As technology keeps getting better, it’s becoming harder than ever to justify sticking to the old ways of doing things.
74% of Chief Financial Officers in 2017 said cloud services had a substantial impact on their businesses. If you aren’t moving to the cloud to get the same benefits, then you risk falling behind, so contact a quality managed cloud service provider and update your business.
But what are the ways the cloud can help your business? This post will cover the details of that.
Keep reading to learn six ways cloud services can give you an edge.
1. Improve Employee Collaboration
When your employees don’t have a central location to collaborate on projects and share information, it can cause problems with workflow. Employees will come up with their own methods to manage projects so they can get work done.
But what happens when you have conflicting project management and working styles?
When you don’t have clear procedures and standardized software, your workplace can become a free-for-all. Cloud collaboration tools will move your work to one place to standardize your toolset and project workflows.
Along with project collaboration, there are several other services you can move to the cloud to increase productivity:
- Video meetings
- File storage
- Phone services
- Document management
- Accounting
- Human resources
All these services can stand alone, and many can connect to improve data sharing and collaboration.
2. Reduce Your Costs
When you host software in-house, you aren’t only paying for the license to use that software. You also have the cost of running the hardware that runs it.
When you move your business to the cloud, your in-house infrastructure needs are reduced as you no longer need to handle these functions on-site. Cloud services offer more affordable pricing options than their desktop counterparts and are more flexible with licensing.
On top of the hardware cost, you are going to have the cost of people to run your equipment. You will need to either hire in-house staff or outsource more IT work. With cloud services, your support cost is built into your subscription.
3. Scale as Much as You Need
Businesses can grow and shrink at a moment’s notice, and it is hard to find room to expand.
When dealing with desktop software, you are typically provided a set number of licenses in batches to give to your employees. If you go one or two users over your limit, then you will have to get another batch of licenses, making you spend more than you need to.
Cloud software allows you to scale on a user basis, so you don’t spend more than you need to.
The same is true for file storage. You are given a set amount of space that grows or shrinks based on your usage. This flexibility means you are only paying for as much as you use.
Other software systems in the cloud are easier to manage because you aren’t required to buy specific hardware to expand. If you happen to downsize, then you are stuck with this hardware that you can’t use.
In the cloud, you stop paying for what you don’t use.
4. Your Data is Secure Offsite
Keeping your data secure is one of the most critical parts of the business and isn’t always easy to do. You have to worry about accidental deletions, corrupted hardware, and potential viruses.
By moving your data to the cloud, you no longer need to worry about problems in the office that can cause disruptions.
Cloud storage providers comply with industry regulations to provide secure environments to host your data and files.
Certain file backup providers also provide file versioning for your essential files. Versioning will allow you to revert to a previous file version to recover any changed or deleted information.
5. Make Your Workforce Mobile
One of the biggest hindrances to productivity is being tied down to a physical location.
By allowing your workers to be mobile, you are both empowering them and allowing them to be more productive. When remote employees were polled, the majority of them confirmed this.
Cloud services don’t only let you work from your computer. Most also offer mobile applications that allow you to work from your phone. This mobility lets you get out and about if you want to get work done on the go.
Collaboration tools and cloud file storage will give you access to all the data you need to get your job done.
This mobility also increases your ability to get things done when there are problems at the office. Sometimes the power or internet goes out. You can’t get things done if you can’t access your tools.
When you have your software in the cloud, you only need to move somewhere with internet access to continue with your day.
6. Reliable Web Services
If your business doesn’t have a web presence today, you are falling behind your competition.
Having a strong presence online is like having an advertisement that works 24/7 to promote your business. If your company offers a specialized service to your clients, then a cloud VPS service can provide you with a scalable solution to deliver your product.
These hosting services only require you to pay for what you use, and there is no lag in scaling your services up and down. You can set your requirements in your control panel and watch your changes go through immediately.
7. Improved Security
People make mistakes. Laptops get left somewhere. USB drives fall out of pockets and bags.
With your data on the cloud, you can deactivate a device that is potentially missing to stop it from accessing business data.
For data that is temporarily stored on machines, you can use remote wipe options that will remove any sensitive data. Your company will be protected no matter what happens.
Moving to the Cloud Benefits Everyone
Now that you know how moving to the cloud can benefit your company, it’s time for you to start looking at services. Don’t wait any longer to see how they can help.
Cloud software isn’t the only technology improving business. Here, you can learn how AI is changing the business world.
