Benefits of Cloud Computing for Small Businesses

December 14, 2015

It's no secret that leveraging cloud computing is a smart business move. Recent findings by Exact found that small businesses who adopt the cloud have doubled their profits and gained 25% greater revenue growth than companies who haven't embraced the cloud.

The norm of downloading programs is quickly diminishing. It usually becomes a problem when a user wants to access an application, but he cannot do so because he does not have his computer with him. These accessibility and mobility issues have been eradicated by cloud computing. It allows multiple users to access same applications and documents at the same time from anywhere on any device.

By adopting cloud computing, businesses have started to experience several benefits as well. Following are some of the significant benefits of adopting cloud computing.

Flexibility

The requirement of flexibility has now become a priority because of the way businesses are growing and expanding. As a business expands, its needs of higher bandwidth increase, and these needs can be easily met by cloud services and solutions. Moreover, all such demands of the users and businesses are met with efficiency, which saves time and money.

Disaster Recovery

In today’s world if a computer crashes, it would not be considered a surprise because of the number of malware attacks and voltage issues the systems have to go through. This crashing of computer poses a serious risk of losing data unless proper backup and disaster recovery plans are in place.

This risk has been mitigated successfully through cloud computing. This has allowed the businesses to focus their energies and efforts into meaningful activities rather than worrying about contingencies that are appropriately dealt with cloud services.

Remain Updated

Another great thing about cloud computing is that the cloud service providers usually offer security updates to the clients, and this can prove quite essential for businesses as not only they get system updates, but they also no longer have to worry about security management. Moreover, cloud computing also gives the users the opportunity to remain connected to work from any place with the help of internet connection.

Centralized Data

It is now a requirement for most work environments to work on documents while they are stored and updated in a centralized location. Without a cloud service, employees would have to go through the harsh process of sending emails every time a document is updated. Hence, through cloud computing a business can attain higher productivity levels with more efficient operations.

From the above mentioned benefits of cloud computing, it is very clear that cloud computing does not only offer increased profits, but it also has a lot to offer in terms of security and communication.  When organizations empower their employees with a secure and flexible platform, they can transform into an agile data-driven company which has the power to look forward, anticipating and flexing to future challenges, and delighting their customers along the way.

Which Cloud for Small Businesses?

Microsoft Office 365 is Microsoft’s latest venture into cloud computing, bringing together tried-and-true programs that make communicating and collaboration natural online. Office 365 includes Microsoft Exchange Online for email and scheduling, Microsoft SharePoint Online for sharing files and creating team sites, and Microsoft Lync Online for instant messaging and online meeting. Office 365 mixes the capabilities of those programs with cloud versions of Office Professional Plus programs.

Office 365 makes using Office in the cloud a simple, natural, and affordable way to make the most of services you are already familiar with, in ways that easily extend the technology you are probably already using. Sound too good to be true? It’s not. Office 365 enables you to easily and naturally:

• Collaborate globally in real time.
• Use programs you already know.
• Work  while you're on the go.
• Use your PC, browser, or phone interchangeably.
• Keep your information secure.
• Keep your hardware costs down
• Use multiple devices to access and work with files.