Companies who have experienced difficulty with data storage and accessibility in the past can move forward more quickly by switching to the cloud. Cloud computing increases efficiency through security, analysis, backup, collaboration and flexibility. Each of these benefits is discussed in more detail below.
Security
Not all cloud computing is created equal. Companies looking for a secure cloud solution have got to find a reputable company. This will include a decision about how secure the data needs to be. The NSA had access to data stored with Google and Dropbox for years before anyone knew about it. For most businesses, the goal is to keep their data secure from prying eyes without concerning themselves with the prying eyes of the NSA. In these cases, a reputable company with some encryption and a strong password is all that’s needed.
Analysis
With the big data trend that is currently going on, it’s now possible to track and analyze every part of a business. There are tools to track the programs and applications people use in order to analyze and quantify personal productivity. There are also ways to build tracking links and gather data about website visitors and smartphone application users. All of this data needs a central location for storage that is easily accessible by the whole team. It’s even better when this data can be manipulated on cloud servers as well, this way the computing power needed to make sense of big data can be manipulated by anyone with access to this cloud-based resource.
Data backup
When a business backs up its data to the cloud, it becomes truly location independent. This means employees can work from anywhere in the world, but it also means the company doesn’t rely on any single location. Natural disasters, fires and other events that may disrupt businesses with one physical location will not affect a business that backs up its data in the cloud. Furthermore, cloud backup schemes can be configured to automatically backup all company data for all employees at scheduled intervals. This means there is one less thing for IT personnel to worry about and makes everyone’s files available in the cloud.
Collaboration
There is no comparison between local servers and cloud-based solutions. While local servers tend to be slow and overburdened with shared services, cloud resources are fast and reliable regardless of where employees are when they access them. This allows for greater collaboration and flexibility.
Flexibility
When a company outgrows its existing servers it’s faced with a dilemma to buy slightly better hardware that will be obsolete in a year or pay a high price for hardware that will be obsolete in two years. However, when a company migrates to cloud services they can simply pay for the computing resources they need as they need them. Many businesses operate on a cyclical calendar. Some months are busy while others are not. Using cloud resources, it’s possible to scale up during these busy months and back down during the lean times. This helps businesses save money by only paying for the resources they need when business demands require them.
In the end, many businesses are reducing worry and maximizing efficiency in the cloud. They’re doing this by reaping the benefits of better security, greater data analysis, data backups, collaboration and flexibility that come with cloud services.
