The COVID-19 pandemic has a lot of business owners navigating new budget concerns for the foreseeable future. With revenue changing so drastically, there are quite a few concerns to keep in mind. The obvious first step for many businesses is to find places to save money. While this process usually means making small sacrifices here and there, investing in new technology can likely mean more savings and profits. One such technology is cloud computing.
There are a lot of benefits that come with cloud computing that can be well worth the cost of investing in these services. Because cloud computing takes place over the internet, these enhanced capabilities for your business rarely require hardware upgrades. This factor means you benefit more significantly from the things you already own rather than needing to spend money on computers or physical technology to improve your digital capabilities.
Despite the initial cost of obtaining cloud computing services, the benefits are an excellent investment in your business’s future. Let’s overview whether it is now the right time to invest in cloud computing for your business.
When Does Cloud Computing Make Sense for a Business?
Large companies already made the move to cloud computing thanks to their financial resources. Smaller businesses or those a bit slower to transition to the cloud are now wondering whether or not COVID-19 is an excellent time to switch. It seems a bit backward on paper; many businesses looking to cut costs and limit losses are considering a significant technology investment? Why is that?
Overall, cloud computing moves digital programs, applications, and activities to an internet-based server that improves your ability to do everything from store data to communicate with your team. These features can help increase productivity, reduce costs for server energy and hardware upgrades, and keep your business running no matter where you are. For some companies, that alone makes the change to cloud computing worth it. But for others, the real deciding factor comes down to what limitations or concerns your business encountered at the onset of COVID-19.
– Mobile Solutions for Modern Problems in Business
COVID-19 forced many businesses to take their operations digital. Even if you operate a traditional brick and mortar retail store or office, you likely transitioned marketing, client communication, and inter-organizational services to online platforms. For companies who work primarily with non-connected devices such as individual computers, this presented some serious challenges.
Likewise, you and your employees likely found yourselves scrambling for access to documents and files you regularly utilized in the office. Even if your company tried to work remotely for a short amount of time before returning with proper safety measures in place, that short time likely proved just how important cloud computing’s offerings could be.
When it comes to staying mobile, many companies enjoy cloud hosting’s ability to provide secure access to company servers while on the go. In the past, this meant while traveling for business, taking meetings outside the office, and even allowing a few work-from-home days. When remote operations became a must for everyone, those without cloud services suddenly looked for a solution to help tide them over. Luckily, cloud hosting also offers essential solutions for in-office work that make now a great time to invest in the services.
– Security Measures You Can Trust – For Everything and Anything
Whether you store documents on a server accessible from the office or utilize traditional data centers, securing your most sensitive organizational files is a huge concern for any business. When it comes to security measures against cybercriminals looking to steal your information, there’s no better service to invest in than cloud computing.
Cloud computing services offer a number of layers of security for your information and files. Basic authentication is required to access cloud platforms for your business. On top of that individual protection, encryption and cloud access monitoring is often included in any comprehensive service. If you’re simply logging on to a server now with a username and password, there are unfortunately many ways hackers may take advantage of your security shortcomings.
These security measures are in place, whether you’re in the office or working from home. No matter where you and your employees need to access files and data, cloud services provide security measures you can trust.
Spending Now to Save Later
Cloud services are often priced depending on your needs. While now might not be a time you want to take on new expenses given COVID-19 related losses, a small monthly fee is well worth the benefits you receive in productivity, connectivity, and security. Plus, many services provide their customer training sessions as well as hotlines to troubleshoot issues or receive help with errors as you learn the new technology.
2020 is unlike any other year we’ve seen in the business world, but it can be a great opportunity to address ways to improve your business as well. Cloud computing is a great investment for a business to make, and it’s a great way to begin recovering from the Coronavirus pandemic now rather than waiting to see what the end of the year has in store.
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