The MIIAB had always used on-site servers, but when those servers reached their end of life, MIIAB had a decision to make: purchase new ones, or switch to the Cloud. In the end, it was cost that pushed them to make a change: “New servers and software would cost somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars,” MIIAB Director of Communications, Keith Knapp, said. “In addition, we’d have to pay monthly for a managed service agreement.” When all was said and done, it was just more cost-effective to switch to a hosted environment and give the Cloud a chance.
For years, we had been providing tech support to MIIAB which helped them decide to move to our Cloud solution.
The transition to the Cloud went more smoothly than Keith had imagined. “Moving to the Cloud was a big concern for us,” he recalled. It was hard to imagine that a hosted environment could be as quick as on-site servers. “We weren’t sure whether or not the speed would be the same and if it would seem as seamless to our staff members.”
It turned out to be a great transition. In just a day, they had MIIAB set up on the Cloud. The bulky servers were gone, but the speed and ease of use wasn’t. “It’s been a great transition,” Keith said. “We were very pleased with how things turned out.”
MIIAB chose Cloud computing, initially, to save money – and they achieved that goal. According to Keith, they saved thousands and thousands of dollars by moving to the Cloud. But that was only one of many unexpected benefits.
“We recently moved physical locations, but we moved to the Cloud prior to that,” Keith said. “It made our move so much easier. We were up-and-running right away. In fact, some members worked from home that day, so we didn’t have any downtime. It was awesome.”
Cloud computing has also given MIIAB employees greater flexibility and better access to information they need. “We have a number of people that work remotely, and having everything on the Cloud has made it so much easier for them to be able to work.”
“I highly recommend working with these guys,” Keith concluded. “The Cloud experience has been a great one. If someone was going to ask me, ‘Should I use move to their Cloud solution?’ I’d say, ‘Absolutely.’”