These days, it seems like everything is part of the cloud. Whether it’s your own personal collection of your favourite music, or all of your business’s most important documents, saving things in the cloud is extremely useful indeed. Now, it even extends to the the adoption of software for HR, orders, stock levels, and customer accounts management.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons that it might be a good idea to choose a cloud-ready package the next time you look into upgrading your management software.
Data Backup
Losing data can be a real nightmare, especially if it’s not easily replaced. Everyone knows tht they should back up important pieces of information to several locations, but the truth is that sometimes people do simply forget. It’s just unavoidable. Using the cloud however, can help negate this issue, because as soon as you input something, such as a client’s contact details, the data is automatically stored up in the cloud. It’s a very useful thing, and can help save time and frustration, provided that the service that you choose to use is as secure as it should be. The UK government has published some guidelines as to what these standards should be; always check with your provider to ensure that your data is going to be looked after.
Remote Accessibility
Having data in one place means that it can only be accessed in one place. If you or your employees need to work from home at any time, this can become somewhat of a problem. There are remote desktop solutions available, but they’re often clunky and unreliable, which is why many businesses are phasing them out. Because the cloud can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection, as long as you’ve got the security credentials, you can get at what you need. This of course works for mobile too, which brings us to the next point.
Multiple Platforms
Chances are that in this day and age you could potentially want to access your management software and associated data from a number of different platforms. You might input all of the information at the point of sale on the till, then need to look at it on your laptop, access it from your smartphone, and then present things using a tablet. Modern management software is often able to run on all of these devices, and crucially, if everything is in the cloud, you can seamlessly work away on any device instantly. Phorest, a company that supplies software such as this, also points out that having good hardware can also ensure that the process is extremely smooth and quick.
So, if you are looking to bring your business operations into the 21st century, it might be a good idea to implement a cloud-based solution. This is something that’s useful for just about any business. Even small retailers can benefit from the flexibility of being able to store, manage and access data anywhere and anytime without having to worry about security.
