If you’re one of the approximately 7% of Americans who still don’t use the internet, you might still look up at the sky at the mention of the word “cloud”. For most of us, the cloud has become an integral part of daily digital life, with cloud services transforming how we work and communicate. But what is the cloud, what are cloud services, and how can they benefit your business? In this article, we’ll unpack some of the core concepts, introduce some of the most important cloud services available to businesses, and the benefits these cloud services offer.
Introduction to the Cloud
All computer-based technology requires a combination of computer hardware and software to provide three main functions: computing, storage, and networking. The computing element does the work you need it to do, such as preparing documents, creating invoices, or sending emails. The storage part saves your work for future access, and the networking part allows it to be shared, whether with other computers in your office or externally.
In the absence of cloud services, you’d need to buy or lease IT infrastructure, such as workstation computers, servers, network cables, fax machines, and more, to handle these tasks. Substantial expenses and resources are required, including acquiring the necessary hardware and employing dedicated IT staff to maintain and repair the equipment and applications.
The cloud is a network available over the internet that allows some or all of these three functions to be transferred to a remote third-party cloud service provider, or CSP for short. The cloud eliminates the need to install software on individual machines, store files generated by this software on office hard drives, and manually share these files via email or flash drive. Instead, you can do all this and much more online and off-site. The processing, storage, and networking take place on the cloud service provider’s servers in a remote data center.
Benefits and Risks of Migrating to the Cloud
So, why should you consider migrating some or all of your business processes to the cloud? What benefits do cloud services offer, and what are the potential downsides?
Cloud services offer advantages to businesses of every size, from SOHO (Small or Home Office) to multinational organizations with offices in multiple cities or nations. The three main benefits relate to cost, reliability, and security.
Cost
In many cases, using cloud services for core business functions like email, document storage, or faxing can greatly reduce operating costs. The cost of a simple monthly subscription to a cloud service provider is often much lower than the hassle and expense of buying, installing, maintaining, upgrading, and repairing hardware and software in-house. This allows businesses to streamline or reduce their IT personnel.
A good example is setting up email for your staff. Instead of installing and maintaining an email client on every employee’s machine, you can simply sign them up for a cloud-based email service, which can be accessed from a browser on any computer or smartphone without the need for additional software or hardware.
Reliability
Computers, servers, and cables regularly break or malfunction. Software crashes can have compatibility issues and in most cases needs to be updated regularly. Any of these situations can cause downtime—or worse—for your business.
Outsourcing functionality to a reliable cloud service provider eliminates these risks, increasing the reliability of your access to critical business processes. Even if the office internet goes down, you can still access your files from a local internet café, via mobile data on your phone, or anywhere else with an internet connection.
Security
Since they are responsible for storing and providing access to your data, cloud service providers tend to use high-end machines to minimize downtime and the risk of hardware malfunctions, and they take cybersecurity very seriously. Most guarantee 99% uptime or more and implement the most up-to-date, robust cybersecurity applications, supported by highly skilled engineers to run them.
The Risks
The biggest risk of migrating some or all of your business processes from in-house machines, software, and IT technicians to cloud services is the loss of control.
Cloud service providers are heavily incentivized to deliver excellent applications, guaranteed availability, and the highest levels of security because the quality of their service is their core value proposition. However, things can go wrong, and if they do, your valuable data may become inaccessible, stuck in the hands of a third party on servers in a data center likely far, far away.
That’s why it’s best to work with CSPs that have an excellent reputation and have SSAE 16 and ISO certifications, which provide minimum levels of security, availability, safety, and reliability.
Commonly Used Cloud Services for Business
There is a wide variety of business applications available in cloud services. The most widely used are:
Document Management
These cloud services allow documents to be uploaded to and saved on remote online servers, from which they can be accessed, downloaded, and shared in configurable ways.
Messaging and Collaboration Applications
From email and cloud faxing solutions to tools like Slack and WhatsApp that allow collaboration between team members, cloud services that enable and simplify communication are among the most widely used.
Project Management
These cloud services allow project managers and team leaders to build, view, and collaborate on workflows, regardless of where they are or what devices they’re using.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
These cloud services allow for the storage of customer information in a centralized online portal, which can be accessed simultaneously by the marketing, sales, and support departments. This streamlines operations, increases efficiency and reduces costs.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
These are some of the fastest-growing cloud services. They allow automation and remote access to fundamental business processes like financial management, billing, payments, inventory management, and support.
Human Resource Management (HRM)
These cloud services provide HR departments with a range of employee management tools, from workforce visualization and management to rostering, scheduling, overtime calculation, leave management, and document storage.
There are also many more specialized cloud services that cater to the needs of specific sectors, such as high-resolution graphic and video processing, video conferencing, and more.
A Trusted Partner
Whatever kind of business you’re in, whatever the size of your business, and whatever your specific needs, there are likely cloud services that will improve your efficiency, lower costs, and boost productivity. However, it can be a lot to comprehend, especially since it is constantly changing. If you’re in the Burnsville, Twin Cities, Fargo, Duluth, or St. Cloud areas, Metro Sales is a specialist in cloud services with over 50 years of experience. Their experienced and knowledgeable staff can guide you through the process of migrating to or upgrading to the cloud. Contact us today to discuss your needs and request a quote.