Technology, data and a highly-connected team are more important than ever for businesses of any size. Traditional, offline solutions can be effective, but many businesses are finding that there are better answers.
Now, many companies are turning to solutions on the cloud to provide their teams with storage, speed and tools they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Here are 5 different ways that cloud solutions can be leveraged to generate business growth.
1. You Can Work on the Move
Desktop virtualization — cloud-based technology that allows employees to access their desktops, no matter where they are — is one of the biggest benefits driving companies to the cloud, according to Spiceworks’ 2020 State of IT report.
With the cloud, you can access your tools, services, and data no matter where you are, so long as you have a device that connects to the internet. Need to make crucial business decision while traveling, but you want access to important budgeting info first? With most services, you should have 24/7 access to any data stored on the cloud.
With cloud solutions, you won’t need to keep redundant copies of important data on the devices you travel with. There will also be less of a chance that you’ll get caught with outdated information — you’ll always have access to same the data that your team is working with.
2. Increased Cost-Effectiveness
With most cloud-based services, your business will only pay for the resources it uses. Your business also won’t need to spend money purchasing or maintaining extra physical storage, processing power or networking equipment. So long as every employee has a device that can connect to the internet, they all have access to the cloud and any cloud-based resources that a business may have.
Cloud computing can also enable businesses to automate processes that never could have been automated before. Automating these processes can improve business efficiency and even reduce IT costs.
3. Flexibility and Scalability
Because most cloud services keep additional resources ready, if you need to upgrade you can usually do so instantly. There will be no need to wait for new servers to be racked in a data center or for extra hard drives to show up at the office. Put in the request for additional storage space, and you can have it available quickly — or even immediately.
Some cloud services, like Amazon Web Services, even provide services that automatically scale the resources your business has access to, depending on its changing needs.
4. Improved Collaboration
When your team can work from anywhere, they can collaborate from anywhere. With cloud-based services and storage, no matter what device a team member is working from, they can have access to the same tools and data as any other member of the team. In this way, the cloud can keep everyone on the same page, reducing the risk of miscommunications and increasing efficiency.
5. The Latest Software
With most cloud-based solutions, your business won’t need to worry about updating or maintaining the software it needs. When working with a Platform – or Software-as-a-Service company (PaaS or SaaS), the tools your business uses will be typically be updated automatically, and without need for input from your IT team. This can help your team keep their software up to date.
Having the latest version of your software can also improve security. The most recent version of a software is almost always the most secure, and using cloud-based solutions can help you ensure that your team is using the most secure software possible. This can help prevent unauthorized access to your network and any confidential or sensitive data that you work with or store on the cloud.
Keeping software updated is especially important right now, because hackers are working faster than ever — according to the NSA, cyber criminals need just 24 hours to weaponize security vulnerabilities once they come public knowledge.
Boosting Growth With Cloud-Based Solutions
With cloud-based solutions, businesses have access to a number of benefits that traditional solutions can’t provide — like remote access to data, flexible resources and always up-to-date software.
Together, the benefits of the cloud can boost productivity and improve efficiency — possibly leading to better growth for your business.
Author Bio: Kayla Matthews is a cybersecurity journalist and writer. Her work has also been featured on https://writerzone.net/team/kayla-matthews/, Security Boulevard, Security Magazine, Computerworld and Toolbox, among other publications. To read more from Kayla, please visit her blog at https://productivitybytes.com.
Kayla Matthews is a guest blogger. All opinions are her own.
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