A study by Exact and Pb7 Research finds that small businesses that moved to cloud technologies are growing by an additional 26 percent per year compared with those that don’t. It is no wonder cloud is gaining popularity, and many companies already leverage the power of the cloud. Although cost concerns are deterring some companies from moving to the cloud, you can use low-cost strategies to move to the cloud and save money.
Expand Your Infrastructure
Subscribing to an IaaS (infrastructure as a service) is cheaper than on-premises servers for small businesses. If you are just starting up, paying for the hardware you need will be expensive, but you can use cloud platforms without any up-front cost. Moreover, virtual machines are scalable and, you can scale them up or down depending on sudden changes in demand for your products. On-premises hardware can become obsolete, and you can’t expand or scale it down to accommodate changing demand. In fact, companies waste $62 billion following the same static approach on the cloud.
No Need for Office Space
Staying connected has never been easier. Small businesses can assemble their teams virtually saving the expensive cost of renting and commuting. Cloud can help you monitor and manage your employees: what they are working on, which hours they are most productive, and their paid vacations and sick leaves. It really facilitates communication between the employers and the employees. Even big companies with modern offices use cloud technology. Not only can you save on office space, but moving online also allows your business to leverage the international talent pool, drawing skilled people in from all over the world.
No Need for IT Engineers
Image via Flickr by hisperati
Moving to the cloud means your business’ hardware and systems are virtual. You won’t have to fear your hardware suddenly breaking down. Most cloud platforms also have simple tools you can use to add hardware and create complex networks between your machines. This reduces the need to hire professionals or learn how to configure everything yourself, which translates into resources and productivity for the company.
Easier Collecting and Processing of Information
Analyzing consumers’ behavior when they are using your products has become a crucial business practice among businesses. Large enterprises have entire departments to analyze their users’ data and find patterns in it to market their products better. Cloud platforms provide big storage options to save and use this kind of data without any hassle: exploring your users’ behavior and developing a more intelligent strategy to market to and serve them. It is true that there are security concerns storing all this data in the cloud, but there are security practices you can follow to keep the company and the users safe.
Cloud is an exciting technology with a lot of potential for small businesses. It has allowed many to expand, shrink, and become more flexible to the changing environment, which gives a large advantage to the businesses.
