Selling the C-Suite on the Benefits of Managed Cloud Hosting

Your organization has an infrastructure that could use some dusting off, especially in a business world where 93 percent of companies utilize some form of cloud computing. Cloud computing is well established across every size business, from small to enterprise, whether they focus on the business agility benefits or the cost savings. Managed cloud hosting brings a lot to your organization’s table, from scalability to reduced maintenance, but you need to sell the C-suite on its benefits. 79 percent of C-level executives feel they make better technology budget decisions than anyone involved in the tech department, so getting their buy-in may be the difference between getting your solution and going back to your department empty handed. Here’s a few tactics to bring to the meeting table with significant C-level executives.

Your organization’s chief financial officer handles the overall financial vision of your organization. Ultimately, he or she controls the purse strings and decides whether managed cloud hosting fits in the overall business plan. Cloud computing offers a plethora of direct and indirect cost savings. Approach the CFO with cost saving statistics, such as the lack of upfront hardware costs, lower maintenance costs, and even lower on-site resource use. Be prepared to back up any cost saving statistics to get the CFO on your side. Don’t go into detail about the technical aspects of managed cloud hosting. At best, the information isn’t directly relevant to his decision. At worst, you lose her interest because she might not understand the terminology you use.

The world of marketing and technology cross paths more often than not these days, so the chief marketing officer is another important vote for executive buy-in. While the CMO may be familiar with a variety of tech tools, he or she handles staff who might not be as technically-savvy. One of her major pain points is the amount of time spent retraining employees if the switch to managed cloud hosting affects any existing infrastructure. Come to the CMO with a training plan in hand, any potential downtime points, and talk about the major advantages this set up offers. For example, if his marketing and sales staff can log in to the intranet site remotely, he can improve the company’s reach. Another area of interest for the CMO is handling high traffic volumes due to successful marketing campaigns or viral traffic. Let her know the cloud hosting easily adjusts to handle higher volume, so she’s not facing downtime during marketing success.

The chief executive officer looks at the big picture, so bring him or her a big picture view for consideration. How does the managed hosted cloud affect your entire organization? Some topics to focus on include the increase in productivity, especially among remote workers who have an easier time accessing assets, a shift from upfront expenditures to recurring payments, and a significant off-loading of IT maintenance duties. Some other points to touch on include business agility, reliability, and redundancy factors cloud hosting brings to the table.

C-suite buy-in requires understanding the individual vision of each executive, what they currently have on their plates, and how the managed cloud hosting service makes their job easier. They might not understand every technology benefit it brings to the organization, but as long as you sell them on the fact that it will have an overall benefit, buy-in follows.