Some small businesses have started to experience the move towards cloud computing across nearly all industries. The term cloud computing has long been misinterpreted and remains misunderstood by smaller companies.
Some business owners believe that it is a vague infrastructure term while others think that it refers to a branch of information technology that does not apply to brick-and-mortar companies. The reality, however, is that cloud computing is becoming the newest paradigm for the delivery of information services and it cannot be ignored if a business wants to maintain a foothold in the modern marketplace.
Cloud Computing Is The Future Of Application Delivery
Any business that uses the Internet or software to communicate with a vendor, store records or control industrial machinery will need to pay attention to cloud computing. The distribution of new applications is quickly becoming reliant on Internet-based solutions. Software as a service (SaaS) technology takes full advantage of the cloud concept and decouples software from hardware.
Businesses like telemarketing and retail sales regularly use software that is running and stored on a remote server through a simple and inexpensive dumb terminal. Ignoring cloud computing could leave a business with outdated software that cannot interface with the systems of other modern vendors or companies.
Cloud Computing Reduces Costs
The cost of cloud computing is dropping dramatically as more businesses begin to use cloud-based services and storage. Traditional computer networking within an office is becoming more expensive to maintain and software that does not use the cloud is becoming harder to find. The purpose of cloud computing is to allow a business to outsource complex information technology functions to a third-party provider.
Ignoring the option of cloud computing could lead a business to install an expensive and ultimately unnecessary computer network infrastructure that could quickly become obsolete in the coming years.
Scalability
Businesses that are growing will need exponentially more space for storage and more terminals and software for employees. The cost of purchasing new workstations, installing new network hubs and increasing storage on a network can become cumbersome over the years. These issues are almost completely removed through cloud computing.
Some of the largest professional software companies in the world are now producing software that can be deployed through the cloud without worrying about complex licenses or activation sequences. A business that uses the cloud can scale upwards as quickly as needed at a fraction of the cost of upgrading traditional network services.
Freedom To Focus On Business
A company that uses cloud computing can avoid problems that could take up time such as managing information technology staff, paying for computer repairs and dealing with expensive system downtimes. Employees and supervisors are free to focus on improving a small business through websites like http://www.sba.com/business-resources when a third-party provider is managing most of the technology and software that a business needs.
Small businesses can excel much more quickly in an environment where the tools that are needed to do business are seamlessly maintained at all times.
Mobility
Cloud computing offers small businesses the option to move offices or hold meetings in any location. The data and applications that are accessed through the cloud can be viewed and used from any location that has a capable device or terminal.
Establishing satellite offices and collaborating with employees in other countries can be very easy since all of the required information is accessible through a network at any time. Ignoring cloud computing in the future can burden a company and take away the competitive edge that other small businesses are now discovering.
