How Cloud Computing Benefits Your Business
Cloud computing has been in use for a couple of decades, and, despite evidence pointing to the business efficiency, cost benefits, and competitive advantage it offers, the majority of the business world is still operating without cloud computing. According to research conducted by the International Data Group, 69 percent of companies are using cloud computing in one way or another, and 18% of them intend to implement cloud computing solutions in the near future. In the same way, Dell reports that companies that invest in big data, cloud, security, and mobility enjoy up to 53% higher revenue growth than competitors. According to this research, increasing numbers of tech-savvy businesses and business leaders are realising the numerous benefits of the cloud computing trend. More importantly, they are using this technology to efficiently manage their businesses, better serve their customers, and drastically improve their profit margins overall.
All of this appears to suggest that, given the direction in which the market is heading and the current state of affairs, there’s never been an ideal time to start getting your head up in the clouds.
Cloud computing is a term that has seen popular use in the past few years. Due to the dramatic increase in the use of data that has brought us to the 21st century digital age and beyond, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for both organisations and individuals to keep their important data, programs, and systems running on internal computers. The solution to this issue is one that’s been in existence for as long as the internet, yet it has only recently been able to gain traction with firms.
Cloud computing works in the same way as web-based email applications, which allow users to access all the functions and files of the system without having to keep the bulk of the system on their personal computers. In actuality, most people already use various cloud computing applications without even realising it. Gmail, Google Drive, TurboTax, Facebook, and Instagram can all be described as cloud-powered services. For each of these applications, users send their personal information to a cloud-hosted server, which saves the data for later access. As beneficial as these apps are for personal use, they’re more beneficial for businesses that need to access huge quantities of data via an online, secure network connection.
Benefits of cloud computing
- Cost Savings If you’re concerned about the cost of switching toward cloud-based computing, you’re certainly not alone. 20% of businesses are worried about the initial costs of implementing a cloud-based system. However, those trying to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of utilising cloud computing must take into account more than just the cost. They must also take ROI into account.Once you’re in the cloud, having easy access to your company’s information will cut down on time and cost for project startup. If you are concerned that you’ll end up having to pay for features you don’t need or want, most cloud-computing services are paid as you go. If you don’t make use of the features that cloud computing has to provide, you won’t pay for them.
- Security
A lot of companies are concerned about security in the process of implementing cloud-based computing. In the end, if files, software, programs, or other information isn’t stored securely on the cloud, how do you be sure that they’re secured? If you’re able to remote access your data, is there anything stopping a cybercriminal from doing the same? Well, quite a bit, actually.
For one thing, a cloud host’s full-time task is to closely monitor security. This is considerably more effective than an in-house solution, which requires an organisation to allocate its resources to various IT issues, with security only one of the many. While most businesses are reluctant to openly discuss the possibility of internal data theft, the reality is that an alarmingly large percentage of data thefts are internal and carried out by employees. If this is the case, it’s more secure to keep sensitive data away from the site. However, this all sounds very abstract, so let’s look at some reliable statistics.
Rapid Scale states that 94% of enterprises experienced a boost in security when they switched to cloud computing, and 91% of them said that cloud computing makes it easier to comply with government requirements for compliance. The primary reason for this enhanced security is the encryption of data transferred over networks and saved in databases. Through encryption, information isn’t accessible to hackers or any other person who is not authorised to see your data. To further protect yourself, and with most cloud-based solutions, various security settings can be configured depending on the individual user. When the majority of cloud users claim that disaster recovery can be completed within 4 minutes or less, nine percent of cloud users can say the same.
Dell says that companies that invest in big data, cloud security, mobility, and big data can benefit from as much as 53% more revenue growth than their competitors.
- Flexibility Your business has only limited time to allocate among all its obligations. When your existing IT solutions force you to dedicate a large amount of time and energy to data storage and computer issues, you’re not going to be able to focus on meeting your business goals and pleasing customers. However, by using an outside company to manage IT hosting and infrastructure, you’ll be able to focus on the areas that impact the profitability of your business.Cloud hosting generally offers businesses greater flexibility than hosting on local servers. In the event that you require more bandwidth, a cloud-based service can provide that quickly, instead of undergoing the process of a lengthy (and costly) upgrade on your existing IT system. This increased flexibility and freedom will make a major improvement in the effectiveness of your company. The majority of the respondents to an InformationWeek survey stated that “the ability to quickly meet business demands” was one of the most important reasons that a company should shift to cloud computing.
- Mobility Cloud computing provides mobile accessibility to company information via phones and other devices. This is significant considering that over 2.6 billion smartphones are employed worldwide. It can be a fantastic option to make sure that no one is excluded from the conversation. Employees with hectic schedules or who reside far from the office are able to use this service to keep instantly up to date with clients and co-workers.With cloud computing, you can easily provide accessible data to sales employees who are freelance, traveling, or remote employees for a better work-life balance. It’s therefore not surprising to find that companies that have employee satisfaction as their top priority are 24 percent more likely to increase the use of cloud services.
- Increased Collaboration If your company has more than two employees, it is worth making collaboration a priority. After all, there isn’t much point in having a team if it is unable to work like a team. Cloud computing allows collaboration to be simple. Members of the team can access and share data easily and securely on the cloud-based platform. Cloud-based solutions can even offer collaboration spaces for social networks to connect your employees across the company, which can increase participation and enthusiasm. Collaboration may be possible without cloud computing technology, but it will be more difficult and inefficient.
- Quality Control There aren’t many things that can be as detrimental to the growth of a company as low quality and inconsistency in reports. Cloud-based systems ensure that every document is stored in one location and in a standard format. Since everyone has access to the same data, you can ensure accuracy in your data, eliminate human error, and keep an exact history of any revisions and changes. In contrast, the management of data in silos could cause employees to save different versions of documents, which can lead to confusion and the dispersion of data.
- Automatic Software Updates If you have many things to do and are in a hurry, there’s nothing more frustrating than waiting for updates to be applied. Cloud-based software automatically updates and refreshes itself, rather than requiring IT departments to carry out an organization-wide update manually. This can save valuable IT personnel time and costs for external IT consulting. PCWorld reports that half of cloud-based users claimed that they needed fewer internal IT resources as an advantage of the cloud.
- Competitive Edge While cloud computing is growing with time, there are people who prefer to keep everything local. This is their preference, but it puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to those who have the advantages of the cloud within their reach. If you choose to implement cloud-based technology before your competitors, you’ll be further along the learning curve when you catch them up. A recent Verizon study showed that 77% of businesses feel cloud technology gives them a competitive advantage, and 16% believe this advantage is significant.
Impressico is offering SaaS and PaaS solutions to many international companies. The benefit of our cloud-based solutions is that they significantly improve their overall business process. If you believe the time is right for you to ride the clouds, contact us or use the comment section below if you have any feedback.
