Benefits of cloud computing?

What Are Some Benefits of Using Cloud Computing?

1. Improves Cyber Security

94% of businesses that transitioned to the cloud said it improved their security. Many business owners initially have concerns over cloud security, which makes sense. Surely storing mission-critical data and applications on servers at your site is more secure? Surprisingly maybe, this isn’t true as cloud providers monitor cloud security at all times - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Cloud computing also enhances security through the use of encryption. With effective encryption, you place a barrier between your valuable data and any hackers and ensure that only staff with authorisation can gain access to everything you’re storing on the cloud. The cloud’s security features also enable you to recover any data to ensure continuity and reduce unplanned downtime.

2. Increases Efficiency

59% of SMBs who use cloud services cite considerable productivity gains from cloud computing, compared to only 30% of companies who have not used cloud services. So, why are businesses saying this? Firstly, the cloud is always available to access as long as you have an internet connection and the correct authorisation.

You can also tailor your cloud IT to your business requirements. Working with a dedicated cloud provider, allows you to optimise your cloud services for your business. This helps you achieve your goals, stimulate long-term growth, and increase operational efficiency. Depending on your agreement, updates may automatically download, so your cloud computing improves without you even having to think about it.

3. Enhances Scalability

As your business succeeds and grows, you want your IT infrastructure to keep up with your evolving requirements. Whether you need to scale your operations up or down, the cloud offers a flexible solution. If you install in-house servers and need to scale, you will need to purchase expensive equipment and software. 

With the cloud, however, all you need to do is have a chat with your cloud provider who will adapt your services based on your requirements. This helps you to continue operations seamlessly, without having to schedule downtime. You don’t have to wait for servers to catch up, the cloud allows you to work at your own pace.

4. Enables Business Continuity

Unfortunately, disruptions happen, and more often than we would like. If your business uses in-house servers, these disruptions can delay your operations, lead to data losses, and incur costs. Whereas cloud services ensure business continuity to reduce unplanned downtime and any productivity losses.

Being able to access data and applications anywhere, anytime also improves business continuity. With the cloud, staff don’t have to delay working if they aren’t in the office. On the way back from a meeting or working remotely, your staff can still access the important data and applications they need for their roles.

5. Facilitates Collaboration & Teamwork

For a business with many team members, collaboration plays an important role in all operations. The cloud makes it simple to share information securely between devices in real-time, so everyone is on the same page. Staff can edit documents simultaneously alongside other team members making collaboration much easier. 

Of course, teamwork is possible without the cloud. However, cloud computing makes collaboration between employees easier and more efficient. Even if staff aren’t in the office, they can view and edit documents alongside their team using cloud services.

6. Reduces Costs

After migrating to the cloud, small and medium-sized businesses spend 36% less money on their IT infrastructure. Instead of paying for features you don’t want or need when you install in-house servers, cloud services allow you to pay for only what you require. You have the option of choosing a pay-as-you-go model where you only pay for the cloud services and storage you’re using.

The cloud also requires less capital upfront to implement compared to installing in-house servers. Instead of paying for an IT department and expensive hardware and software, you can start using the cloud straight away. Reduce your costs and increase returns by utilising cloud services.

         7. Lowers Your Carbon Footprint

The cloud reduces electricity usage, virtualizes physical components, and improves how you can allocate resources. Businesses can potentially reduce carbon emissions by up to 98% through cloud services. With in-house servers, you need to constantly power them, which not only increases energy usage but your electricity bills as well. Whereas the cloud is powered by renewable energy sources.

Being a sustainable organisation involves more than having recycling bins around the office and low-energy lightbulbs. Your business’s IT infrastructure is a big opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint by utilising the cloud. 

8. Allows You To Implement Effective Disaster Recovery

There are always things you’re not in control of, no matter how organised your business is. Cloud services enable you to implement effective disaster recovery processes that reduce unplanned downtime. Power cuts, natural disasters, and cyber attacks all could lead to in-house servers failing and affecting your business.

With the cloud, even if these disruptions happen, you can continue to operate productively. It also minimises the risk of unplanned downtime and the impact it has if it does occur. Downtime can cause you to incur costs and damage your brand’s reputation, so avoid this by utilising disaster recovery services with the cloud.

What are the advantages of cloud based services?

Why should a business consider migrating to a cloud-based solution? Here are 5 reasons why adopting cloud computing with us can give your business a competitive advantage.

• Allows you to quickly launch new applications and services
Cloud computing is ideal for growing businesses. By adopting a cloud infrastructure service, it reduces the time needed by organisations to go from an idea to a service or app. A cloud service facilitates collaboration and innovation, allowing you to analyse huge amounts of data effectively and you have the ability to easily and cost-effectively upscale cloud computing so that your organisation can quickly build and launch new applications or services.

• Frees up your IT staff
When it comes to cloud computing, our team here at Bluecube take care of all the maintenance of the hardware and updates and security patches to the software.
Testing, patching and upgrading hardware and software can take up days of your IT staff’s time every month. But when your systems are in the cloud, you don’t need to worry about maintaining the systems and fixing bugs, enabling you to free up your IT staff to concentrate on strategic projects that deliver additional value to the business and its bottom line.

• Enables you to gather product and data insights
With your business information held in the cloud, you can focus your efforts on the business and use the data gathered to work out what products and services your customers want and how you can provide a better customer experience.
In addition to gathering product and data insights, cloud computing will also give you a complete business view. Running your accounting, HR and marketing software in the cloud means that your businesses can be fully integrated and senior managers can keep their fingers on the pulse of the entire organisation.

• Improves flexibility
Cloud platforms provide businesses with an unmatched level of flexibility, enabling your employees to access systems and data from almost anywhere. This means that employees can work more flexibly to suit their lifestyles and find a better work-life balance - for example, by working from home or outside of normal working hours. The ability to instantly share documents through the cloud increases collaboration between employees and organisations and their clients. And in addition, allowing employees to use their mobile devices through Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies can provide extra cost-saving benefits to the business.

Enquire About Cloud-Based Infrastructure Services at Bluecube

At Bluecube, we’ve helped hundreds of companies migrate to the cloud to improve their business scalability, security, and efficiency. Our team of IT experts takes the time to get to know your company’s goals and challenges, carefully assessing all the information, and ensuring a seamless and stress-free cloud migration.

Cloud computing is beneficial to organisations of all sizes, our team at Bluecube are specialists in cloud computing, from AWS to Google and Microsoft. We offer a range of services to develop your IT infrastructure to help get your company on the right track.
Whether it is public or private cloud services, or a hybrid cloud solution, we have years of experience delivering results for businesses across the UK and overseas. Find out more today, visit our contact page and fill in an enquiry form.