It’s easy to buy cloud-based applications. Too easy, in fact. According to recent reports, the average small business has 40 to 60 SaaS apps, while the average midsize company has close to 100 or more. Small to midsize enterprises (SMEs) spend as much as 12 percent of their revenue on SaaS.

As much as 20 percent of this spending is wasted.

Physical security is top of mind in organizations of all sizes. Theft, vandalism and workplace violence remain serious threats that can endanger staff, disrupt operations and result in financial losses.

Suspicious drone activity is a growing issue with potential safety and security implications.

Although many large enterprises and government agencies are requiring employees to return to the office, remote work remains a fixture of the modern workplace. For many small to midsize organizations, remote work provides access to a larger talent pool and the ability to extend operations over a wider geography.

When organizations begin experimenting with AI and machine learning, they typically use public cloud services to avoid the cost and complexity of implementing AI-capable systems. As they transition into full-scale adoption of AI, however, they begin to see the drawbacks of the public cloud.

Cybersecurity has been a major focus of government agencies, but they are investing in physical security as well. The Department of Homeland Security, which bears much of the responsibility for federal government security, earmarked some $12 billion for physical security in 2024. The department asked for additional funding for its fiscal 2025 budget.

On-premises or the cloud? For most organizations, the answer is a combination of both.

Organizations continue to capitalize on the benefits of the public cloud: minimal capital investments, seamless scalability and simplified management. However, they’re also recognizing its drawbacks.

Physical security is a concern for organizations of all sizes. They must take steps to ensure the safety of people, property and assets amid rising rates of workplace violence, theft and other crimes. Colleges, universities and K-12 schools must also reduce the risk of gun violence, bullying, harassment and other threats to students and faculty.

The cloud, distributed computing and remote work models have dramatically changed network traffic patterns. Traditionally, most traffic stayed within the company LAN, and networks were designed to move that traffic efficiently. Because remote users primarily accessed centralized applications and resources, WANs focused on moving traffic into and out of the LAN.

When organizations first began adopting cloud services, they treated them as an extension of their IT environments.

Unified communications (UC) platforms have become an essential part of the IT environment. UC gives users access to a range of communication tools in one interface, enabling the collaboration that’s critical to remote and hybrid work.

Traditionally, UC solutions were deployed on premises.