How Cloud Solutions are Improving Business
The cloud is everywhere. The initial questions surrounding it used to revolve around whether or not cloud solutions for business were sustainable and could deliver long-term benefits.
Today, decision-makers are asking how their organizations can adopt cloud solutions that will improve business operations from the top down.
Given the fact that cloud services are no longer viewed as some passing fad, it’s time businesses took them seriously if they’re not already.
The major shift toward the cloud started in 2015, with a little more than 90% of companies starting to adopt at least one cloud service.
Even organizations that have already begun integrating cloud solutions into their business operations should keep an eye on its future. Cloud services can help any company, regardless of its size, become more efficient and agile in a cost-effective way.
Improving Business Operations with the Cloud
Adopting cloud services and fully integrating those solutions into your business operations can be a major boon to employee productivity and operational efficiency. The ability to instantly scale operations as needed at any given moment can positively impact company profitability.
Expanding on these beneficial capabilities for improving business operations, let’s look at a few improvements that every company should be interested in gaining:
Enhanced Security
Data breaches, hardware failure, natural disasters and human error are the leading causes of data loss for companies across the globe. Even large corporations like Target, Home Depot and Sony are not immune to this reality.
Reputable cloud service providers will have the capability, tools, human resources, and experience to keep your data and network infrastructure completely secure.
This starts by not only storing your critical data (including data backups) in the cloud, but also at secure offsite locations accessed only by specified representatives of your company.
In addition to having the resources to safeguard your business from everyday threats, dedicated IT professionals will also keep all cloud solutions and applications updated with the latest security tools and best practices.
Automatic Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
Data loss is serious business. So much so, that hackers and cyber terrorists turned data theft into a $1 billion annual industry by 2016. Making your company more disaster-resistant is mission-critical – whether that disaster is natural, human error, or an actual cyber attack is irrelevant.
Having a dedicated IT partner to make sure you have the right cloud solutions in place to protect, backup and recover your network and data automatically is an absolute must in today’s world.
Increased Productivity
Even the smallest increase in productivity can pay great dividends for businesses, regardless of size. For companies investing in cloud solutions with a focus on collaboration tools and applications, productivity increased by as much as 400%.
The reason is that cloud solutions make it easy for employees to collaborate with each other, access critical files and information much more quickly, and work from anywhere when they have secure, connected devices such as tablets, smartphones or laptops.
Distinct, Competitive Advantage
It’s common knowledge now that cloud solutions tailored to specific business needs and goals enable a company to capitalize on opportunities far more quickly than competitors who have not adopted cloud solutions.
According to the Harvard Business Review, 77% of business owners and enterprises in 2015 believed the cloud has given them competitive advantages over direct competitors because of the speed in which they can respond to changing market and economic conditions.
Budget Matters, Cloud Solutions Help Cut Costs
As with any business decision, business owners and management are responsible to be strategic and not implement anything that would negatively influence the budget or impede a return on investment.
When considering how cloud solutions can improve business, the ability to reduce CAPEX expenditures within IT costs is a major factor.
On-premise infrastructure requires upfront purchases that can easily cost a company $50,000 right out of the gate. That doesn’t include configuration, implementation, upkeep, utility costs to power and cool the equipment, or the labor to have someone monitor and maintain it.
Over a three-year period, those costs could increase to well over $100,000 in general support. Plus, if a piece of hardware fails, you are responsible for its replacement.
Cloud solutions, or off-premise solutions, require less upfront spending and do not cost as much to maintain your desired level of IT infrastructure. Ongoing maintenance, support, and upgrades are typically included as part of any cloud service package.
The average savings in a 10-server environment could easily top $50,000 over a three-year period, and that does not include the upfront investment in owning the system.
Don’t Underestimate the Benefits of Cloud Solutions for Business
Discovering the cloud services that are right for your organization has many benefits. From allowing your business the flexibility to scale up or down as needed to making business processes more efficient, it wouldn’t be a sound business decision to ignore the cloud any longer.
KJ Technology helps your organization discover the right cloud solutions by:
▪ Reviewing current IT infrastructure for improvement opportunities
▪ Providing a cloud services strategy tailored to meet your unique business needs
▪ Proactively monitoring your business for opportunities to cut costs, become more efficient, and maintain a more productive workforce
Implementing cloud services can provide a distinct competitive advantage in your industry. Are you ready for the cloud?
Contact KJ Technology to discuss cloud services for your business
