Moving processes and files to the cloud isn’t just a perk or a project for educators — it’s a necessity.

With each passing school year, more technology is introduced into the classroom. This is, by and large, a blessing for educators. More than half of students are now offered a 1-to-1 computing environment, 85% of institutions have open bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, and more tests are now being administered online than with paper and pen. In combination with the blossoming ed-tech market, this will introduce $8 billion worth of new devices next year.

But this flood of new tech can also be a curse; with such a staggering number and variety of devices, it can be difficult and costly to integrate them in a sensible way. What if applications don’t work on every device? What if students want to collaborate online when they head home?

To solve this problem of interoperability, many K-12 institutions are looking to the cloud. For many, the cloud provides an affordable way combine both student and teacher-facing operations into a single platform, accessible on every device. And because it’s scalable, it resolves the challenge of adding more bandwidth down the line, a possibility that, considering current trends, seems more and more like an inevitability.

Combined Apps and Tools, On-Demand

As the London School of Economics points out, the cloud allows for on-demand education. From one central online location, students, teachers, and administrators alike can all seamlessly access the apps and information that they need. Most importantly, these tools are are available to every device with secure login credentials. The diversity of devices suddenly becomes a strength.

At the same time, cloud providers have unveiled cloud-based platforms that combine front-office functionality and student collaboration tools — Google for Education and Microsoft Office 360 Education are among the most popular. This allows educators to not only accomplish all of their work on one technology, but on one comprehensive application.

This eliminates one problem that has plagued administrators: the need to update each individual digital device when new versions come out. It also means that institutions no longer need to upkeep physical, on-premises data storage. Memory and bandwidth usage is “pay-as-you-go” on the cloud, enabling schools to scale their technology programs whenever the need arises.

In practice, many school districts have had great success with cloud-based programs. For instance, the Maine Township High School District in Chicago recently updated their systems to include a cloud-based, virtual desktop for teachers. As the network manager put it, teaching while using digital tools should come, “as easily as writing on a chalkboard.” The district reports that their virtual system has made the system just that natural, while also making their IT systems dramatically more efficient.

Intuitive, Organized and Cost-Effective

Educators often visualize the cloud as a project that they can build out in piecemeal fashion over the course of years, adding applications here and there while they gradually phase out traditional, physical data storage systems. However, it’s often more cost-effective, efficient, and organized when institutions migrate all of their essential IT operations at once. As Computer Weekly observes, this grants administrators complete, top-down control over their technology programs. If an application or tool needs to be added or deleted, the switch can happen in once painless keystroke.

Institutions often point to K-12’s sluggish adoption of the cloud as a reason to hold off, but the reality is that this transition is picking up speed. Technavio forecasts the U.S. K-12 cloud market to grow by an astounding 24% over the next four years, arguing that it will play a “vital role in reducing the costs of building and maintaining [IT] infrastructure.”

Teachers often reprimand spacy students for having their head in the clouds. But when it comes to technology in the classroom, it turns that those kids might have the right idea.