What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a form of information technology that relies on remote servers to store, manage, and process data. This digital service can be accessed online from anywhere in the world by employees with any internet-enabled device. It allows companies to access programs and apps as well as their data from anywhere.
Cloud computing is also an umbrella term for various types of cloud services, including cloud storage, cloud hosting, and cloud backup. These services can be harnessed for everything from email to eCommerce hosting, video conferencing to virtual phone lines, and accounting to analyzing data. It is estimated that by 2025, businesses will be deploying 95% of all new workloads on cloud-native platforms. For more information, please refer to IT Consulting Fresno.
Although many large global businesses use this technology, it’s also suitable for smaller companies and start-ups because small businesses often don’t have the capacity for storage maintenance or the budget to cover hardware maintenance costs. They are also more likely than larger businesses to rely on remote workers whose roles require access to a variety of resources.
8 Benefits of Cloud Computing for Small Business
Data security
When it comes to keeping your data secure, small business owners have a lot on their plates. You have your own ideas about how to implement security, but you also need to be able to afford it. With cloud computing, you can have both: encryption and other security features built into the services offered by cloud providers. And since they’re offering those services for an all-inclusive monthly price, it’s often cheaper than hiring an outside firm or buying expensive hardware yourself.
Cloud computing is also much easier for your team members to manage than traditional backup solutions that are delivered on premise—they don’t need any technical expertise at all! This means more time spent doing what matters most: growing the business, rather than worrying about whether things will work when they’re needed most
Reduced IT costs
You’ll save money in a number of areas, including hardware costs, operating costs, and energy costs. You also won’t need to pay for software or maintenance—that’s all done by the cloud provider. Cloud computing can also reduce training expenses for your IT staff because you don’t have to worry about hiring an expert in every type of technology your business uses.
Efficiency
The cloud gives you the opportunity to replace your existing staff, or at least decrease their workload. Instead of hiring an in-house IT department or outsourcing it to an outside firm, you can use one of the many cloud computing providers that provide upkeep and support services for a small monthly fee. This will free up your current team members to focus on other tasks, like growing your business in other areas such as sales and marketing or innovation and better customer service.
Of course, this is only possible if you have enough money saved up for the transition period when you first start using cloud computing in place of your old systems.
Scalability
Scalability is the ability to grow as your business needs grow. One of the greatest benefits of cloud computing is that your business can scale up or down as needed, providing you with the flexibility and adaptability required for success in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace.
For example, if you start out with just one application on one server and need to grow quickly in response to an increase in demand for that product or service, cloud technology allows you to easily add more servers and storage as needed without having to invest heavily in hardware purchases.
This also allows businesses that may not be able to afford large capital expenditures upfront but still want access to scalability when they need it most. Simply put: while most companies are limited by their current infrastructure because they did not anticipate future growth requirements well enough ahead of time (or simply don’t have access), cloud computing allows small businesses to not only predict but plan out future growth before it happens.
Disaster recovery
One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing for small businesses is that it helps you prepare for natural disasters. Natural disasters can be devastating to a small business, and they often occur without warning—so it’s important to have a disaster recovery plan in place before one hit.
Disaster recovery (DR) is the process of recovering from a disaster. DR is part of business continuity management (BCM), which means that DR is part of risk management as well. If your company has risks associated with it in some way, then BCM should be part of your IT strategy at large—and that includes DR planning as well as other key areas like information security management, infrastructure management and even change control processes.
Competitive advantage
Cloud computing can help a small business get a competitive advantage over larger competitors, who may not have the resources to invest in cloud solutions. For example, if you’re running an eCommerce site or publishing application that depends on large amounts of storage, having access to these services through the cloud can be essential for keeping your business running smoothly and efficiently.
A service like Amazon Web Services (AWS) is designed for businesses with large-scale needs. However, smaller companies can also benefit from its offerings without paying exorbitant fees. Cloud computing enables smaller companies to compete with larger competitors by reducing costs while offering greater flexibility and scalability.
Quality control
While it’s easy to assume that a small business owner would be happy to have their company run as leanly as possible, many of them actually have quality control as one of their top priorities—especially when it comes to customer service. The ability for employees to send and receive messages on demand means that you can respond immediately to any questions or concerns your customers might have in real-time, giving them a better overall experience.
The increased productivity that comes with cloud computing also has benefits for employee morale and satisfaction. For example: if an employee works remotely from home or while traveling abroad, they’ll be able to access the same documents and files they use at work without having access issues due to distance.
Sustainability
Cloud computing can be a boon for sustainability. It can reduce power consumption, energy costs, waste, and the need for new hardware, software, and personnel. Consider these benefits:
- Cloud computing reduces the need to invest in servers that use more energy than necessary. Instead of owning your own server farm and paying thousands of dollars annually on cooling systems, you can rent space from a cloud provider who will take care of all maintenance issues for you. This not only saves you money but also reduces your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of electricity used by your equipment.
- Cloud storage is secure because all your data remains on a remote server instead of being stored locally (on desktops or laptops). This means that hackers won’t be able to access it as easily. Additionally, if one server goes down due to some sort of malfunctioning hardware component then there are still other machines available that contain identical copies of everything else which means nothing gets lost permanently despite this outage.
Post courtesy: George Passidakis, Director of Sales and Marketing at Apex Technology Management.
