4 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Cloud

Far too often businesses see the cloud as a space for data storage, cost savings, and data protection – and that’s it.  Many business owners and their employees are unaware that the cloud offers companies an array of helpful options beyond the ‘norm’. 

It’s time to be made aware.  These benefits will help your business leverage the cloud for greater functionality and gain a competitive edge.  These aren’t radical tools or new features, but straightforward initiatives that any company, large or small, can pursue:

1.  Facilitate Increased Collaboration

While employees and teams are conducting day-to-day tasks, collaboration and communication often fall by the wayside.  The cloud can lead to improved sharing amongst these teams by providing an easy outlet for the sharing to occur. 

Enabling access to future plans, opening crucial data to a wider audience, and creating a virtual message board are just a few solutions that can create increased collaboration amongst teams and people through the cloud.  These small steps can make big strides in a company’s productivity.

2.  Permit Constant Access

With a cloud-based solution, you have constant access no matter where you or your employees go.  Whether your marketing director is at a trade show in Chicago, your operations chief is at a factory in China, or your assistant is at home, they can all connect to their business files, department meeting notes, and private company data while they’re away from the office. 

It’s important for companies to take advantage of this ability to keep the business moving from anywhere at anytime.  The global landscape is unforgiving and a slow acting company will lose its upper hand.  With the cloud, there’s no need to slow down operations and wait for people to return – all your info can be made accessible whenever you need it.

3.  Enable Instantly Updated Software

The modern office is a maze of technology with employees accessing information from their smartphones, laptops, tablets and desktop computers.  Multiply that gadgetry by the amount of employees in your company and it can be quite a monster. 

Updating software, fixing bugs, and releasing new features for each device is a cumbersome process… unless you utilize the cloud.  By syncing all these various devices to the company’s cloud-based system, software updates can be automated and conducted simultaneously.  A single flick of the switch will also improve the protection of all connected devices.

4.  Power Innovation

In their February 2012 report titled The Power of Cloud, IBM found that “some organizations are harnessing cloud to transform both product and service development and recast customer relationships”.  The fact is the cloud is giving businesses the time and ability to disrupt old and stagnant business models and create new business strategies with better results.

Working with a managed cloud-hosting provider takes a huge task off a company’s plate.  Instead of dwelling on data storage and protection, company IT professionals can focus their time on critical thinking and innovation.  These latter tasks are the type that give companies a competitive edge in a fast-moving global marketplace.  This type of thinking also creates a better working environment where employees are engaged in fewer redundant tasks and a greater amount of empowering thought-provoking projects.

These benefits make the cloud an attractive space for any company to manage its data and business.  If you choose the right cloud-hosting partner, these benefits may be just the beginning.