Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question, “what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.
Despite many consumers and businesses adopting cloud computing, there is still some confusion over what the term actually means. As a business owner, it is important to understand all of the benefits that are offered by the cloud to ensure you are maximizing its potential within your organization. There are a number of advantages of cloud computing.
Affordability
Perhaps the most significant driving force behind cloud adoption is simple economics. If businesses adopt the cloud, they radically change the economic model surrounding their IT purchases, from one that is predominantly capex, to one that is opex. The former, which stands for capital expenditure, means the upfront cost of purchasing physical assets, while the latter relates to the ongoing, operational expenditure. Because the cloud enables companies to pay subscription fees to access high-level IT tools over an online network, they do not have to pay out large upfront costs, which is particularly beneficial for smaller organizations.
Mobility
Cloud computing also offers a number of mobility benefits for businesses. Instead of having employees tethered to their desks from nine until five, they can work wherever and whenever they need to, from any device. Take communications, for example, by adopting VoIP Solutions over a cloud network, businesses can ensure that their employees are connected to the office phone system even when they are working remotely, meaning they are always accessibility. This kind of flexibility is appreciated by staff and customers alike.
Reliability
Maintaining your own IT systems is a complex, time-consuming task, and one that puts a lot of strain on businesses of all sizes. With cloud computing, however, a managed service provider (MSP) manages your IT solutions on your behalf. If you choose your MSP carefully and look for those with good customer feedback and robust uptime guarantees, then moving to the cloud can really boost the reliability of your IT tools.
Support
When things do go wrong with your IT systems (and they will), the cloud means that you are not left on your own to sort them out. Cloud providers offer ongoing support for troubleshooting, errors and general maintenance. If you want to make changes to the software to improve usability, they may also be able to implement them as part of a future update.
Security
Security used to be thought of as the cloud’s weak link, but this is no longer the case. Cloud computing firms implement the highest levels of physical and digital security, meaning that they often provide more reliable defenses than would be possible in-house.
Environmental benefits
Instead of every company building their own data center, which then goes largely underused, cloud computing encourages the sharing of resources, meaning less energy is wasted. Many firms are also investing more money into green energy sources . This means that not only is the cloud good for your business, it’s great for the planet as a whole!