Harvest the benefits of migrating to private cloud

Each season brings a new cycle of demands, as well as fluctuating levels of profit and it can be easy to put off migrating your IT systems to the cloud, or prioritise investment in more traditional equipment. However, for your business to survive the turbulent economic times ahead, it might be that a brand-new combined IT system is more essential that a brand-new combine harvester, Intercity reckons.

Migrating to the private cloud involves moving your data and operations, such as your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, to a cloud that is designed for the sole use of your organisation. This can be within your own equipment, or using the infrastructure of a cloud service provider who becomes responsible for managing the cloud environment. All upkeep, updates, and upgrades are managed by the provider, so your team don’t have to conduct this time-consuming and costly maintenance themselves.

This migration comes with a whole host of benefits as it streamlines your sites, frees up your teams, and gives your business space to grow without demanding a significant initial investment, among other advantages. Let’s dig into them:

Multi-site collaboration

The productivity and efficiency of your operations will be fundamentally optimised through connecting your different sites and teams. They can share data more easily, all in the same system. Whether this be from field, to storage, to shipping, there are many hand-off points where ease of access and input of data can make sure everything is transferred smoothly.

In addition, the cloud allows your employees to communicate through multiple devices, wherever they are. Your teams can communicate as easily out in the fields as they can in the office. With the sheer real estate agricultural companies cover across their operations — everything from farms to physical storage facilities, to shipping across the UK — staying connected despite location is integral to ensuring day-to-day operations and handovers go smoothly.

Governance

Agricultural companies dealing with food production can expect audits to ensure their processes are hygienic and secure for the safety of their consumers. If the company is responsible for animals, it will also experience animal welfare checks. For these purposes, businesses must record data on their operations in their ERP system. Hosting your data in private cloud means it is readily available for auditing purposes as your systems can be accessed at all times.

Having your private cloud hosted by a trusted partner offers additional reassurance. If your system experiences any faults or issues, you can turn to your partner for their expert support and guidance to ensure they can be rectified as quickly as possible so that your systems are always on.

Increased security

Not securing your data effectively enough can have monumental repercussions if exploited by hackers. These will not only impact your operations and reputation, but your bank account, as shown by the JBS Ransomware attack which saw the largest beef supplier in the world pay out US$11 million to the hackers that infiltrated their network (CNBC).

As highlighted in a statement by the FBI, the time-sensitivity of processes in the agricultural industry in particular, such as cooperatives dealing with dairy or meat, make them attractive targets to potential attackers. This is because one error in the supply chain has repercussions across the business’ entire production. The time pressure that these companies face to preserve their production line can also make them more likely to pay up to hackers.

Placing your data with a partner to host in their private cloud means there are always eyes on your system to keep it secure. Your data can be stored in a robust and reliable centre that is being constantly monitored and protected by a team of industry experts.

Helps to reduce waste and costs

Although the farming industry is one of the largest contributors to global emissions, farmers can be more precise with the equipment, fertiliser, water and soil that they use by utilising Cloud-connected wireless sensors to understand crop conditions. Using only those resources required for the best output reduces waste, and therefore not only benefits the environment but your budget.

Having an effective system readily available to all levels of your production that manages insights into weather, yields, labelling and so forth, can empower businesses within the agricultural industry to review where they can make cost-savings most effectively. Streamlining your business to be its most efficient and joined up means reducing costly delays, and keeps the supply chain running smoothly.

Why use Intercity’s private cloud?

Intercity Private Cloud is hosted in the company’s privately-owned Tier 3 Data Centres, which are manned 24/7, protected by multi-layered biometric security access, so you can rest assured your teams can reliably and securely get to your data but nobody outside your network can. You’ll be in safe hands with Intercity experts who will become an extension of your team, supporting you around the clock with their extensive experience and knowledge.

Intercity ensures all your users receive high-speed connectivity, and also offers scalable options so no matter the size of your business, it can cater to your ever-changing needs as you grow and adapt.

Check out Intercity’s full video case study with Burgess Farms here to see how it is already enabling businesses to do more.