The Advantages of The Cloud
Nowadays, cloud services are being used by businesses of different sizes and industries. According to Forbes, public and private cloud adoption has increased over the last year.
According to a survey, 92 percent of respondents are now using the public cloud, up from 89 percent in 2017, while 75 percent are using the private cloud, up from 72 percent in 2017. As a result, 96 percent of respondents are now using at least one public or private cloud.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the internet-based delivery of computing resources such as IT infrastructure or data centers for pre-agreed fees.
Instead of building and maintaining their own IT infrastructure or data center, businesses can rent storage space or access software programs from a cloud service provider.
One significant advantage of using cloud computing services is that businesses only pay for the resources they use.
How Does Cloud Computing Work?
To explain how the cloud works, businesses are operating in the cloud when they store data in virtual data centers or access programs via the internet rather than their device’s hard drive or on-premises IT infrastructure.
Cloud computing can be as simple as utilizing “servers in a third-party data center” or as enormous as scalable and geo-redundant serverless workloads.
Cloud computing processes can be divided into frontend and backend to better understand the technical aspects.
The frontend component enables users to access cloud-stored data and programs via an internet browser or a cloud computing application. The backend then represents storage – where the data is stored on servers, computers, and databases.
Although cloud computing has been around for over two decades, it has only recently gained popularity.
Cloud computing is fast becoming a necessity more than a quick solution, whether to save money and time, protect data, or improve customer relationships.
Advantages of Using The Cloud
If your company has not yet moved to the cloud, here are some advantages you are missing out on:
- It simplifies processes
One benefit of cloud technology is its ability to scale business processes to the simplest level.
An organization can eliminate traditional processes such as spreadsheet-based accounting by adopting and implementing a cloud platform and focusing on capturing real-time data.
Rather than have paper lines and queues, anyone with the right clearance can log to the cloud, view and/or download any file and log back out, with all views being recorded and time-stamped.
- Easier transition of company files
Document control is essential for maintaining a secure business. You never know what can happen if a document falls into the hands of the wrong people, even if it’s just a new and untrained employee.
With formal training, a new employee can get the correct login details and credentials and seamlessly continue working on files left by the previous staff. This way, there is less movement and greater efficiency regarding file handling and control.
Also, you can easily select which documents can be edited, viewed, and shared by which users with cloud computing.
It allows for real-time collaboration, so you don’t end up with 100 different versions of the same file. There is no reason why your business practices should not be streamlined.
- Flexibility
Cloud computing enables mobile access to corporate data via smartphones and devices. Given that over 2 billion smartphones are in use worldwide today, this is an excellent way to make sure that no person is left behind.
Staff with hectic schedules or who live far from the corporate office can use this feature to stay in touch with clients and coworkers.
For better work-life balance, you can provide easily accessible information to sales staff who travel, freelance employees, or remote employees via the cloud.
As a result, it’s not surprising that organizations prioritizing employee satisfaction are up to 24 percent more likely to expand cloud usage.
- Extensive options for protecting company files
The security of client data is a significant concern for all businesses, regardless of size or industry. Failing to protect company client data (through cybercrime hacks) can have a devastating impact on a company’s revenue, brand positioning, and customer loyalty.
Many cloud providers offer extensively advanced security features that ensure data is securely stored and handled.
Granular permissions and access management via federated roles can limit access to sensitive data to only the employees who need it, reducing the attack surface for malicious actors.
Baseline protections, such as encryption, access control, and authentication, are implemented by cloud storage providers for their platforms and the data they process. Most businesses then supplement these safeguards with additional security procedures to fortify cloud data defense and limit access to delicate data in the cloud.
- Clean and instantaneous access to files
When cloud-stored, files are much easier to share and access. In essence, anyone who uses a cloud network can share files with others who use the same cloud network. This means that files can be easily shared and accessed by anyone from anywhere.
Need a Cloud Service to Store and Manage Company Files?
If you need to move your company to the cloud, Skyline IT Management can help. We offer Managed IT services, phone services, and quality cloud services.
Book a call with us to have a non-salesy chat about the Cloud and see if it is a viable alternative for your business.
