Get Your Head In The Clouds: The Benefits of Cloud Technology For Small Businesses
Cloud storage is seen by many as a modern convenience that is helpful only on a personal level for dealing with multiple computers. This is false in both regards.
The concept of cloud computing was actually created in 1969 by prominent inventor J. Licklider, while mainstream integration of the product was completed in the late 90’s and early 00’s by Salesforce.com and Amazon. Clearly, this idea has been tried and tested through the trial of history.
Cloud technology can also be incredibly helpful for both individuals and small businesses. In fact, 64% of small businesses already use at least one piece of cloud-based software according to a survey taken by BCSG.
Efficiency
The most important effect that implementing cloud technology can have on your small business is increasing your efficiency. No matter what business you are involved in, whether it is a legal advice service, reseller, or even software development, using cloud storage for your files will increase efficiency.
Cloud storage increases your capability to work as a team on documents and files. Collaboration is made much easier of every person working on a project can easily change a document, and the rest can easily track what changes have been made and potentially reverse them if needed.
Additionally, cloud storage of files enables you to easily outsource tasks to freelance workers or give your employees the ability to work from home when necessary. This will increase your productivity and help with any morale problems.
Cost
Investment in cloud technology will also help you to reduce costs for your small business. Global IT spending is predicted to reach over $3.5 trillion by 2017, and a large part of this is produced as result of every business having its own dedicated IT system and help team.
You can avoid this inherently inefficient practice by using cloud technology for your business. There is no shortage of services dedicated to providing small businesses with cloud technology, especially cloud storage, and giving you support alongside.
This availability gives you an opportunity to minimise your IT costs, while retaining a similar level of support and make your business more efficient. Even in a simple event like moving offices, you will reduce moving costs by minimising physical servers that you need to transport.
Disaster Prevention
Cloud storage for your files can also provide you with stable storage for you data, especially in the face of potential disaster. 4.6 million data loss episodes are estimated to occur every year in the United States alone, and without comprehensive backups for your files any of these incidents could cripple your small business.
If you use cloud storage for your small business, it is easy to recover from any major data loss incident. This includes simple computer failure and physical disasters such as fires or flooding. All of this, for a fraction of the cost of having a physical backup and higher levels of convenience.
Overall, it is clearly a good idea for your small business to invest in cloud technology. It will give your business a level of efficiency and cost-effectiveness that cannot be otherwise achieved, alongside cheap yet good quality data protection on external servers.
Article by Jackie Photo by lionel abrial on Unsplash
