the communications user, rather than to capitalise on locking customers into prohibitive lengthy contracts. AuraNow is the only platform optimised to satisfy the connectivity required by the maritime community now, and long into the future. We urge all vessel managers and owners to explore the extensive benefits of AuraNow, before committing to yet another restrictive service plan.”

With bandwidth packages charged via daily increment, AuraNow allows customers to adjust their connectivity and spend, in line with their day to day and emerging requirements.

Bandwidth can be upgraded at any time, at the touch of a button, to support activities such as remote audits, vessel inspections and crew training. Similarly, maritime industries that operate seasonally or on a charter basis, will have the ability to deploy communications only when they are needed, and when vessels are sailing. Vessels will no longer need to overcommit to plans or pay for bandwidth they do not consistently need.

AuraNow is managed by a one-stop, easy to use portal, putting customers in full control of their vessel communications. As well as the ability to make direct changes to vessel bandwidth packages, the portal also provides access to a range of useful network statistics and metrics, live vessel tracking, Ku-band coverage beams, and invoicing and management information.

Source: www.maritimejournal.com

Image: www.pexels.com

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