Hot on the heels of many other large companies, the delivery giant FedEx has announced its plans to close down its remaining data centers and migrate fully to the cloud within the next two years. According to the data center information site, Baxtel, FedEx currently has only one remaining data center in Colorado Springs. Dubbed a “zero data center, zero mainframe” strategy, their move to the cloud looks set to save the company an estimated $400 million a year.

A Long Time Coming

Throughout its history, FedEx has established itself as a leader in technological innovation. Keen not to fall behind, FedEx has made a move to fully embrace cloud-native structures by 2024. While, along with other companies, FedEx began its transition into the cloud long ago, the COVID-19 pandemic has served to hasten the adoption process. With the shipping and logistics market being more saturated than ever, companies must do all that they can to cut down on costs moving forwards.

How Will a Move to the Cloud Benefit FedEx?

Moving from private and leased data centers to the public cloud makes excellent sense. After all, the public cloud offers distinct advantages to large companies, including scalability, cost reduction, resource optimization, simplified disaster recovery, and the ability to build applications faster.

Cloud computing gives companies the edge, encouraging them to stay ahead of the competition and driving innovation. The cloud’s security advantages are unparalleled when compared to other hosting solutions. Cloud hosting companies offer a plethora of security options to protect client data, including VPNs, firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems. Regular updates mean that cloud solutions can always stay one step ahead of the latest cybersecurity threats. Clients need not worry about the security of their data, as all data stored in the cloud is fully encrypted. Should the worst happen, cloud security provides enhanced disaster recovery and business continuity.

Cloud-based services allow you to scale up or slim down as your company grows and evolves. The flexibility that this offers a large company such as FedEx is invaluable. Additionally, FedEx will benefit from massive cost and space savings.

With larger companies, it takes a lot of effort to keep on top of data insights and analytics. Cloud technology helps to streamline this process and makes it easier to share and collaborate on these findings. In fact, a move to the cloud will make collaboration so much more accessible right across the company. Shared documents and automatic syncing mean that employees can collaborate on projects even when geographically disparate. Given the increase in remote working post-pandemic, these capabilities are essential.

As we all work towards making more environmentally friendly choices for ourselves and our businesses, a move to the cloud supports a more sustainable work life. Energy savings will be made with the closure of data centers and the on-demand options offered by cloud services.

Are There Any Risks?

Given the scale and success of the company, it is likely that FedEx has a clear strategy in place when it comes to migrating to the cloud. However, nothing is without risk, and a transition to the cloud is no different. So, what risks will FedEx face as they migrate to the cloud?

One of the major concerns, when companies migrate to the cloud, is whether existing architecture will be compatible. Therefore, all existing architecture should be audited to mitigate this risk and to ensure that any potential incompatibilities are dealt with early on.

Inevitably, security risks, such as compliance violations and unsecured APIs, are involved with a move to cloud computing; these risks should be addressed from the start. Once security risks have been identified, preventative steps can be taken to deal with them.

As data is moved, there is always the potential for it to be lost or corrupted. Creating multiple backups of your data will ensure this is not a problem.

While some risks are associated with cloud migration, the advantages are unquestionable. Careful planning and preparation can help to overcome these risks, allowing companies to realize the full potential of cloud computing. Companies of all sizes, not just those as large as FedEx, can benefit from moving to the cloud.

Atlantic.Net Can Make This Move Easy

Atlantic.Net is a trusted VPS hosting services provider with over 25 years of experience. We offer a range of customized hosting solutions designed to provide companies with the potential to grow and prosper. Atlantic.Net is SOC 2 and SOC 3 certified, HIPAA and HITECH audited, PCI-DSS compliant, and regularly audited for security. Some of the many reasons to choose Atlantic.Net to meet your business needs include a 100% uptime service level agreement, world-class data center infrastructure, and industry-leading certifications and partnerships.

Contact our sales team today and discover how your company can benefit from a move to the cloud, just like FedEx.