Tip of the Week: Three Ways the Cloud Boosts Businesses

Thanks to the increasing capabilities of modern computing networks, businesses have been able to experience enhanced productivity. One such capability, cloud computing, has allowed businesses to reach outside of their physical location to conduct their operations. Here, we’ll review some of cloud computing’s other benefits.

Improved Team Collaboration

One of the cloud’s best-known benefits is how useful it is to a business that leverages collaboration. Multiple users can make use of your cloud resources, as your applications, storage, and/or infrastructure is hosted outside of your organization and accessed via a web client or browser. As a result, multiple users can collaborate, without any concern for where in the world they are.

User Tip: Many software solutions now offer associated mobile apps that allow your team to collaborate on-the-go. If you have the proper systems in place to secure your remote resources, consider utilizing these applications.

Productivity Also Improves

The cloud has demonstrated the capacity to provide a productivity boost, in some cases presenting a four-times increase in small business operational efficiency. In other words, these businesses could accomplish four times as much as a business that still relied on a traditional computing infrastructure. How is this possible? Simple - collaboration makes tasks go quicker, allowing more to be done in the same amount of time.

User Tip: It is important not to misinterpret the cloud to be some kind of productivity magic bullet… it still needs to be properly managed. While the cloud provider generally handles the maintenance and security of the resources you use, you need to make sure someone is responsible for keeping your files and materials organized.

Capital Benefits

This is one of cloud computing’s most apparent benefits - it can help save a business a considerable amount of money, in quite a few ways. For instance, it eliminates the need to roll out a server for thousands of dollars. Instead, you effectively rent out the computing that you use each month. This makes it great for businesses who frequently need to scale their operations forward and back.

A business can also save some money via the cloud through their reduced responsibilities for maintenance. Whether you’re leveraging cloud-hosted software or a storage platform, the cloud provider handles the behind-the-scenes management. For a predictable monthly fee, you get an up-to-date and secure solution patched and ready for you to use. 

Finally, you have to consider the real cost of utilizing on-premise hardware. Sure, you have to pay for the hardware itself, but then you also need to pay for the electricity to power it and provide a climate-control system to keep it cool. This is all included in the cost when leveraging a cloud solution, reducing your operational expenses and freeing up space that would have otherwise held some large computing infrastructure. Plus, cloud expenditures can be considered operational costs, simplifying your budgeting process.

User Tip: Don’t bite off more than you can chew when migrating to the cloud. By going about it in smaller, controlled steps, you can make sure that the cloud is the right fit. For instance, public cloud platforms tend not to match well with industries that are highly regulated. Experimenting a bit, to a limited degree, is a good way to test the waters of the cloud before diving in.

Network Solutions Unlimited can help you fulfill your cloud needs. For more assistance or information, give us a call at (217) 428-6449.