With the recent push for online courses, digital lesson plans, and remote learning, cloud-based platforms are more important than ever. One Canadian school district reported annual IT cost savings of $12,000 after switching to an Azure-based cloud environment (BuiltIn). This also allowed their IT teams to focus on more important work. In another case involving a school in Canada, a single institution saved $500,000 while improving the service levels of their IT help desk. Cloud computing offers significant advantages to education, from K-12 schools to university students. But what do administrators need to know before moving forward?

The Main Benefits and Challenges of Cloud Computing in Education

To help you decide if cloud education solutions are suitable for your institution, here’s a quick rundown of the five main benefits and considerations of cloud computing in education.

5 Benefits of Cloud Computing

1. Long-Term Cost Savings

Cost reduction is a top benefit of cloud education software. Compared to managing an on-premise data center, cloud migration supports an IT ecosystem. It does so by helping companies shift from capital expenses to predictable monthly operation expenses. These predictable monthly expenses bring several benefits to institutions, including:

• Reduced data storage costs
• Minimal data center maintenance
• Less money spent on replacing aging physical IT hardware

This is a cost effective way to enhance your learning environment and create new educational opportunities.

2. Better Collaboration

Real time collaboration is an important aspect of cloud computing education. Cloud software helps to:

• Support student communication
• Create teacher management portals
• Power remote learning virtual classrooms