Cloud & Microsoft 365 Articles
Moving to the cloud, and running it once you are there.
For a UK operations director, cloud is not an abstract platform. It is where the inbox and the shared files actually run, along with any application staff open to do the day's work. In a firm of 20 to 200, that usually means a hosted productivity suite already in use, plus one or two systems that still live on a server you own. The day-to-day job is keeping those environments connected, so a person working from home can reach the same records as someone in the office.
The technical move is only the start. Shared folders accumulate with no owner. An application that still authenticates against the office server will fail the moment that box is switched off. You're asked to approve the next step without a cloud engineer on staff. Get the sequence wrong and people lose a morning of work while someone hunts for a missing permission or a dead dependency.
4 articles in Cloud
Cloud: common questions
What's the difference between Microsoft 365 and Azure?
Microsoft 365 is the hosted email, files, meetings and desktop apps your staff use every day. Azure is the infrastructure platform for servers, databases and custom applications. A business can run Microsoft 365 for years without touching Azure. You typically need Azure when a system that used to sit on office hardware has to be hosted instead of replaced.
Does moving to the cloud save money?
It can, but not automatically. You stop buying and replacing servers, which removes a large capital bill. You start paying monthly licences and usage instead, and those charges continue if the system sits idle. Forgotten virtual machines keep billing after the project is meant to be finished. Savings appear when you actually switch old hardware off and review what you're still paying for. If both run in parallel for months, the bill goes up.
Who is responsible for security in the cloud?
The provider runs the datacentres and the platform software. You remain responsible for accounts, permissions, devices that connect, and what staff do with files. A stolen password still opens the tenant if you haven't set a second sign-in check. A shared link still leaks a folder if sharing is left wide open. Someone in your operation, or a supplier, has to configure those controls and keep them current.
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