Cloud Services – a practical solution to the ongoing constraints in opening the L/Cs for ICT infrastructure

Political instability and economic crisis have put the government in a state of paralysis: struggling to find a footing. Therefore, they have been using various tools, such as the ban on imports, to curb the current account deficits that the economy has been facing. After a complete ban on imports till August, the government has allowed retiring L/C (Letter of Credit) amounting to?USD 100K, but that too only for the importers. That had placed the orders before the ban, and only for the equipment that had reached Pakistani waters.

Businesses still face constraints in opening the L/Cs for raw materials, spare parts, and new equipment such as ICT infrastructure. Furthermore, given the recent slide in?PKR?against USD, imports have become more expensive, not to forget their detrimental effect on the country’s current account balance. Hence, based on economic fundamentals, it is likely that the ban on imports will continue for the foreseeable future.

ICT infrastructure plays a supporting role for a lot of businesses. It is an integral part of day-to-day operations for almost all industries and domains, and it has increased even more with the rise in digitization on all fronts. However, with ongoing economic uncertainty, investing money in auxiliary support infrastructure might not be the right move. Instead, the same funds can be very well invested in the core functions of any business and result in a greater return on investment.

Moreover, in times like these, inflation is at an all-time high, resulting in low margins and most businesses struggling with sustaining sufficient cash flows. Therefore, companies must avoid unnecessary CAPEX and keep their liquidity at par. Not only this, but reflecting on the continuous technological advancements, the cost of obsolescence also becomes very high when purchasing and deploying infrastructure.

A company needs to move towards a more flexible approach by reflecting on the economic uncertainty that has been prevalent in Pakistan, along with the associated organizational challenges. In the case of IT infrastructure, pay-as-you-go cloud services are the answer to these problems.

Procuring cloud services reduces many risks for an organization, such as a potential cash flow crunch and cost of obsolescence. Moving to the cloud means saving yourself from the hassle of purchasing the equipment, especially when procurement has become increasingly difficult. It allows businesses to keep up with the competition by only paying for the utilized resources and offers scalability in terms of usage. Cloud services also benefit you by using the latest technology at the lowest cost per unit.?

The cloud computing advantage is visible; it saves money and enables you to take your business to the next level.