DigitalOcean found that more and more companies are increasing their usage of cloud computing infrastructure solutions, with 65% upping the ante in 2020 and almost 90% experiencing another lift in 2021. While this growth is a positive sign for the industry, it’s also indicative of costly issues such as an aversion to change, lack of funds, or cybersecurity threats – all serious hindrances to progress.
Company after company has shown that the benefits of the cloud outweigh potential risks and larger companies are jumping on this trend. With so many companies trying to shrink their physical footprint post COVID, the cloud offers increased computational power as well as a way to scale growth without signing a costly lease.
The cloud offers benefits to most companies. For help in figuring out the best path to the cloud, try our cloud analysis. Fill out the form and you can get a free session with us.
9 Ways Cloud Computing Benefits Businesses:
- Accessibility
Cloud computing has changed the way we work by making accessing documents, images, spreadsheets and communications possible anywhere, anytime. Technology such as the cloud has increased the productivity and flexibility of employees. It has also caused a change in how both employers and employees approach work.
- Scalability
Cloud systems are vital for organizations that need to scale, whether you want to add more resources or reduce them. With a cloud system, your business can handle growing and shrinking head-counts or production, depending on the needs of your company.
The cloud for SMBs, who oftentimes experience more dramatic changes in their business and at a higher risk, is especially important.
- Reduce On-Site Infrastructure Investment
IT was seen as a burden on SMB‘s and new hardware took up a big chunk of the budget. The cloud was a better solution for SMB’s because it reduced the, now lower, cost by shedding all of the capital expenses with an OpEx model.
- Backup and Disaster Recovery
Every company needs to prepare for disaster. A solid disaster recovery strategy is essential in the digital age. You should prioritize establishing a backup strategy, or else your company won’t be able to survive a catastrophic event. It’s not easy to find an off-site backup solution that works with every size of business, but there are cloud data centers in colocation that can make the process easier. These centers have infrastructure that will ensure that you can recover your data from a private or hybrid cloud deployment.
- Agility and Flexibility
The cloud is beneficial for SMBs because they won’t need to pay upfront with minimal data. The benefits of the subscription model means that when business is up, companies can expand their cloud subscriptions and if they experience a decrease in revenue, they can downgrade their subscriptions.
The flexibility of the cloud has given businesses an advantage. SMB’s can be adjusted the needs of their clients immediately. This makes them stand out from other companies.
- Automatic Updates
Cloud computing jobs are more energy efficient, require fewer servers and maintenance, take less time to manage your software, and focus on strategy – the perfect option for SMB!
- Collaboration
Teamwork is essential for productivity and success. Cloud solutions such as Microsoft Office 365 are key for the SMB. SaaS solutions enable efficient collaboration on data and analytics, web-based collaboration tools such as Cisco WebEx Teams enable all-in-one business communication and collaboration platforms.
- Efficiency
Using the cloud, businesses in all industries, especially SMBs, can save time and money on tasks like IT maintenance and monitoring.
Teams can share and edit documents simultaneously, reducing the time it takes for meetings and helping IT teams focus on technology investment. With continuous deployment, companies can ensure that their infrastructures remain secure without an endless cycle of patching servers.
Plus, by utilizing cloud computing, businesses can cut their carbon footprint in half.
- Security
It is important that your company use cybersecurity skills to protect its data upon migrating to the cloud. Cybersecurity concerns were one of the top reasons behind a delay in cloud migrations according to an Intel Security study in 2017, but when it comes to data, that sentiment is not true.
According to Zeus Kerravala, founder of ZK Research, most companies’ cloud providers probably have better security controls than they do.
Cloud providers offer services for all organizations, including those with high security requirements. The Department of Defense (DoD), Boeing and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use cloud services in one way or another.
The cloud for SMBs provides quality IT infrastructure without the need to invest in it. That’s a win-win for business budgets and security.
