Did you know that cloud computing will account for an estimated 83 percent of company workloads by next year? Technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence have encouraged businesses to take more advantage of cloud solutions.
From cloud services like Gmail and Microsoft Office to network storage through iCloud, you’ve likely already taken advantage of cloud computing in your everyday life.
But did you know that cloud services can also save your small business time, resources, and money? They can even keep your information more secure and boost flexibility for your staff.
Read on to learn seven key benefits of using cloud services for small business.
1. Your Business Can Access Cloud Services Anywhere
When you choose cloud computing for your small business, you no longer need to stay in the office. Instead, you can easily access your services and data wherever you go. This not only comes in handy during an emergency but offer new opportunities to your staff.
With the majority of employees working remotely at least weekly, cloud technology makes it easy to allow telecommuting. Your workers can use their mobile phones or laptops to do their work from home or during travel. This benefit can improve your staff’s work-life balance and bring in high-quality recruits.
2. You Won’t Have to Worry About Updates
When you install software and run services from your company’s hardware, you have more work to do. You have to worry about keeping your systems up to date. Otherwise, you can encounter bugs, lose data, or even experience a system shutdown.
When you consider cloud solutions, you no longer have to do system maintenance. You’ll find that your cloud services receive automatic updates on a regular basis.
3. Your Data Will Be Safer
Running software and storing data on-site comes with security risks and the potential of data loss. Your small business may not have the resources to hire information security professionals. You might also not have the time to monitor the systems and data 24/7 to check for problems.
Like with automatic updates, the cloud hosting provider you use will also work to keep your data secure. They also have network monitoring tools that can detect hackers before they cause your business trouble.
Plus, you can expect your cloud hosting provider to handle backup and recovery tasks for you. They’ll back up your data to a secure place and get you back up and running as soon as possible if something bad happens. Compare this to the potential nightmare of dealing with losing your business’s essential data and systems kept in-house.
4. Cloud Technology Can Scale With Your Business
When you’ve got a small business, your technological needs can change significantly. You might only need a few services to serve a small staff when you just start out. But you can find you need a larger capacity as your business grows and sees more success.
Keeping your services at your physical location means you lose some flexibility. After all, you’d need to possibly buy new servers, upgrade your network, and buy more software licenses.
Cloud services for small businesses prevent this issue since they have the flexibility to adapt to your business’s size and demands. You’ll instead rely on your cloud computing service’s servers and bandwidth. You can always adjust your resources when you need more or less.
5. Cloud Computing Is Easier on Your Budget
Compared to keeping in-house computing systems and services, cloud computing can help spend less. Not only will your budget benefit initially when you implement the services, but ongoing costs can also go down significantly.
When you choose to use cloud technology, you’ll need less staff since the provider will handle setup and maintenance. This can mean you spend less on wages for IT staff.
You also avoid the huge upfront cost that comes with buying software licenses, servers, and networking equipment. You can instead search for affordable cloud hosting options that you pay for as a subscription. You may even be able to use cheaper computers in your company to access the services.
6. You Can Use Cloud Services to Improve Efficiency
Cloud services help your staff more efficiently perform their daily tasks. You can find cloud services that automate tasks that your workers repeat regularly and can do them more quickly. This means your staff can work on more important matters, and automation will reduce human errors.
Your staff will also get to collaborate more efficiently. Since they can access and update data wherever they go, you no longer have to worry about manually sharing files. This helps teams can get projects done more quickly.
You can also consider how your workplace will face less disruption from IT problems that would otherwise require staff attention. You no longer will have to worry much about handling a data loss disaster that costs you lost revenue and expensive repair costs.
7. Decision Making Will Become Easier
Cloud services have made it much easier for managers to compile and analyze data about operations and customers.
With the help of analytics services, you can get real-time access to sales, financial, marketing, human resources, inventory, and production data. This happens all with a glance at an online dashboard that compiles information collected during regular operations. The services can even use external data grabbed from the web about your industry and competitors.
You can use this information to know when to reorder inventory, respond to production problems, or even change your marketing campaigns. Such services can also give your staff access to important customer information to improve your customer relationship management.
Consider Cloud Services for Small Business Use
If you want your small business to reap these benefits, consider which cloud services would best benefit your business. You can then begin checking out providers for cloud services for small business.
You’ll want to research and compare the security, costs, accessibility, and support each cloud service provider offers. You’ll also want to know where they store your data and how often they perform backups.
Be sure to explore our other posts about how you can improve your small business.
