Far from simply being a personal storage system on your smartphone, cloud-based technology offers a wide array of advantages to both individuals and businesses. In today’s day and age, people have access to all kinds of information. Simple methods of storage like hard drives, software programs or databases simply don’t cut the mustard anymore. Cloud-based technology offers benefits to all, especially to businesses.
Efficiency Is Key
Simply put, cloud-based technology will save you time, making your business more efficient and allowing you to focus on the areas that will really drive profit. By utilizing technology such as cloud accounting, you can save those painstaking hours you normally spend on manual bookkeeping. Cloud accounting allows you to access all your critical financial information online at the click of a button.
Offering insights through useful financial reporting options, as well as improving tracking and forecasting, cloud accounting is a simple step for businesses to save hours of inefficient time. Cloud-based technology will allow you to sharpen your skills as well as refocus your energy and time into areas of your business that really need it.
Secure Your Data
Arguably the hottest topic in technology and information today is data security. For an established business, we could be talking about monumentally sensitive data, including; financials and customer details, so reasons to protect it are thick on the ground.
[pullquote]Traditional gut feelings and a mistrust of cloud services tend to make some people feel that they are better off maintaining ‘control’ and ‘privacy’ of their data using onsite servers kept under lock and key.[/pullquote] This is akin to keeping your uninsured life savings in a wall safe instead of the bank. Untrustworthy cleaners, disgruntled staff, building fires and burglars all pose potential risks to your servers.
Private cloud technology, however, offers far greater security for your data than traditional storage methods. Complex algorithms in the form of bank-level encryptions are used to defend your data from attack.
Of course, cloud servers are physical places too, however, we are again talking about some of the most secure environments on the planet outside of military installations. However good your office alarm is, you are out of your depth.
Storage For Days
Traditional storage methods offer the user a certain amount of storage largely due to the impact of physical space required for a server farm (a room full of servers). Cloud-based technologies do not have any such restrictions. Because cloud-based technologies are not ‘physical’ entities (at least not for the user), they are able to offer far greater storage capacity vs a traditional storage method. Being online means that no cap or quota is set on your storage limit unless of course, you maximize your storage offering, usually based on how much you pay each month.
Additionally, if you find your business suddenly burgeoning with new customers, then storage requirements can be increased at any time. Cloud-based technologies offer you the chance to utilize only what you need at any given time. Traditional storage methods can’t offer this, servers don’t materialize overnight so if your storage requirements change in a physical location you may find your business lacking the resources it needs to flourish.
Flexibility
Not only do cloud-based technologies allow you to store more data, more securely, they also create more flexibility in your business. In a world all about fast changing customer needs and expectations, being flexible has never been more important. Cloud-based technologies allow businesses to improve their flexibility in a number of ways.
- Firstly, being an online service allows your business to access critical information at any time, on any number of devices from any location. No more having to log in at work or driving to the storage facility.
- Secondly, cloud-based technology as mentioned above allows a business to be flexible with their requirements. At any given time if your storage requirements change whether up or down then you can simply amend the subscription you have to allow for more or less storage.
- Lastly, it takes away the geographical shackles once placed on your business. Having access at any time in any location means your business no longer requires physical locations, in essence, you can operate anywhere at any time around the world.
Cost Effective
Physical storage facilities or onsite facilities to store servers is not cheap.
Depending on your requirements this can place enormous pressure on your bottom line. Cloud-based technology offers businesses the flexibility to operate anywhere as mentioned above. However, what they also offer is great cost effective way to store and access your data.
Cloud-based technologies allow you to lower the overheads of your business by ensuring servers, maintenance and facility costs such as air conditioning, security and so on are no longer needed. Additionally, through a low-cost alternative such as cloud-based technology, you can control your requirements at any time. Increasing storage requirements or access controls comes at a low cost to your business. This could be the difference between growth and missed opportunity.
Overall cloud-based technologies represent a wide range of benefits to your business.
The above are but a small contingent of those benefits. It is important to remember that cloud-based technologies are fit for purpose so always consider what your business needs, then choose the option best for your future.
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Business Gains When Using Cloud-Based Technology
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