When the pandemic started around a year ago, many companies asked their employees to work from home to protect them from the virus. And since they were working online, these companies had to make sure they can access the system even if they were not in the office.
This is where cloud computing comes in. It is even possible that many companies are already using cloud computing platforms and do not know what cloud computing is all about. Cloud computing offers services through the Internet. It is aptly named cloud computing since people access data and tools remotely or virtually.
Cloud computing is also used in everyday life, like accessing a bank account using a mobile device.
If a business is not yet shifting to using a cloud-based system, maybe it’s time for them to leverage the technology for several reasons.
Flexibility
One reason a business should shift to cloud computing is the flexibility it offers. Many companies that use enterprise resource planning or ERP business systems and transferred their operations to the cloud cited this as a major reason for their decision. The growth of a business normally comes with an increase in its bandwidth needs. With cloud computing, they can easily increase or decrease their cloud storage anytime they want using the remote servers of their cloud computing platform.
This ability to easily scale up and scale down their bandwidth needs gives these businesses the advantage they have over competitors that are not using cloud computing. In addition to the flexibility in scaling up or down, cloud computing also gives workers the flexibility to work anywhere.
Since the files and systems are on the cloud, employees can access them anywhere in the world as long as they have a good internet connection. So cloud computing is ideal for businesses that hire independent contractors or companies that allow employees to work from home.
Collaboration
With employees working from home, it’s not easy for teammates to collaborate. But when a business uses a cloud computing platform, members of the team can open, edit, and even share documents easily. They can even work on a single document together, which promotes teamwork.
Cloud-based file-sharing and workflow applications facilitate this situation. These apps allow the team to update documents in real-time. And while someone is working on the document, everyone else can easily see the changes.
Before the advent of cloud computing, collaboration over the Internet means sending files and documents from one use to another as email attachments. While it worked for some, it may also come to a point where the content changes so much that the team cannot keep track of these changes. These changes may even lead to mistakes and making it necessary for the team to start from scratch.
But the visibility offered by cloud computing when teammates collaborate eliminates these mistakes. If they do happen, a team member can immediately correct it without the need to discard the file or document and start all over again.
Savings
When businesses shift to cloud computing, they will see their expenses on hardware maintenance go down. Since all data and tools are on a remote server of a cloud computing platform, businesses do not need to maintain expensive hardware at their location. They may opt to have a couple of servers as a backup, but it may be unnecessary since the platforms normally backup the data stored on their servers automatically. So, the business can reduce its capital expenditure and since they’ll be paying a subscription to keep their data and tools stored remotely.
Disaster Recovery
As indicated earlier, businesses may not have to work on backing up their data since the cloud platforms normally back up data stored on their servers. So if the business runs into trouble and all its hardware in the office is destroyed, they will not have to worry since their data is safe on the cloud.
Businesses can easily recover their data and resume operations as if nothing happened. Due to this, businesses that have yet to shift to cloud-based operations may want to consider using the technology.
Easy Updates
Updating the server is easier since the provider will work on it for the business. Businesses will never miss any security or software update to maintain the integrity of their data. This allows business owners to focus on running the business and increasing revenue.
The advent of cloud computing made it easier for businesses to operate. This is particularly true in the current situation where many employees work remotely since it allows them to access the company’s system even if they are working from home.
