When “The Cloud” first came into the technology lexicon, many business owners were scratching their heads wondering what that thing in the sky meant as far as their day-to-day operations. But all that quickly changed as companies saw exactly what it could do.
Connecting process and people and removing the shackles of a physical location, opened a whole new world that greatly benefited small businesses. Cloud solutions leveled the playing field when it came to collaborating with each other and connecting their industry expertise to the customers that need it.
Today, 73% of all organizations use at least one cloud application, and most use multiple cloud services. The benefits of cloud adoption have far outweighed the initial unfamiliarity and resistance to change.
Cost savings is the top reason that both enterprise and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) move their workflows to the cloud. These statistics illuminate the reasons so many businesses have migrated to the cloud:
- 61% of enterprise companies move to the cloud to cut costs
- 82% of SMBs say they reduced costs after adopting cloud solutions
- 94% of SMBs say that their security is increased with a move to the cloud
- 59% of SMBs using the cloud say they see significant productivity benefits
Now the challenge for many is choosing cloud solutions wisely and aligning them with core business processes, and each other, to gain the biggest advantages and not leave any benefits “on the table.”
Using the Cloud to Increase Profits and Productivity
Just because an application is cloud-based doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be a benefit to your organization. A cloud infrastructure has a lot of moving pieces and should be planned out for efficiency.
Do you use multiple programs that integrate or choose one larger platform that has multiple applications? That’s just one of the questions that you should address when choosing the best cloud solutions to improve your bottom line.
Here are several of the ways that cloud computing can positively impact your business, productivity, and profits.
Enabling Team Collaboration
A team that’s on the same page and communicating effectively performs better and a company’s output will reflect that. 75% of employees say that team collaboration is “very important.”
Cloud solutions are all about connecting people and some of the most helpful cloud apps are team messaging tools that enable instant communication, organized by topic, from any device or location.
Better Phone Systems for Less Cost
A big game-changer in the cloud world are VoIP phone systems. In their early days they were looked down upon for poor quality, but today all that’s changed.
VoIP phones allow companies to answer their calls from anywhere and significantly lower their phone system costs at the same time. Businesses see an average savings of 30% to 50% with VoIP over a landline and eliminate the hefty set up costs of a new phone system
Additionally, VoIP comes with many of the features that used to only be available with expensive analog systems (like auto attendants and company directories).
Making File Storage Easier
Cloud file storage is one of the most popular cloud services and is often one of the first that a company adopts. Looking for files that are stored across multiple devices can be incredibly time-consuming and sending large files from one person to another can be challenging.
Cloud storage solutions like Dropbox or OneDrive have greatly increased productivity by giving companies a single, organized place to store all their company data and one that makes it easily sharable via a link.
Solutions that are Scalable with Low Entry Cost
If you were purchasing the Microsoft Office programs for a staff of 20, you’d be paying about $5,000 in software costs up front for the non-cloud version. If you sign up for Office 365 instead, not only do you get additional cloud apps beyond the core Office products, you’d be paying just $165 up front for Office 365 Business and $1,980 for 12 months.
The cost of entry for cloud-based subscriptions is much less than a software purchase, and you get the added benefits of accessing your data from anywhere and ability to login on computer, smartphone, or tablet. You also pay only for what you use and can add or remove subscriptions any time.
Flexibility to Work Remotely
One of the biggest trends we’re seeing in the workforce is remote workers. Currently, 66% of U.S. companies allow remote work and 16% of them are fully virtual, with no physical office.
Cloud technologies that allow employees to access them from anywhere both increase the talent pool for businesses and can help small companies get off the ground without the huge expense of setting up a physical office.
Plan Your Cloud Strategy with Skillio
Are you leaving any benefits on the table when it comes to your cloud solutions? Our experts are Skillio have experience working with multiple industries and can help you get the most out of your cloud strategy.
Contact us today for a cloud consultation. Call 1-888-926-1985 or connect with us online.
