The 6 Business Advantages of The Cloud
Prior to The Cloud, businesses had to invest in physical hardware infrastructure on site to support their business operations. The initial capital required, combined with maintenance, changes and ongoing support were quite significant. However, with the use of Cloud Computing today, your business can essentially set up a virtual office from one machine and an internet connection. Through The Cloud, you can access software, hardware and services as much or as little as you need, based on your specific and changing requirements. Here are the main benefits your business can gain.
1. Working flexibility
Through the availability of sharing data across the Cloud Network, both you and your team can have far greater flexibility in both where and when they work. With an Internet connection, a computer and admission to your Cloud servers, you can access business files from your office or off-site, at home, on the train and even on holiday!
The possibilities of this mean that you can hire around the country or around the world, as well as offer convenience and flexible work schedules.
2. Business protection
Continuity planning is very important for every business. If you were to experience a hack, a virus, hardware damage or corruption, your entire operation could be put at risk if all of your IT is stored in-house. The ability to locate your Intellectual Property (IP), data and files in The Cloud ensures that it is backed up in a safe and secure location. So, should the worse happen, your team can be up and running again very quickly, minimising disruption.
3. Updating technology
The digital world moves at a fast pace, and is always improving. When both your hardware and software is in the Cloud, your service provider may update all of their technology as it becomes available. This means that, rather than having to manage this process manually yourself, the Cloud may automatically update, ensuring you’re always working with the latest versions of software, and benefit from technology upgrades.
4. Cost-efficiency
Because you’re only paying for your usage, moving to the Cloud reduces both the high capital outlay, and the cost of managing and maintaining your own IT systems yourself. While every business’ situation is different, The Cloud can potentially reduce your costs by removing the need for system upgrades and new software, fewer support resources, wages, energy consumption and so on.
5. Scalability
As your business grows and changes, your IT needs to change with it. The Cloud is subscription-based, which means that when your structure evolves, you can scale your operational and storage requirements up and down to match your situation.
6. Collaboration
The Cloud provides a network of accessibility for operations, which opens up a lot more options for your business. For example, you can permit access to certain files that allows customers to directly input their data right into your system, reducing extra handling costs. You can also have software and files be accessible to contractors and third-parties to work together with your business on specific projects with ease.
Does your business use Cloud already?
This whole concept of The Cloud may seem a little daunting or overwhelming to your business. Sure- you can see the benefits, but it can often feel a little out of reach when you’re a smaller enterprise. However, the truth is, given the way technology is integrated into our lives today, chances are that your business may already be ready for the advantages The Cloud has to offer.
Is your business Cloud ready?
Cloud computing technology is a service which offers your business a lot of versatility across many functions of your business; so it’s worth learning more about what it can offer you. However, your business may be ready to take advantage of the Cloud than you realise.
