The country of the fast internet benefits too little from the advantages of the Cloud. Five advantages of the Cloud

The country of fast internet is underutilizing the advantages of the Cloud. Five advantages of the Cloud for Romanian companies Romania ranks first in the European Union regarding fiber optic internet coverage, including in rural areas. However, local companies lag far behind those in the EU when it comes to using cloud services. According to Eurostat data for 2025, only 24.9% of Romanian enterprises with at least ten employees use paid Cloud services, compared to 52.7% across the European Union. In Finland, this proportion approaches 80%. The difference becomes significant in a more competitive market where business activity increasingly depends on technology. IT systems support sales, customer relations, production, logistics, and financial operations. At the same time, companies must manage larger volumes of data, protect their infrastructure against cyberattacks, and respond quickly to market changes. "The Cloud offers solutions for many of the current challenges businesses face, but adopting it is more than just moving applications from private servers to a provider's infrastructure. It is a strategic decision that influences how an organization invests in technology, optimizes its resources, and ensures business continuity," states Silviu Dumitru, Sales Director at GTS Telecom – a Cloud solutions provider. Cloud adoption in Romania is growing, but it is far from the European average. Eurostat data shows that the use of Cloud services in Romania has increased from 18.4% in 2023 to 24.9% in 2025. Nevertheless, the gap compared to the European average remains considerable. This evolution is also reflected in the relationship between IT service providers and local companies. "We observe increasing interest from companies in fully migrating their IT infrastructure to the Cloud or outsourcing certain components. In many cases, this transition starts gradually, by migrating one application or service, and the tangible benefits obtained subsequently encourage expansion to other areas of the IT infrastructure," explains Silviu Dumitru. The Eurostat indicator includes services such as application hosting, data storage, email, or business programs accessed via the internet. Therefore, not all companies using the Cloud have abandoned their own servers, and using such a service does not automatically mean modernizing the entire IT infrastructure. However, data shows that many Romanian companies utilize cloud technologies to a lesser extent than those in other European countries. The European Commission has signaled in its digitalization reports on Romania the low level of adoption of advanced technologies in the business environment and the need to accelerate this process. The pressure for modernization is also increasing from other directions. The implementation of the NIS2 Directive introduces stricter requirements for managing cyber risks for targeted organizations, including regarding business continuity and supply chain security. For companies that provide products or services to international groups, the ability to demonstrate that they protect their systems and data is becoming increasingly important in commercial relationships. In parallel, artificial intelligence is beginning to be integrated into more and more business processes, from data analysis and automation of repetitive tasks to customer relations. As these applications develop, the need for flexible IT infrastructure grows—infrastructure capable of supporting new demands without major equipment investments at every stage. Five advantages of the Cloud for Romanian companies - IT resources adapted to the pace of business Owning IT infrastructure requires advance planning of processing and storage capacity. Acquiring servers necessitates an initial investment, and expanding infrastructure can involve additional equipment, installation, and configuration time. In the Cloud, processing, memory, and storage resources can be adjusted according to needs, within the limits of the contracted service. An expanding company can augment its capacity without having to purchase new servers every time. Just as important, during periods of low activity, certain resources can be reduced, avoiding the maintenance of oversized infrastructure. This advantage is relevant even for companies undergoing reorganization or those that need closer control over their expenses. Through its public Cloud services, GTS Telecom offers companies access to virtualized processing and storage resources that can be scaled according to application requirements. For organizations that require a dedicated environment, the company also provides customized Private Cloud solutions. Flexibility, however, does not eliminate the need for careful cost management. Contracted but inefficiently used resources can generate unnecessary expenses, which is why sizing and consumption monitoring remain important. "Managing private IT infrastructure involves not only significant initial investments but also careful planning of processing and storage capacity. In the current geopolitical context, marked by armed conflicts, global supply chain disruptions, and limited availability of certain electronic components, the hardware market faces significant price fluctuations and, above all, increasingly unpredictable delivery times. In this context, the Cloud becomes an ever more attractive alternative, offering companies the ability to quickly access IT resources, adapt their capacity to real business needs, and reduce dependence on equipment procurement and delivery cycles," mentions Silviu Dumitru. - Ability to handle peaks in activity For an online store, Black Friday can mean traffic several times higher than on a normal day. Christmas campaigns, product launches, or promotions can also generate sudden increases in the number of users. If the infrastructure lacks sufficient resources, increased traffic can lead to slow application loading, errors, or interruptions. For an online merchant, such problems can directly translate into lost orders and dissatisfied customers. A Cloud architecture designed for scaling allows for the allocation of additional capacity during busy periods, automatically when services and applications are configured correctly. Companies can thus prepare their infrastructure for peak seasons without maintaining the entire necessary capacity for only a few days or weeks a year. - Rapid expansion into new markets and service development Establishing operations in another country, launching a digital platform, or integrating an acquired company often brings additional IT requirements. The infrastructure must be expanded, users need access to applications, and data must be managed securely. Cloud services reduce the time needed to deploy IT resources and allow for testing projects before a company decides on larger investments. This advantage is also relevant for companies introducing AI-based applications. Flexible access to processing and storage resources can support the development and testing of new services without immediately acquiring dedicated infrastructure. However, benefits depend on the chosen architecture, the availability of services in relevant geographic regions, and data localization and transfer requirements. For companies that keep some applications on their private infrastructure but need additional resources for new projects, a hybrid solution can be an alternative to full migration. - Access to infrastructure and security expertise Cyberattacks pose a risk to companies regardless of whether they host their systems internally or in the Cloud. The difference may lie in the available resources for prevention, identification, and incident management. For a company with a limited IT team, managing updates, monitoring infrastructure, controlling access, and protecting backups can become difficult to handle. "Many companies have highly competent IT teams, but they must cover a large number of responsibilities. In such situations, collaborating with a specialized provider allows them to benefit from professionally managed infrastructure and additional expertise without needing to develop all these competencies internally. This way, internal teams can focus on the company's core business and, ultimately, contribute to increasing profitability, instead of concentrating their efforts just on providing stability," explains Silviu Dumitru. Depending on the identified risks, Cloud infrastructure can be supplemented with dedicated protection services. GTS Telecom offers an extensive portfolio of cybersecurity solutions that meet various needs for protecting IT infrastructure. This includes services such as Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) for network traffic control and security, Anti-DDoS for protection against availability attacks, and Web Application Firewall (WAF) intended to protect web applications against cyber threats. Complementarily, SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solutions allow for the collection and correlation of security events to identify potential incidents, while SOC services and solutions implemented and managed by SIEM, XDR, and Service Management ensure continuous monitoring, advanced threat detection, and specialized intervention in the event of security incidents. These services are relevant in the context of NIS2, which emphasizes risk management and the implementation of security measures proportional to the organization's activity. However, using the Cloud does not guarantee compliance with legal requirements. Companies must understand what responsibilities belong to the provider and which remain their own, including for application configuration, access management, and data protection. GTS Telecom supports companies in aligning with compliance requirements and strengthening cybersecurity through IT Maturity Assessment services, NIS2 consulting, and CISO as a Service. The latter provides organizations access to strategic expertise in cybersecurity without needing to recruit a dedicated specialist, contributing to defining security policies, assessing and managing risks, coordinating protection initiatives, and aligning with regulatory requirements. - Business continuity in case of incidents A fire, power outage, flood, or earthquake can affect servers installed in an office building or technical space that was not designed for hosting critical infrastructure. For companies in Romania, where seismic risk is a real concern, protecting infrastructure and recovering data after an incident deserves special attention. Professional data centers have dedicated systems for electrical power, cooling, fire detection, and suppression, as well as physical access control measures, depending on design and redundancy level. GTS Telecom operates data centers in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca where companies can host IT infrastructure under specialized conditions. Using such facilities reduces some of the risks associated with servers located in regular company offices. However, supplementary measures are also necessary for operational continuity, such as backups, data replication, and disaster recovery plans. Simply moving applications to the Cloud does not eliminate the risk of interruptions, especially if all systems depend on a single location. For these situations, GTS Telecom offers Backup as a Service to perform and recover backups, and Disaster Recovery as a Service that supports system restoration and business resumption after major incidents. These services can complement hybrid infrastructures where some applications and data remain on the company's own servers. When should a company move to the Cloud? The Cloud has become an essential component of IT modernization strategies, offering companies the flexibility to adapt their infrastructure to the pace of business development. However, its adoption does not mean completely abandoning existing infrastructure. On the contrary, integrating Cloud services with dedicated servers, colocation solutions, or already owned infrastructures can be an efficient approach that leverages previous investments and facilitates the transition to modern technologies. The choice of appropriate architecture must start from business objectives, application requirements, and the need for flexibility, security, and operational continuity. Beyond comparing direct costs, companies must also consider long-term benefits: reduction in initial equipment investment, rapid access to additional resources, simplification of infrastructure management, and the ability to respond faster to market changes. In this context, local cloud providers, such as GTS Telecom, support organizations in identifying and implementing the most suitable solutions through an integrated portfolio of public and private Cloud services, colocation, dedicated servers, cybersecurity, and operational continuity. This approach allows for the construction of hybrid architectures tailored to each company's needs without compromising previous investments. Romania has a very well-developed connectivity infrastructure, which is a significant advantage for accelerating cloud adoption. Reducing the gap compared to the European average is not just about technological modernization, but also an opportunity to increase the competitiveness of Romanian companies. In an economic environment characterized by rapid changes and constant pressure on costs, the ability to quickly implement new services, scale resources, and ensure operational continuity can make the difference between companies that react to change and those that succeed in turning it into a competitive advantage. The Cloud should no longer be seen merely as an alternative to traditional infrastructure, but as a strategic tool through which companies can accelerate their development, optimize their investments, and build a more agile and resilient business. Article supported by GTS