Why should your business move to cloud computing?
Well, by 2020, over 83% of business workloads will be run in the cloud.
What’s more, the cloud computing market is projected to be a 278.3 billion industry.
But why are more and more businesses moving to the cloud?
The five cloud computing benefits below should give you a clear answer to this question. But before that, it’s important to know what cloud computing is and what it means to your business.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is simply running your programs and applications online.
Traditionally, you had to download programs and software to a physical computer before you could run them.
However, with cloud computing, you can access these applications and programs directly on the internet.
The data collected during cloud computing is processed and stored by remote servers. As a result, the cloud frees up the computing power and memory of your computers, making them more efficient and durable.
Users can access cloud services using credentials from their cloud computing providers.
Top 5 Cloud Computing Benefits for Your Business
Running your business on the cloud comes with a range of advantages, including:
1. Cost Effectiveness
With cloud computing, businesses can avoid the upfront costs of buying and installing hardware systems and software applications. This is especially useful for businesses on a tight budget.
Additionally, you’ll eliminate the risks of installing expensive programs and software only to find out later that they’re inefficient for your business’ operating needs.
You won’t have to pay for the space, physical security, power, ongoing maintenance, and insurance of running your own physical data center. This will significantly reduce your business’ fixed overhead costs.
Moving your business operations to the cloud also increases your scalability. This means that if you need immediate extra resources because of an unanticipated peak in business operations, you can simply increase your cloud’s computing capacity.
And, since you’ll be paying-as-you-go, you won’t pay extra for unused resources.
There’s also no need of permanently upgrading to a bigger package just because of a peak season.
Cloud computing offers the agility you need for cost-effective resourcing.
2. Top-Notch Security
One of the benefits of moving to the cloud is the security aspect.
Contrary to common belief, cloud computing is more secure for storing your vital data than conventional in-house systems.
One of the main function of the cloud host is to monitor data security. This is made possible by encryption which makes data less accessible to cybercriminals and other unauthorized access.
Most cloud computing providers come with multilayered security defenses that can be set for a more customized security system.
Additionally, when most of your data is stored on the cloud, third parties are physically separated from critical business data. With this lack of access, you can protect your data from human risks such as social engineering.
If you really need to share some important files to your employees or customers, you can give the read access only. This means that they won’t be able to tamper or share your information.
3. Paperless Business Operations
Despite the many proclamations about the benefits of a paperless office, many businesses still heavily rely on paperwork.
One of the main benefits of using cloud computing for your business is the role it plays in reducing hard-copy printouts. Your employees and customers will be able to access documents on their devices, and only print hardcopy documents when necessary.
Making your business operations paperless will also go a long way into conserving the environment. Less paper means fewer trees cut down. This can be a great sustainability program for your business.
4. Flexibility and Convenience
When everything is stored in the cloud, accessibility becomes seamless to you, your employees, and customers. You won’t have to waste time locating a file or a program every time you need to use it.
In fact, IT professionals from LINC Project suggest that moving your infrastructure to the cloud improves the flexibility and collaboration of your workforce.
Since all the data is online, your mobile employees will have it much easier because they’ll have the flexibility to attend to clients outside the office. This makes them more productive for your business.
The cloud also provides an ideal platform for business collaboration purposes. With the cloud, multiple members of a team can access and edit a single document or file from anywhere in the world in real time.
What’s more, you don’t have to wait for hours for your system update to be installed with cloud computing. Cloud-based programs and applications automatically update themselves, eliminating any downtime.
When it comes to data disaster recovery, it’s recommended to have cloud storage as your back-up plan. After all, losing crucial data can cause significant losses to your business. Cloud storage creates an encrypted remote backup location for all your files.
You can retrieve and access your files at any time.
5. Competitive Advantage
Cloud computing is slowly gaining ground. Very soon, all businesses will have moved their infrastructure to the cloud. After all, the benefits that come with it are immense.
But since few businesses are currently on the cloud, this will be the best time to incorporate it to take full advantage. Cloud computing will help to streamline your business operations and serve your customers better, beating your competitors who are still using the traditional IT systems.
Move Your Business to the Cloud Today!
With considerable savings, beefed up security, and all the convenient features of cloud computing, it’s time to give your business a complete overhaul.
These cloud computing benefits will translate to more profits and growth for your business in the next few years. So, don’t waste any more time!
To simplify your cloud computing journey, consider these five important elements of a data integration strategy.
