Cloud Computing for Business: How Cloud Computing Helps Business Growth

Cloud computing has been around since the early 2000s. It’s being used by businesses to manage their computing resources online. As a result, businesses can access and store information virtually on remote servers, making it easier to run their businesses. There are many examples of how cloud computing helps business growth. 

Cloud computing software and services help businesses keep their data secure and accessible. In addition, it encourages teamwork and can give businesses a competitive edge. This guide will help you expand your understanding of cloud computing and cloud technology and how cloud computing helps business growth in various industries. 

What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is the process of delivering computing services such as storage, servers, networking, databases, software, intelligence, and analytics through the web or the cloud. Cloud computing services offer fast innovation and more flexible resources. Most of the time, it helps lower operation costs as businesses only pay for the cloud services they use. 

You can look at cloud computing as renting. You rent the storage space or server space from a cloud service provider and then connect to it through the Internet. So, rather than purchasing your own physical IT systems, you’re renting from a cloud provider. One of the benefits of cloud computing is that you can access your programs and data from anywhere. 

The Role of Cloud Computing in Business

Cloud-based services are a significant shift from the traditional way that business owners managed their IT resources. In fact, a study by the Thales and Ponemon Institute found that 48 percent of corporate information is stored on the cloud. Cloud-based applications such as Slack, Google Cloud, Microsoft 365, and Adobe Creative Cloud, are all helpful regardless of what industry you’re in. 

Why Is Cloud Computing Important for Business? 

• Reduces IT costs. Instead of purchasing expensive equipment and systems for the business, you’re able to decrease your costs by using resources from cloud computing services. In addition, there’s going to be a reduction of costs because system upgrades, new software, and hardware may already be included in the service. In addition, you don’t have to pay salaries for staff to manage these systems.  
• Makes collaboration easier. Now that remote work is becoming more popular, the ability to work together in cloud environments gives businesses a competitive advantage. If your team works from different locations, they can still efficiently work on a project because files are stored on the cloud. Businesses also use collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Ring Central.
• Strengthens business continuity. Unexpected occurrences can happen like a natural disaster, power outage, or other crises that can affect your data and files. However, with cloud storage, you can be confident that data is backed up and in a secure location. Being able to access data anytime helps you to continue business without downtime.
• Scales up or scales down operations. Another benefit of cloud computing services is that it helps businesses increase or decrease bandwidth demands. So if your business needs to make a quick adjustment, your cloud provider can help with that.
• Creates better infrastructure. With cloud computing, you’ll have an up-to-date technology platform. Through cloud-based tools, a platform’s infrastructure is robust, efficient, and flexible. Business owners can also feel confident that cloud service providers will develop solutions as needed.

How Cloud Computing Helps Small Businesses

• Data security. Cloud computing helps ensure your data privacy and security through authentication, encryption, and permissions. With that, your business does not need to worry about information being stolen.
• Cost reduction. You don’t have to buy and store your own server. Instead, cloud computing providers already cover this cost. With that, the amount you spend on IT solutions can be reduced as you pay for exactly what you need.
• Scalability. A cloud-based server can scale your resource needs and data if you need it, especially when you have new clients coming in rapidly. With this, you don’t have to worry about keeping up with business growth.

What Can Cloud Computing Do for Your Business?

Cloud computing is indeed changing the ways businesses operate. There are a lot of advantages and benefits that make cloud computing an essential part of any business. For a more elaborate explanation of benefits, check out the list below.

10 Things Cloud Computing Can Do for Your Business

1. Increases Data Security

When laptops and gadgets are lost, it can become a problem for organizations and businesses, especially if essential files are stored on them. This is because people outside of the company may be able to access sensitive information on these devices. However, if data is stored on the cloud, you won’t have security concerns of the data falling into the wrong hands.

2. Strengthens Teamwork

Because of cloud-based platforms, you’re able to communicate with your team anywhere, anytime. In addition, you can all access the same documents simultaneously, which makes it easier to finish tasks or projects. It’s easier to look at what other members are doing and what tasks are pending with cloud systems. Therefore, cloud-based applications greatly improve collaboration efficiency. 

3. Allows Remote Operations

Cloud computing also gives companies the ability to allow their employees to work remotely. All you need is an Internet connection and you’re able to continue working without being dependent on a desktop in the office. This also helps reduce building maintenance costs for companies, as less office space is required.

4. Access to Great Technologies

One key benefit of cloud computing is that it provides technology solutions by giving companies access to state-of-the-art tools and technologies. So, regardless of whether you’re a big or small company, you can now have access to these helpful professional tools without a large financial burden.

5. Makes Data Recovery Easy

As your files are stored on the cloud, you can always count on your cloud backups. This eliminates data loss, especially in times of emergencies. In the event of corrupted files or power outages, you can still access your files within the cloud. 

6. Smaller Carbon Footprint

When a company decides to scale down or scale up, the server capacity is changed accordingly. This means that companies who use cloud storage are only using exactly what they need and, in turn, leave a smaller carbon footprint which is good for the environment.

7. Full Control Over Your Data Files

Before companies used cloud computing, employees would send files back and forth to produce and create the final document. This kind of process is more prone to errors and less accuracy, not to mention incredibly inefficient. On the other hand, because of cloud computing solutions, records are updated in real-time through cloud servers and don’t need to be sent back and forth to others.

8. Great Insights

Data is crucial because it gives you a deeper understanding of your customers’ transactions and how business processes can be improved. Many cloud-based platforms provide integrated cloud analytics that gives you a bird’s eye view of your data. You’ll be able to implement tracking mechanisms and customized reports to analyze a wide range of information. Those insights can help create better action plans for meeting organizational goals. 

9. A Competitive Edge

Cloud solutions give you a competitive edge because you’re updated with the latest improvements in technology. Plus cloud systems make processes in the company efficient and quicker. In addition, there are cloud computing vendors that provide solutions to make your customer experience better. This, of course, make your business stand out from others and you will have more time to focus on important matters.  

10. Unlimited Storage Capacity

The cloud has unlimited capacity and can store any type of data. This means that you don’t have to worry about secured storage, especially for your company’s most confidential information. Cloud vendors allow you to keep up with business operations and meet consumer demands without having to spend time increasing your storage. 

Examples of How Cloud Computing Helps Business

There has been a shift in the work industry over the last two years. With lockdowns and social distancing, 34 percent of workers preferred to work remotely and said they would find another job if asked to report to the office physically. With that, cloud computing has played a massive role for businesses to adjust to these unprecedented changes. 

The cloud computing market is booming as the total net worth in 2020 was $371.4 billion and is projected to increase to $832.1 billion by 2025. This is partly due to the wide variety of uses businesses have for cloud services. From team messaging to data storage, businesses now rely on cloud computing for many things. 

Conclusion: Why Use Cloud Computing for Business?

Business models now are shifting to incorporate cloud computing as part of their organization because cloud-based servers provide a lot of benefits. Cloud servers reduce costs for IT resources, provide data privacy and security, and help store data securely. There are courses and training on cloud computing if you want to expand your knowledge and learn how it can help grow your business.   

How Cloud Computing Helps Business FAQ