Information Technology Blog:- Most business owners know that many of the newest and greatest offerings that come out of the tech world are merely hype. However, once and while, something catches on and changes everything, like social media sites which have changed the way we communicate with each other. For businesses, the next big wave is cloud computing and right now, a lot of forward-thinking businesses are about 70% to 80% in the cloud. Other businesses trying to catch up may be in the 40% to 50% range. In the future, though, cloud computing will be the only way to effectively store your records because it is more affordable, easier to maintain and it offers seamless scalability. If this is something you’ve been thinking about implementing within your own company, here are some cloud computing benefits and challenges for small businesses to consider first.
First off, one of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is the ability to greatly widen your business’ capacity. With a cloud computing platform, your business can do more and operate with much more efficiency. Just the sheer fact that businesses have more tools afforded to them through cloud computing has made the cloud system very popular. Even the ability to collaborate on projects remotely has allowed cloud computing to transform some businesses.
Another benefit of cloud computing is the fact that it can save your business valuable capital. For instance, some managed cloud computing platforms – provided by companies like Colotraq – offer automatic upgrades, updates and data back ups. This has saved a lot of businesses a fortune on IT costs. In the old days, a small business would have relied on the services of an IT specialist for a lot of tasks. With cloud computing, however, many of these tasks are completed automatically without so much as a forethought.
Next, one of the biggest challenges of cloud computing is actually adopting the platform. Many small businesses are entrenched in older systems. Perhaps contracts are tying them down to old computing systems. Perhaps they are still tied down by wired systems – maybe updating to a cloud platform would be too much of an undertaking. Whatever the case is, a lot of businesses are afraid that business as usual would be disrupted and that employees won’t be able to switch over as smoothly. Many of these fears, though, are not rooted in empirical evidence. The truth is just the opposite – switching over the cloud is actually easy and learning how to use a cloud system is easy too.
In the end, any business that hasn’t switched to the cloud still has their head in a cloud. Cloud computing is the future – it isn’t just a fad. So, you can either stick with your old, outmoded system or switch over to one of the fastest and most capable systems available. When it comes down to it, cloud computing is literally leveling the playing field. Now small businesses can compete with some of the same tools that large businesses have, which can encourage growth and more success. At the end of the day, it is all about taking the leap and being brave about making the switch.
