Make Your Business More Flexible with Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has taken off in recent years, largely because of the many business benefits that it can provide. And while a lot of the material discussing the benefits focuses on cost savings and the ability to achieve scalability, cloud computing can also make your business much more flexible.

In short, cloud computing solutions can enable your team to work anytime and anywhere. Team members do not need to sit at a desk in an office building to send an email. It frees up your business, so a central location does not confine it.

The primary ways that cloud computing make your business more flexible include:

Work can be done from anywhere in the world. The pandemic demonstrated the need for business agility. Cloud solutions’ biggest and most obvious benefit is that your team can work from anywhere. So whether they are on the go, traveling for meetings, or working from home, cloud computing solutions ensure that your entire team has the resources needed to conduct important business, regardless of their physical location. This level of agility can ensure that your business has the flexibility to stay operational even in extreme scenarios. Additionally, resources such as SharePoint and Microsoft 365 allow your team to collaborate and work together, meaning that you don’t lose anything when all members must pull together and work as one to finish big projects. These programs can sync documents and other files so everyone can work together using the latest information.
You have device portability. In the past, many companies issued a computer configured by IT to work as your sole device. You had to take it everywhere if you wanted to use it for work. Since cloud computing puts the platforms and information online, your team’s resources can be accessed online, regardless of the device used. And that means you can use any device, whether a computer, a smartphone, or a tablet. This flexibility ensures your team members can stay functional and productive even if a device fails since they can also use any other device.
You can scale at your own pace. Previously, when a company wanted to grow, it also had to develop its IT infrastructure, which generally came with a hefty investment. Unfortunately, the costs associated with these upgrades could be restrictive, meaning you had to adjust your implementation timeline to meet your current resources. Additionally, once the infrastructure was in place, you would often only benefit from using a small portion of its capabilities until your company growth could fully utilize the asset. And once that occurred, you were generally in a place to consider making another major investment to support additional development. It was a vicious cycle. Cloud computing offers a much more attractive option. Since cloud service providers can accommodate many clients at once, they can share the infrastructure resources in a way that leverages their full power and meets client needs. And you only pay for what you need, which can vary. You can work with the service provider to scale up if you need more resources. If you need less, you can scale down. It’s as simple as that; you only pay for the resources you need when you need them, and you have the option of changing your requested resources as the need arises. This option is far more flexible and cost-effective.
Disaster recovery can be much more effective. Disaster recovery and disaster planning are becoming critical functions for many businesses. As the threat of natural disasters and cyber attacks grows, disaster recovery is a way to quickly develop a roadmap to restore IT functionality. When your assets are on the cloud, the risk of a physical threat, such as a natural disaster wiping out all of your resources, is minimized. And while this could still occur and impact the infrastructure resources for your cloud service provider, these providers often have redundancy to protect your data. And that means the impact of an event like this would be much less than otherwise. In many instances, services and functionality can be restored in a matter of minutes. Conversely, if all of your physical servers were wiped out by a fire or other event, it could take weeks or months to recover.

As you can see, there are many benefits to cloud computing. It can enhance your business operations and help your team be more productive. To learn more about cloud computing, contact Sagacent Technologies today.

Sagacent Technologies offers technology management and support, including proactive/preventative maintenance, onsite and offsite data back-ups, network and security audits, mobility solutions, disaster planning, and emergency business resumption services. The company serves clients of 10 to 150 employees within the Silicon Valley region.