Companies invest significant time and capital on solutions for storing and protecting data, encouraging collaboration and document control, and implementing software to improve operations. Shifting to a cloud-based model can simplify these challenges, making it easier and faster to protect and grow business systems. Here are five ways the cloud benefits businesses.
1. Connect and Collaborate On the Go
One key benefit of cloud computing is mobility. Cloud-based business models allow for more flexibility, untethering employees from their desks and allowing them to access business systems from multiple devices at home or in the field. Cloud computing also improves teamwork by making it easier to access data and create shared meeting spaces where employees can connect and collaborate in multiple systems without expensive infrastructure investments.
2. Focus on Core Business
Investing in the employees and infrastructure necessary to manage on-site technology takes money and focus away from the core business. Companies operating under traditional on-premise models have the burden of maintaining functionality and protecting data. Shifting away from an on-premise model allows businesses to eliminate costs associated with acquiring and maintaining hardware, controlling the data environment, and staffing personnel to manage these systems. Instead of dedicating personnel to non-core functions, companies that move to the cloud can focus more resources on growing their businesses.
3. Protect Critical Data
Businesses serious about protecting their critical data often opt to back up their information on the cloud even if they maintain on-premise or co-located servers. One reason for this trend is the mobility inherent in cloud computing. A business that backs up information and systems to the cloud can access that data anytime, anywhere, and most cloud storage providers offer automated software maintenance, built-in redundancies, sophisticated security, and varying levels of IT support based on the needs and scale of the business.
4. Reduce Costs
Implementing and maintaining traditional on-premise IT infrastructure commonly requires significant upfront capital expenditure. Many businesses are shifting away from this model to a cloud computing environment in order to shift the focus of the business away from large capital commitments towards strategies that instead focus on operational expenses.
Generally, companies that adopt cloud computing save on more than just upfront investments. Many businesses have been able to reduce the number of workstations they maintain by allowing employees to work remotely, and monthly expenses for the cloud are lower and more consistent than the utility costs and staffing expenses associated with on-premise solutions.
The monthly cost for cloud computing services is based on factors such as the size and features of the storage space and the number of users accessing data and systems. Rates are customized to the needs and size of the individual businesses, which can scale their cloud use up or down as their operations evolve.
5. Enable Growth
With cloud computing, your business can access and install internet-based software without long implementation timelines and capital expenditures necessary to acquire, test, and install supporting hardware. An update to a company-wide operating system, for example, is simpler to implement in a cloud-based environment, and launching new software or adding features to support new areas of the business takes less time and fewer resources with cloud computing. This ability to quickly implement changes allows businesses to invest less and grow faster.
