Intro to Cloud Computing: Understanding Business Cloud Services

These days, almost all big corporations and multinational companies transact their business processes over the cloud. Makes sense for large firms with seemingly unlimited budgets. But what about your business and others like it? Are business cloud services worth it? 

The answer is: Yes. It saves time and money while being easily accessible and convenient. Not convinced? Here’s more information about cloud benefits.

Why Use Business Cloud Services?

With business cloud computing, you get:

• Remote collaboration. Whether you choose Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, DropBox or some other cloud provider, cloud connectivity allows you and your team to collaborate in real-time from anywhere in the world as long as you all have internet access.
• Business continuity. Moving to a cloud can end the headaches of computer crashes. Cloud servers make backup redundancy easier, so your data is never only in one place. This makes recovery easier and more reliable. When outages happen or hardware malfunctions, recovery is just a click or two away. 
• Storage accessibility. Keeping  your inventory logs, client information databases and even employee information on physical computers and/or on-site servers is a bad idea. Storing everything on the cloud provides security as well as easy access from wherever you are. You can configure your cloud solution security to give you complete control over who has access to which files. Moving all your files to the cloud can also empower your operations to go fully paperless.
• Data security. Data security was once the biggest reason why small business owners avoided the cloud. But that reason is long gone. Though you still need to play your part in securing sensitive data, most cloud service providers now have stronger and better security measures than when the cloud was in its incubation. An example of that is the decentralization of data through blockchain technology. This makes the information stored on the cloud much harder for hackers to crack.
• Scalability. Cloud solutions are very scalable allowing you to only pay for the services and access level you need at the present time. If you start with paying for the smallest storage capacity, you can easily increase your usage as your business grows. It also moves the expense from a capital expense (buying servers) to an operational expense (renting digital storage space) with predictable costs month to month.
• Cloud-based email. You can maximize cloud services by moving your email hosting to a cloud-powered solution. You won’t have to manage or invest in servers to run your business email. Your cloud service provider will do that and also be responsible for that cloud-hosted email, which is more affordable than on-site servers.
• E-commerce. Shopping has changed drastically in the last few years. Customers have changed their buying habits away from physical stores and increased their reliance on online shopping. If you’re running an online store or are thinking of moving your physical store online, cloud-based e-commerce platforms are definitely the way to go. Platforms such as Shopify have simply become unparalleled, both in ease of use and cost. Cloud-based e-commerce platforms are also a breeze to scale without the costly investment in necessary hardware.

How to Tap Into Business Cloud Services

One way to move to the cloud is to copy your on-premises server onto a third-party cloud solution like Microsoft’s SharePoint. There are several different plans for small businesses that could fit your needs, and there are more options than just SharePoint.

Another way is to contract with a managed service provider such as Aeko who will help you not only make the move to the cloud but also ensure that it is seamless and complete with data backup and cyber security. And if that’s not enough, we will also train your staff to use it.

These are just a few facts about moving to a cloud. If you have other questions or just want to learn a bit more about business cloud services, contact us or book a quick consultation. We would be happy to go over this or any other technology questions with you about your particular business.