Invest in the cloud and take your business to the next level
Despite all the recent talk of cloud computing with the coronavirus pandemic and people working from home, the reality is cloud computing is nothing new. In fact, it’s been around for years. But since March 2020, businesses were forced to confront the cloud head on.
However, if you’re still considering taking your business into the cloud, we have some top tips and benefits of cloud computing to help you make your decision.
Productivity Benefits
You’ve written a document, drafted a contract or got together an important presentation. Then you have to send it to your manager or director and another colleague for proofing and checking. How long will that take? Two days of back and forth? With cloud computing you can eliminate that time wasted. An internal cloud provider can allow multiple employees to access a working document and each make changes in real time, saving time on emailing back and forth with amends. It doesn’t just work in terms of accessing documents within the cloud either; it also allows employees to access documents from anywhere at anytime. They can add, edit and share documents making for a collaborative working environment.
Cost Efficiency
Switching to cloud computing saves money. Not only will you save money in the short-term by not having to invest in hardware and servers, but in the long-term it’ll eliminate the need for overhead charges such as the cost of management, data storage and system updates. Cloud is generally cheaper than traditional IT and by taking away the capital expenses related to developing hardware and maintaining server infrastructure, businesses can save a substantial amount of money and improve cash flow.
With cloud, there’ll also be no server held on-site, saving costs on energy bills from removing the costs of running, and cooling, a server for 24 hours every day. Historically, a company had to estimate how much server space they needed and purchase hardware accordingly, leaving room to grow. Nowadays, most cloud solutions run on pay-as-you-go plans allowing business to grow at its own pace without forking out thousands for costly upfront hardware which may never be utilised.
Automation Options
Using the cloud to store information in a central location opens up options for the automation of tasks. How long do your employees spend doing tasks which an assistant or computer could do for them if your processes were streamlined? From invoicing to payroll, simple yet time-consuming tasks can be automated by taking advantage of cloud computing. The cloud is known to be able to store much more than your standard servers or personal computers. And with increased storage capabilities, it eradicates worries of ever running out of storage space.
Scalability
Grow your business with the cloud thanks to its scalability feature. As most cloud providers work on a per-user basis, you’ll be able to pay for exactly what you need, when you need it thanks to the ability for cloud to deploy its facilities instantly. Depending on your business growth and ever-changing demands the cloud can scale up or down.
Disaster Recovery
Over the past few months, businesses probably learned more about disaster recovery strategy than they ever wished to know. With the coronavirus pandemic, each business was forced to adapt and deploy remote working solutions, often cloud-based. However, adapting to cloud computing full time, whether you’re in or out of the office, leads to much smoother transitions in the event of a similar disaster.
Future-Proofing
In 2025, the PSTN is being switched off. This means any business still utilising the old telephone network will simply be inaccessible. By adopting a cloud computing strategy, businesses can seamlessly switch to hosted telephony. They’ll not only recuperate the benefits of business VoIP but also protect themselves against the upcoming changes in legislation and ensure they’re ready for any changes around the corner.
Work in a world without walls by deploying cloud computing. If you’re not yet convinced, we’ve currently got a host of free trials and cut-price deals on a range of cloud products for you and your business to take advantage of.
If you want to find out more about our cloud solutions, fill in our enquiry form. We’ll be happy to have a chat with you.
