Are there cloud computing benefits for small business?

Yes. Many. Here are just a few of the top cloud computing benefits for small business:

1. Accessibility. Because your data is housed off-site and accessed via the internet, your staff can connect to it from anywhere and they can do it simultaneously with other staff members. It also saves employee hours as they no longer have to wait for the other users to respond. They work together. In addition, there is a cost saving in that application and software upgrades do not have to be done on each user’s computer. It’s all done in the cloud.
2. Flexibility. Cloud computing increases user flexibility and manageability by adding or expanding technological infrastructure resources on an as-needed basis. No need to estimate how much data storage you will need next year nor how many locations are needed to access that data. Data storage can be scaled up or down depending on your needs.
3. Lower infrastructure costs. No longer will you need to plan for capital expenditures, like purchasing servers. With a public-cloud delivery model, you will only plan for the operational expense of the third-party infrastructure. This saves money in two key ways:
• You’ll need fewer IT hours to apply and manage your data.
• You will be on usage-based pricing so you only pay for what you use.
4. Less maintenance. Applications do not need to be installed on each user’s computer. They’re on the cloud, so those programs are accessible even if users are working from a different workstation or traveling.
5. Easier to adjust at peak demand cycles. Resources and costs are shared across a large pool, meaning:
• Infrastructure can be centralized in locations with lower costs.
• Peak-load capacity increases.
• Efficiency is improved for systems that are often underutilized.
6. Redundancy of backups. By using multiple redundant sites, cloud solutions protect your data and make it available even if there is a disaster or cyber security threat.
7. Security. When implemented correctly, the cloud is just as secure or more secure than traditional systems.