For the first several years of cloud computing, there was a great deal of concern that working in the cloud wouldn’t be as safe as working on a local hard drive – and that it would be too confusing for the average user to handle easily. Actually, cloud technology has come a very long way in the past few years and now is found to be the best way to store and access information individually, and as a team. This year, an increasing number of businesses are realizing the benefits of cloud computing and so storing data on local machines just may be fading into the history archives. Here are the top five benefits and why you should consider making the transition.
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1. Lower Initial Investment
Instead of upgrading your office computers regularly to handle larger storage needs and faster speeds, you can bypass all that by storing data in the cloud. Depending on the size package you subscribe to, storage can be unlimited. To date, Dropbox has been the leading cloud storage service, but following closely on their heels is the Amazon S3 Dropbox alternative, with a negligible initial investment. You pay only for the data you use.
2. Greater Speed and Efficiency
Imagine keeping your hard drive free of all those files? Not only are you paying less initially, but as a side benefit to freeing up disk space, you’ll notice your machines run smoother and faster with virtual memory enabled. That’s a real plus – two benefits for the price of one.
3. Easily Accessible from Any Computer or Mobile Device*
A growing trend in today’s professional world is a workforce that’s gone mobile. More and more employers are downsizing office space and hiring remote workers. Now, whether your staff is on the road or working from home, they can access the company’s cloud storage from literally any location and any computer or mobile device.
* There would be a few exceptions such as Windows OneDrive, which is proprietary to Windows, but there are apps for Android as well. For those with iOS, it may not be a good match. However, there is an app that can be downloaded from Windows that lets iOS users access OneDrive,
4. Integrates with Any OS*
As mentioned above, if you are trying to access the company cloud storage space, it may be problematic if you are not using a compatible operating system. While most cloud computing and cloud storage are compatible with the Windows OS, Mac users may need to find a workaround. However, if all the computers in use are company property, it’s logical that they would all have the same OS and interfaces.
* Interoperability, as mentioned, may be an issue. Check out the above-mentioned app.
5. Better Security
Security is actually better in the cloud for one very good reason. Many businesses fail to buy the most recent security for their computers, but a cloud server has both state-of-the-art security software and has a team of staff to regularly update as new threats surface. With a local mainframe, companies can wait days, if not weeks, before a tech becomes available to apply those patches required to keep your data secure. By that time, it may be too late.
There is no longer the fear of being breached that there once was, so more and more businesses and private individuals are looking at cloud-based servers, storage, and ERP software. If 2018 sees any major advances at all, it will likely be in the cloud computing arena. This year is the year of the cloud.
