The way we engage and interact today is far different than it was 10 years ago, thanks to the World Wide Web; that’s the Internet.  If you stop to think about it, we trust the Internet with a lot of our information; we enter credit card numbers to pay for goods on sites like Amazon; we tell people how our day went on Facebook; we exchange messages, photos, and other personal information all the time sometimes without necessarily realising that it’s the Internet that’s making this communication so easy.  It is because of this that it still shocks me when businesses ignore the chance of enhancing their business in one way or another because the enhancement (usually a Service as a Software) is in the cloud.

What does “in the cloud” mean exactly? 

The “cloud” is simply a fashionable name for running applications and holding data, securely of course, in the Internet.  But let’s keep in simple: if you have used an email package such as Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo Mail then you have already embraced the cloud.  Nothing is held on your PC, mobile device or tablet, and you can access your email from anywhere in the world.  It’s that simple.  Now just take the same concept and apply it to the world of business applications.

What are the benefits of being in the cloud?

1.        Security

The cloud is immune from natural disasters such a flooding, hurricanes, and fires.  If you still operate on a paper filing system, or use downloaded software on your PCs and you become the victim of a natural disaster, say goodbye to your business records.  If your computer crashes, say goodbye to your business records.  This worry is eliminated by using the cloud.  Your information is hosted on secure servers, and is backed-up on a daily, sometimes minute-by-minute basis.  Your office could burn down, and you could lose everything; however by embracing the cloud you can go to Best Buy, buy a laptop, and continue running your business all in the very same hour.

Some people worry about data security in the cloud.  However companies that offer cloud computing use encryption to guard against hackers, or other ways company data could be shared.  This means your data is for your business’s eyes only, and cannot and will not be shared.

 2.       Freedom and Flexibility

By operating your business using cloud applications, you have the freedom and flexibility to access your business information from anywhere at any time, as long as you have an internet connection.  You can access information straight from your smart phone on the road, or from someone else’s laptop.  You aren’t confined to laptops or PC’s that have your downloaded software on them.

3.       Reduced Costs

With cloud applications, you don’t need an IT team, servers, or other large expenses that often come with downloadable software.  Updates are included in the low monthly subscription fees and you aren’t tied to paying for a large “piece” of software.  If you don’t like what your cloud based software does, you can simply cancel your subscription and move on.  There is no risk of purchasing a product and spending the time downloading and implementing it, just to realize that it doesn’t actually help your business, or isn’t what you are looking for.  The cost is manageable for small businesses, and the rewards are high.

The truth is, thanks to Apple’s Apps, CRM companies like Salesforce, and a strong push for social media and digital marketing in the business world, the cloud IS the future.  Quite frankly, businesses that don’t recognize this, and don’t act accordingly, will be easily surpassed by those businesses that embrace the idea that new technological advances will indeed give them the competitive upper hand.  At the end of the day, as a service company, how do you expect to deliver the same value that a competitor with information at their fingertips 24/7 can?  The solution is: get your head IN the CLOUD.  It’s designed to make your life easier, so maybe it’s time for you to embrace it.

For more information on why the cloud is the way to go, watch this video produced by Salesforce: