Business Benefits of Cloud Computing – How?
Since its emergence a few decades ago, cloud computing has been a boon for businesses around the world. Its over-the-network accessibility has been an especial advantage for small and medium-sized companies. But big brands have embraced the cloud, too. Read on to find out more about how cloud computing benefits a business.
5 Business Benefits of Cloud Computing
1. Reduces Operating Costs
IT systems have become indispensable for many businesses. But the maintenance and upgrade of these systems costs serious money, especially when you consider that as a business grows, so does its data and storage requirements.
The cloud enables businesses to access storage, apps, and other computing resources over the internet. It takes care of maintenance and upgrades. By doing so, it reduces costs associated with software and hardware, storage, hosting, and hardware upgrade and maintenance.
2. Provides Scalable Resources as Needed
When businesses buy software or hardware, they often end up with resources that are either unnecessary in the short term or else lie redundant for the time being. This is true of servers, storage space, computing power, and productivity software, among others.
The cloud solves this old problem through its pay-as-you-go pricing model. It enables a business to increase or decrease computing resources as needed by paying for more or fewer resources. What’s more, it makes it possible for businesses to increase computing capacity instantly.
3. Workplace Flexibility
Before the emergence of the cloud, access to business resources and tools depended on employees’ physical presence in the office. For example, if an employee didn’t have access to their work computer, he or she would have no way of checking important emails outside office hours.
The cloud has created a virtual office that stores and processes data over the internet. It has enabled workplace mobility—when needed, employees can access business data and tools on their mobile devices or home computers.
This can make a business less dependent on office space and facilitate working remotely. It can also enable workers to better plan their time and increase their productivity.
4. Improved Performance
Having fast hardware and software is a competitive advantage, but many businesses struggle to achieve this. From legacy software to a lack of IT expertise, the problems that can plague in-house IT systems can be many and varied.
By contrast, cloud computing is fast and user-friendly. Strong competition among cloud service providers and the evolution of new cloud infrastructures means that cloud computing today operates on high-performance servers running on top hardware. That’s a big step up from many local data centers.
5. Higher Security
Physical security concerns, power outages, or hardware failure are often disregarded until they disrupt business operations. Some businesses have learned this the hard way.
While it does transfer data over the internet, the cloud comes with built-in protection features and security measures that many businesses wouldn’t otherwise have the time or the resources to implement. These include multi-factor authentication, encryption, and data backups across different locations.
Business Benefits of Cloud Computing – Summary
Cloud computing brings businesses notable benefits that enable them to increase productivity, access computing resources more easily, save money, and increase employee satisfaction. Add to that the fact that cloud computing can reduce the carbon footprint of a business, and it’s easy to see why many businesses transition to the cloud.
In the end, the cloud is often a faster, more effective way to distribute computer resources where they are needed the most. Cloud computing works for businesses—not against them.
- Reduces Operating Costs
- Provides Scalable Resources as Needed
- Workplace Flexibility
- Improved Performance
- Higher Security
Additional Cloud Resources
- Google Guide – A CIO’s guide to the cloud: hybrid and human solutions to avoid trade-offs
- Azure Business Benefits – The Azure cloud platform is more than 200 products and cloud services
