How Can The Cloud Help Grow Your Small Business?
Growing a business is a unique challenge that not all of us will have to face. For those that do, there are tips and tricks that you can learn from those who have gone before you to make life easier. Being a pioneer is much more valuable when growing a business, but this can be scary. The easiest way to navigate the space between playing it safe and being a pioneer is to learn from other industries and the big boys in your field.
The best example of this is using the cloud for business. A lot of business owners believe that you have to already be one of the big boys in order to make use of the cloud, but what a lot of people don’t understand is that the cloud can help you get there faster…
What is the cloud?
You might think you’re one of the uninitiated, but chances are you’ve already used the cloud several times today. If you’ve ever logged into your email account from a computer that isn’t your own and found your emails waiting for you, then you’ve already used the cloud. The cloud is a term used to refer to remote storage of your content. Rather than having your files and information on a physical device, such as the harddisk of your computer, the information is stored on a remote server and accessed via the internet. It’s much more secure and offers much more flexibility than physical storage.
How can it help my business grow?
The biggest way the cloud can help your business grow is through increased collaboration. Small business owners typically eschew the usual working patterns in favour of flexible working, anytime, anywhere. With the traditional office set up done away with, the cloud gives rise to many possibilities when it comes to hiring people anywhere in the world and collaborating seamlessly on the same documents and spreadsheets. With an office in a box solution, you don’t even need to worry about your co-workers having access to the same applications or passing incompatible files back and forth.
What else can the cloud do that physical storage cannot?
The cloud is scalable, meaning that you can use as much or as little as you need at every stage in your business lifecycle. With some IT providers, they’ll tie you into a contact and then you’ll have to go through a lengthy process in order to upgrade or downgrade your access. As cloud services are much more flexible, you can respond to demand in a much more responsive way. Another advantage of cloud computing is the possibility of putting your data to work like never before. Using big data to analyse patterns can help you to make smarter business decisions.
Ok, but what about security?
With ransomware attacks on the rise, business owners are naturally concerned about IT security. The cloud is one of the more secure ways to store your information. For physical threats, it can help keep your information secure by preventing thieves accessing your information if your device is ever stolen. And with digital threats, you can be assured that antivirus software and applications will be up to date, meaning threats will be more easily detected.