Businesses Moving to the Cloud

When it comes to technology, businesses are faced with many challenges. On top of day-to-day operations, they struggle to keep their data safe, stay current with rapidly changing technology, and keep hardware and software up to date to avoid security risks.

The cloud levels the playing field through enterprise grade technology that’s affordable and accessible. From enhancing employee productivity to reducing IT costs, the cloud could solve a wide range of challenges and be the answer you’ve been looking for.

If you’ve been on the fence about moving your data to the cloud, the following five benefits may help shed some light on how the cloud can help your organization grow and gain a competitive edge.

1) Lower Costs

Rising costs are always a concern for businesses of all sizes.

Financial Advantages of Moving to the Cloud

• Reduce Hardware Costs: Moving to the cloud can sharply reduce hardware costs, freeing up additional resources for expansion, marketing and other pressing concerns.
• Save on Energy Costs: Instead of investing in a new server, you could move your data to the cloud and save on energy costs. It’s easy to overlook the impact of energy costs on your business, but this is one fixed cost you really can control. Servers require a lot of cooling, and a dedicated infrastructure to keep them from overheating. By moving to the cloud, you can eliminate those excessive cooling costs and significantly lower your utility bills.
• Reduce IT Costs: When you move your files to the cloud, you also save on IT and operational support. Many businesses find themselves hiring IT personnel to maintain their server, but storing files in the cloud generally makes more sense and can even give you the benefit of additional security for your sensitive data.

2) Gain Additional Office Space

Whether you’re renting an office for your greater Milwaukee area business or looking to expand into a new space, every square foot counts.

Dedicated servers require a lot of physical space, and many businesses set aside a dedicated room to keep their server safe, secure, and cool. Moving your data to the cloud frees up physical space that would otherwise be occupied by a bulky on-site server.

Rather than investing in the maintenance and expense of an on-site dedicated server, why not move your data to the cloud and use the space more productivity? You could repurpose your server room into a customer service desk, training or conference room for example.

3) Enhance Productivity

Boosting productivity has never been more important for businesses.

While keeping workers productive is important no matter what your size, running a business presents its own set of challenges.

With a limited budget, you don’t have the freedom to hire additional employees when things get busy. You need to do more with less, and that means doing what you can to boost productivity of the workers already on payroll.

By moving to the cloud, you can take full advantage of the productivity within your current workforce.

Studies have found that the bring your own device (BYOD) trend improves productivity, but security concerns have prevented many organizations from jumping on board.

Since the greatest threat to data loss within the cloud is user error, adopting BYOD in your business can prove to reduce that risk since users will be comfortable with their own device and thus, be less likely to commit errors using that device.

Armed with their own mobile devices, your employees can work from anywhere – their home, the coffee shop down the street or even the beach chair at their favorite vacation resort. Rather than being tied to their cubicles, workers can easily share files in the cloud, collaborate on projects and get more done with fewer resources.

4) File Access Control

When you move your data to the cloud, you can gain the benefit of full control over which employees have access to certain company files.

Through cloud-based file access control, you can ensure each employee has access to exactly what he or she needs and have peace of mind knowing former employees no longer have access company files once they leave the company.

In addition to full control over file access, cloud storage offers employees the ability to share and collaborate remotely, without relying on consumer grade file sharing services that can put your business and data at risk.

5) Reduce Security Risks

Cyber security risks have never been more prevalent. From the threat of ransomware and infected files to the danger posed by insider sabotage and disgruntled employees, security challenges are everywhere. Cloud storage can help you reduce the number of security risks, giving you one less thing to worry about.

Studies have shown that half of all cyber-attacks specifically target small businesses. Cloud computing is a great way to close security gaps and tip the odds in your favor.

Security Benefits of the Cloud

• Secure File Sharing: With cloud computing in place, file sharing is done through business-grade software instead of risky consumer-grade file sharing software. This alone can improve the integrity of your data and reduce the risk of a cyber-attack.
• Secure File Storage: Through professional cloud storage, you avoid the risk posed by storing files locally on mobile devices or laptops, which could become the target of physical theft.
• Secure Data Backup: The lack of a cohesive backup strategy is a weak point for many businesses, and one that cloud storage can easily overcome. Moving to the cloud automates your backups, so you don’t have to worry about a highly sensitive lost file jeopardizing your organization in a big way.

If you haven’t adopted the cloud in your business just yet, now is the perfect time to make the switch. Through headline news, it’s easy to see that no business, not even the largest and well-respected, is immune from the dangers of hackers, data loss and other threats. Cloud backup solutions for business are available for most any budget and the return on investment for the security these solutions can provide is difficult to put a price on.

Contact Ontech Systems online or by phone at 262-522-8560 and learn how cloud computing can help your organization stay secure and up to date with the latest technology available today.

From moving to the cloud, to disaster recovery and more, our experienced, highly qualified team of IT consultants can answer questions and help you ensure your business is positioned for growth and productivity, regardless of your size and budget.