Cloud computing has been around for a while now. In fact, it is something that you are almost definitely already engaged with even if you’re not fully aware of the fact. Many email clients as well as file sharing platforms and other popular services after all, are now based almost solely upon cloud computing.
It is still equally true to say however, that a vast number of people – very possibly even the majority of people – still do not fully understand cloud computing in terms of what it is and what it offers. This is extremely unfortunate as it does offer a great deal of potential benefits, especially to small businesses. Below we will outline some of the main ways in which cloud computing could help your own small business to flourish.
Storage
This is quite possibly the area of cloud computing which most people know about and think of when the term is mentioned. It is also too, potentially the area in which cloud computing can be of most benefit to small businesses by solving – or at least alleviating – a number of major issues related to the storage of data.
Cloud computing provides small businesses with the ability to store large amounts of data and information without the need for their own servers, which can be both expensive to initially purchase and to continually maintain. What’s more, trusting such storage to an outside provider via cloud computing can also offer small businesses far more in terms of security and accessibility than they may themselves have been able to achieve. Storage then, is a key area of benefit provided by cloud computing but it is a common misconception that it is the only one.
Accounting
Alongside the more obvious data storage advantages provided by cloud computing there are a number of other ways in which it can benefit small businesses and one prime example is that of accounting.
There are now a raft of different cloud-based accounting services on offer to small businesses which all provide a combination of really useful solutions. These services offer all of the same general functions as more traditional accounting software but on top of that then offer added extras such as top level security and the ability to access and monitor finances more readily. That accessibility too, is often enhanced even further with cloud-based accounting services to the point that information can be reached and analysed on the move via an array of devices, rather than only in the office.
Collaboration and Organisation
A final key area in which cloud computing can help any small business to flourish is that of collaboration and organisation. Solutions which we mentioned earlier such as email clients and file sharing platforms like Dropbox are obvious examples of benefits offered in this regard but there are also other more comprehensive services available too.
These come in the shape of the ever more readily available customer relationship management (CRM) solutions that are offered in a cloud-based format and take advantage of the ease of access to data provided by the cloud to monitor and manage the relationships your company maintains with customers.
Cloud computing then is in many ways a veritable goldmine of potential benefits for small businesses in any sector, and to find out more about utilising it in the best way you can, you need only get in touch with one of EC-MSP’s dedicated experts today.
