Five Ways Using the Cloud Can Save You Time and Money

Featured article by Simon Stevens, Independent Technology Author

For the last few years, cloud computing has become a lot more popular for businesses around the world. Here we’ll provide you with three reasons how using the cloud can improve your business.

Reduction in overhead costs

Cost saving is something that most businesses are happy to get behind, and by using the cloud, this is exactly what it allows. By transitioning to cloud computing, you no longer have to worry about the maintenance costs of server stacks and racks. Since parts of the infrastructure become part of the cloud, this duty now falls under the responsibility of your cloud provider. In other words, no more updates, upgrades and repairs. On top of this, you’ll notice a drop-in energy consumption and expenses.

Increased collaboration

By using the cloud, it becomes a lot easier to improve on internal collaboration. It doesn’t matter where you’re located, it could be Mexico, Japan or China, migrating your business files to the cloud allows employees from all around the world to work together as if they were sat right next to each other.

Couple file-sharing with voice or video communications and you could potentially replace the entire office! This could encourage you to consider remote employees and hire from a much larger pool of talent. If it’s possible for your employees to work effectively from anywhere in the world, then there’s no need to limit your employee searches to a certain mile range.

Access flexibility

What if it is possible for your accounting department to work from home and save you the overhead of purchasing extra space? All of this can be made possible by using a cloud provider. A situation like this can help a business save money, improve its cutting edge and maintain greater productivity for longer periods of time. With the cloud, it’s possible for you to continue business as usual no matter where you are or what device you’re on, which can make it easier for smaller companies to compete with larger ones, or companies who refuse to use cloud computing.

Secure data backup

If you don’t have the time to create a backup strategy, or keep your backed-up data on site, cloud computing can ensure that you’re able to retrieve the latest version of your data in the case of a system failure, disaster or cyber-attack. It’s possible for you to choose a cloud system that can back up your data frequently or automatically to a safe online location, so if the unexpected happens, then you’re able to get back up and running in minutes.

Great reliability

Cloud services can offer a more reliable service than those delivered on-premise, particularly if the servers or hardware are aging. Cloud services offer dedicated, experienced IT professionals who can normally resolve problems faster than any business could with limited IT resources.

Change can be scary for a business of any size; however, the benefits of cloud computing completely outweigh the negatives.