5 Reasons the Cloud Should be in Your Office

 

Guest post by Jennifer Williams

Businesses operate differently from one another when it comes to their practices and operational standards, but a trend you’ll see lately is that many are jumping into using the Cloud as their main organizational and communication system. Businesses that have the Cloud have been found to be more successful when it comes to dealing with clients and prospective clients due to collaboration abilities and having everything kept in one main place for easy access.

It also makes it easier for the company to train new and veteran employees when new software systems are implemented. One of those operational standards that should be used, especially by small businesses, is the Cloud. The Cloud helps protect all of your documents over the Internet, instead of your computer’s hard drive or an external hard drive.

There are five main reasons for running your business in the Cloud. They include the following:

1. Security

Believe it or not, security is the name of the game when it comes to operating your business in the Cloud. Some people think that having your documents in the Cloud on the internet is unsafe because others can see them or you have less access to them. However, that could not be further from the truth. The companies that built Clouds invested a lot of their time and money in security features, backup, and data protection for their customers. So, in the end, your documents are safer in the Cloud than on your computer’s hard drive.

2. Mobility

The second benefit of having your business in the Cloud is an obvious one, and could be first on the list; it is mobility. Mobility is so obvious, because if all of your data is being stored on a Cloud on the internet, you will be able to access every piece of data anywhere you can acquire an internet connection. This includes coffee shops, libraries, schools, home, work and other people’s houses.

3. Costs

The costs for using the Cloud on the internet these days is unremarkable. An external hard drive with a terabyte of space will cost roughly $100 to purchase. On the other hand, the Cloud will cost you around $50 per year for unlimited space. That means you will never run out of space, and this is important for businesses that produce a lot of content, documents, and data on a daily basis. You will need to either remove items from your external hard drive or buy a second or third one to store all of that data.

4. Environmental Friendly

Using the Cloud means that your business will be friendlier to the environment. How So? The longer and more in depth you use the Cloud, the longer your computers and other business hardware will last, meaning you do not have to dispose of equipment as often.

5. Subscription Service

The Cloud is a subscription service for your data storage. This means that you can tailor your storage needs from month to month, since you will more than likely be paying a monthly fee. If you need to end the subscription for some reason, you can at any point in time.

So what’s out there?

There’s many different types of cloud services that are out there, so once you figure out the extent of your needs, you can successfully pick a Cloud platform you can be happy with.

• NetSuite– a full CRM that offers all facets of business from document collaboration to accounting software
• Google Docs– Cloud collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, drawing, charts etc. The ability to customize and share folders within a team. There are also privacy options for all documents.
• Zoho– 20 business and productivity applications.

Running a business in the Cloud protects your data, documents, and company information from hackers and computer crashes, and is a tried-and-true method for many successful businesses.

This is a guest post by Jennifer Williams who is a writer, turned traveler, turned blogger, who is slowly slinking her way into the social media and blogging landscape. You can follow her new Twitter account: @JKWilliams82. You can also guest blog on TechPP and share your tips with the rest!