The adoption of cloud computing by small businesses continues to soar in popularity, and it is easy to understand why.
With low costs, upfront costs, and benefits that can include increased efficiency, anywhere access, increased cash flow, and risk reduction during a crisis, it's hard to imagine why any business won't move to the cloud.
Cloud computing or online backup business can give you access to your business data and applications from anywhere at any time from any mobile device, at a reasonable price. Cloud gives small businesses access to technologies that were previously out of their reach and allows them to compete with other small and larger businesses.
In this article, we will look at the five main benefits of cloud computing for small businesses and what you can do to start seeing the benefits, today.
1) Increase Flexibility for Your Business and Easier Collaboration
One of the biggest benefits of turning to cloud computing is the increased flexibility that it provides to your business. Whatever you do, there may be cloud-based applications that can help you get things done more efficiently.
2) Providing Scalability to Grow with Your Business
Most small businesses don't try to stay small forever. Conversely, many try to find ways to grow.
But there is a danger of growing too fast and going beyond your infrastructure. This causes problems with everything, from making the right recruitment to delivering products to new customers.
3) Increasing Resilience and Reducing Risk for the Worst Case Scenario
Most small businesses think about how to grow, not about what they will do when a disaster strikes. There is so much to worry about when you run a small business that plans other things besides keeping the lights on and the door open feels like an unnecessary disturbance.
Moving your main data and business processes to the cloud gives you the redundancies you need to ensure that you don't lose data or key functionality in the event of a disaster.
Hosted voice allows you to pick up the phone even if your office has a service interruption. Cloud storage outside the office means you can still get the information you need even if you cannot physically access your equipment.
Cloud-based services allow your team to perform key services, wherever they work. Make sure you have a plan, whatever happens.
4) Freeing up your IT resources
Beyond the worst-case scenario, moving to the cloud can ease the burden on your IT department, especially if you utilize managed service providers to help with daily tasks such as network monitoring and support. In small businesses, it is often difficult to extinguish all fires - you are in reactive mode, responding to problems that arise.
Switching to a proactive mindset is very important if you hope to give innovation to your business. Taking advantage of cloud-based monitoring and IT solutions can be possible by removing reactive work and freeing up your technology team to focus on what will happen next.
5) Reducing Business Costs
For many businesses, the benefits of saving cloud computing costs are very important. Regardless of the size of your business, you can find significant savings through reducing spending on computer equipment, IT resources, software and more.
Cloud computing can often provide small businesses with access to the tools, programs and applications they need, but that may not be affordable.
Why Cloud Computing Can Save You Money
- You no longer have to pay for someone (or a team of someones) to do things such as install and update software, install and manage email servers and/or file servers, run backups – the beauty of cloud computing is that all of the business of maintaining the service or application is the responsibility of the cloud vendor, not yours.
- You no longer have to buy software. Besides the convenience of not having to buy software programs and install them on your own servers/computers, using cloud applications instead can be cheaper.
- You may be able to consolidate your separate application needs into one multi-application cloud computing service.
- You may be able to cut back on system hardware. File storage, data backup, and software programs all take up a lot of space on servers/computers.
- A cloud computing application may make integration easier. Because many cloud computing applications include an Application Programming Interface (API) you may be able to find "compatible" applications rather than having to pay to have the applications you want to be integrated customized for you.
- Cloud computing applications are regularly updated, so you don't have to spend time and money doing it – and giving you the advantage of always having access to an application's latest features and functions.
