Is your business currently utilizing cloud technology?
If you aren’t, you may be falling behind your competitors in productivity and flexibility.
The cloud has already found its way into the vast majority of the software we use today.
For example, Facebook, Google, Youtube, Gmail etc. -- these are all examples of how we are using the cloud in our everyday lives.
But it’s not just for personal use -- cloud technology can help businesses of all sizes improve in productivity, flexibility, and security.
Here’s how:
1. Instant Remote Collaboration
Using the cloud means that your team members can instantly collaborate on projects without needing to physically be near each other.
There's a wide range of options for cloud documents (like Office 365 and the Google Suite) -- and each comes with a relatively inexpensive monthly option.
Your team members can also share videos and other files, as well as instantly send links to these files to be collaborated on.
Being remote allows any team member to access and make edits to projects, even when they are at home or on the road. It’s a great productivity boost for any business.
2. Secure Backups
Cloud Storage solutions allow you to create backups of your files. Hardware can fail at a moment’s notice, and the last thing you want is to lose all your important files, customer data, and other key documents.
That’s why is good practice to back up your files on a cloud-hosted solution like Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive or similar.
These cloud solutions are secure and offer multiple redundancy measures, so you can have peace of mind, knowing that your key documents are backed up on an external server.
Plus, these backup solutions offer file encryption which makes it more secure than storing on a regular hard drive.
3. Unlimited Data Storage
Cloud storage solutions offer unlimited data storage. In most cases, cloud storage is more cost-effective than investing in your own hardware (especially for small businesses).
Most cloud storage providers offer a monthly “pay only for what you need” solution. Plans can start from as low as $1.49 NZD per month, up to $14.99 or more for larger storage requirements (e.g. 1TB+).
4. Version Control
Cloud Suites like Office 365 and the Google Suite offer great version control options.
Version control allows multiple versions of the files to be saved so that if you need to revert back to an older version, you’ll be able to do this.
You can also see what edits have been made to your files with version control.
Additionally, having good version control removes conflicts (i.e. when two users try to work on the same document at the same time), and makes it easy to manage each edition of your documents -- therefore increasing team productivity.
5. Reduced Costs
As mentioned before, cloud storage can offer significant cost reductions when compared to the alternative of purchasing your own hardware.
Setting up your own storage infrastructure can be expensive, because hardware usually requires a significant upfront investment. It also requires regular maintenance to be done to make sure everything is working well (and this maintenance can add more costs).
However, with a Cloud Storage solution, you can leave it in the hands of your provider, as they will be the ones investing in the hardware and doing the maintenance for you. This is why, for most small to medium sized businesses, using a cloud storage solution can reduce costs significantly.
6. Scalability
No matter how fast your business is growing, cloud solutions can keep up with you.
In contrast, if you use your own physical infrastructure -- this can require a significant upfront cost and time investment if you need to upgrade these as your business grows.
In essence, cloud solutions allow your business to be agile and flexible in terms of technology.
7. Improved employee productivity
Lastly, all of the above reasons lead to increased employee productivity. Speed is an important factor in out-maneuvering your competitors -- and cloud systems can help provide this agility for your business.
Your teams will be able to collaborate with each other remotely (and even from home) on various projects. Plus, the version control feature will allow each user to work on a document or project, without creating conflicting copies -- which can be time-consuming to fix. But with cloud solutions, you won’t need to deal with conflicting versions.
Plus, your cloud systems can also easily scale with your business as it grows. Because it can provide any number of storage or additional users, it can essentially scale to infinity.
And furthermore, cloud solutions offer reduced costs that can be then siphoned into other areas of your business that can help improve employee productivity.
Do you need help setting up a Cloud Solution for your business?
At Result IT, we are experts in all things IT related. If you need help setting up a Cloud Solution for your business, we can help!
Plus, we’re also offering a special $20 discount to all readers of our blog and newsletter. Just get in touch with us and tell us you’re a reader, and we’ll immediately discount $20 off any quoted costs.
You can contact us here, or call us at (09) 526 1800.
We’re located at:
67 Station Road East,
Penrose, Auckland.
