Hosting your data in the cloud has become business-as-usual for most companies, but understandably there are still some business owners out there who maintain the status quo of keeping everything in-house and on their own physical server. Whether this is because you do not fully trust digital technology or simply feel your business is too small for the cloud or doesn’t need it – read on to see why cloud hosting is the future and what it can do for your business, however big or small.
Accessibility: Hosting your data in the cloud means it is accessible 24-7; you can access all the programs and information you need wherever you are as long as you have internet connectivity, making it possible to do business whenever you need to.
Flexibility: Because you and your team have 24-7 access from wherever you are, working flexitime is possible. Long considered an undervalued perk, according to research 42% of workers would swap a portion of their pay for the ability to work flexitime – on average a 6% pay cut.
Better collaboration: Your teams are no longer bound by the need to be in the same physical location in order to share ideas and data – they can access all data from anywhere at any time, and programs like Skype for Business, Yammer and SharePoint enable the easy real-time sharing and interaction required for a strong team effort.
Less capital expenditure: With the server in the cloud, along with all the software applications and programs you use, you don’t have to spend capital on buying a server and maintaining it as well as its software, improving your cashflow.
Reduce operational costs: Because you don’t need a server and dedicated temperature-controlled server room any more, you pay less for electricity. You also save money as you need to employ fewer IT technicians; alternatively, they have more time read up on IT strategy and innovation.
Scalability: Very often, smaller businesses have growing or fluctuating bandwidth demands; cloud hosting offers scalability so you can increase or decrease your capacity as your needs fluctuate.
Automatic and instant software upgrades: Instead of having a physical server that requires a secure, temperature-controlled server room, with cloud hosting the server is off-site and out of mind. You no longer have to maintain and manage the server or the software on it – with the server in the cloud, software can be updated and rolled out by your service provider, saving you time and effort.
Document control: Cloud hosting eliminates the need to send documents back and forth as email attachments. In the cloud, documents are stored in a central place allowing easy and instant access. Every version of a document is backed up, so changes can be easily tracked.
Security: Basically your data couldn’t be safer anywhere else – cloud hosting ensures that back-ups are done regularly and the data is stored in secure servers, so even if you experience the loss of a device, the data inside as well as your software systems can instantly be retrieved from the cloud and accessed on another device.
Environmentally friendly: Because you need less hardware and the facilities to maintain it, you use less electricity which reduces your carbon footprint.
Improved mobility in sales and customer care: If you’re in an industry where you need to provide customer care or sales services on-site or on the sales floor, cloud hosting will make your employees’ work so much easier. As an example, a field service agent can access the system from the customer’s location and issue orders, get quotes and provide service upfront; another example would be a salesperson who can use his mobile device to check inventory and order specialised requests while with the customer.
Levels the playground: In the past, smaller companies simply didn’t have the budget to compete with big companies when it came to IT infrastructure and resources. Cloud hosting makes it possible to have the same cutting-edge technology and systems to increase your competitiveness with any competitor, regardless how big or small.
Disaster recovery/business continuity: Safeguarding data in case of catastrophic event used to be a costly expense, but cloud hosting makes backing up your data to the cloud much more affordable.
Faster M&A: When two companies merge, consolidating the data and information could take years. Cloud hosting avoids the need to migrate applications and decommission data centres, making the merge more streamlined and speedy.
We hope you have enjoyed this post on the clear and comprehensive need to host your data in the cloud. Cloud hosting is evolving by the day, and you cannot afford to remain behind any longer.
Regardless of the size or scope of your business, cloud hosting is guaranteed to make running your business easier and more productive.
For a specialised solution to suit your unique business needs, contact Strategix today!
