Key Highlights

• You can scale easily, without any bulky servers or offsite locations. Scaling up or down is just a matter of a few clicks, without the need to buy more servers or expand physical space. 
• Benefit from a cost savings of 50-70% compared to scaling an on-premise solution.
• The security of data is much higher with a cloud based production scheduling solution, it offers more peace of mind for your company.
• Cloud hosting has transparent pricing, so you can accurately budget for your hosting needs and avoid any unexpected costs.
• While it's natural to feel hesitant about a big change, working with trusted cloud-based production scheduling providers can help ease those apprehensions and provide peace of mind.

What is Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting is new for this industry and pretty new over the last couple of years. Essentially what a lot of providers in this space are looking to do is get rid of bulky on-premise solutions, server rooms, and really antiquated ways to run businesses and move over to the cloud for scalability, for reliability, and overall ease of use. 

The beauty of the Optessa platform is that our newest version is cloud native. Additionally, the platform can be accessed through any web-based browser. As long as you have internet connectivity and access to all the files needed to run your production environment on the cloud, you're able to utilize the Optessa platform. 

In what ways does Optessa's cloud hosting solution offer advantages over traditional hosting methods?

The advantages of using cloud computing over traditional methods are numerous. They can include the following:

• Eliminates the need for bulky servers that take up valuable space and require expensive maintenance.
• Reduces expenses by avoiding the need to purchase new servers or additional space to accommodate them.
• Saves on energy costs by eliminating HVAC requirements needed to cool the servers.
• Eliminates the need for costly fire prevention measures.
• Keeps your data accessible by eliminating the need for remote locations in desolate areas. With cloud services, you can access your data from anywhere with an internet connection.
• Security of data is much higher with cloud hosting

Many companies that still use traditional hosting methods have to physically go offsite to address server issues, which can be inconvenient and time-consuming. However, cloud hosting is different and eliminates this need, as issues can be easily addressed from anywhere, anytime. Scaling is another benefit, and in just a matter of a few clicks, without the need to buy more servers or expand physical space. 

In addition, security is a significant advantage of cloud hosting. Optessa offers VPN access to ensure secure data access. The private network is restricted to a certain number of users, making it impossible for anyone to do something malicious. Since the security of data is much higher with cloud hosting, it provides more peace of mind for your company.

How do you ensure your cloud hosting platform is scalable and can meet the needs of growing businesses?

At Optessa, we prioritize scalability to ensure our cloud hosting platform can meet the needs of growing businesses. With cloud hosting, customers have the flexibility to anticipate their data storage needs and easily scale up or down as needed. This includes load balancing for seasonal or cyclical changes.

To add space, customers can simply upgrade their account and allocate more cloud storage and bandwidth based on their needs. This process is quick and doesn't require waiting for physical servers or disks. Our platform is designed to simplify the process and provide customers with the necessary resources to meet their growing demands.

Cloud hosting is also cost-effective compared to purchasing servers with disks. By scaling with Optessa cloud and production scheduling solution, businesses can save up to 50-70% compared to scaling an on-premise solution.

How does Optessa approach disaster recovery in business continuity planning?

Disaster Recovery

Moving to cloud hosting can be daunting for businesses still using traditional on-premise solutions. Customers often have concerns about unknown factors such as security, uptime, and disaster recovery. It's understandable that people may be apprehensive to switch from a familiar system to one that seems uncertain.

However, cloud hosting has many advantages over on-premise solutions, and those concerns can be addressed by working with the right cloud providers. At Optessa, we work with all the major cloud providers such as Google Cloud, Amazon, and Microsoft Azure. These providers have disaster recovery measures in place out of the box, including ample storage, failover, and SLA’s related to uptime and recovery time.

To ensure our customers' satisfaction, we provide an SLA of 99.9% uptime, and we have our own measures in place, such as running our own backups, redundancies, and keeping local files on-site when needed by the customer. Additionally, as we use cloud hosting for our own team, we have an in-depth understanding of the space and have added our own security measures to exceed our customers' expectations.

Cloud hosting allows for at least four backups of data, including those provided by cloud providers themselves. We also provide additional backups to ensure the safety of our customers' data. 

Business Continuity

In addition to providing backups, Optessa also prioritizes business continuity planning to ensure smooth operations in the face of unexpected events.

The team at Optessa works closely with customers to understand their needs and provide assurance that any downtime will be kept to a minimum. In the past, it could take days to restore service, but today, thanks to cloud hosting and improved SLAs, customers can expect to be back up and running in minutes.

Optessa takes backup and recovery a step further by conducting our own testing and utilizing our own redundancies to ensure that customers have multiple backups of their data. There is also a dedicated business continuity planning team, which conducts regular testing and documentation to ensure a quick response to any disruptions.

With Optessa cloud hosting, you can have peace of mind that we have robust recovery measures and business continuity planning in place. Whether you need to restore service quickly or require assistance in the event of a major outage, our team is prepared to handle it with efficiency and expertise.

By partnering with experienced cloud providers and having our own measures in place, Optessa ensures that our customers have peace of mind when it comes to disaster recovery and business continuity planning.

Is a combination on-premise and cloud hosting solution available?

When customers request to keep on-premise hosting in combination with cloud hosting, we are able to accommodate their request, but it's not a recommended long-term solution. Typically, when customers are migrating from on-premise to the cloud, Optessa will help lay out a plan to lift and shift data from current servers to the cloud platforms. We only recommend running both on-premise and cloud hosting during the migration process, and will work to establish firm dates for an expected stop date and transition to full cloud hosting. 

Reasons to keep on-premise hosting methods along with cloud hosting include:

• Sensitive data that needs to be kept physically
• Legal requirements or customer requests
• Overlapping migration periods
• Different timelines or plans for migration

What level of customization and control do Optessa customers have?

Optessa’s cloud hosting solution is built to be cloud native and works best when hosted on the cloud with providers such as Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure. Out of the box, you're getting exactly what you need from these hosting providers and from Optessa.

We understand that some customers want to be hands-off. Our customers do have the option to have Optessa manage their cloud hosting services on their behalf, for a nominal fee on top of the published pricing. We are flexible and work closely with customers to ensure that they fully understand the scope of the maintenance fee and what it entails.

When our customers choose cloud hosting with Optessa, they can count on 99.9% SLA, and regular backups – all offered out of the box. This option is future-proof and in line with where many of our customers are moving towards.

One of the most significant advantages of cloud hosting is its transparent pricing, which provides customers with customization and control. The cost of cloud hosting depends on the size and tier of service the customer selects, and there are typically no hidden fees or upcharges. This level of transparency allows customers to accurately budget for their hosting needs and avoid any unexpected costs. Customers have the power to easily compare pricing between cloud providers and choose the one that best fits their budget and requirements.

What Sets Optessa Apart?

Optessa is a cloud-native production scheduling solution, setting us apart as one of the few providers in the industry. We have the unique ability to work with all three major cloud hosting providers – Microsoft, Google, and Amazon – giving our customers the flexibility to switch between them as needed.

We provide our customers with support throughout the entire process, whether it's a lift and shift from on-premise to the cloud, a transition from one cloud provider to another, or an increase or decrease in cloud space. Our platform and production scheduling solution is designed for speed, and our in-house team is equipped to handle the process efficiently. We also offer managed services for those who prefer not to handle those services themselves. 

While it's natural to feel hesitant about a big change, working with trusted production scheduling solution providers can help ease those apprehensions and provide peace of mind. By partnering with experienced cloud providers, businesses can benefit from cost savings, scalability, and increased security. If you're looking for assistance or have questions about production scheduling solutions, please feel free to  reach out at 1-800-918-3597, email marketing@optessa.com, or visit us at https://www.optessa.com/