Are there cloud computing benefits for small business?
Cloud computing benefits for small business include, but are not limited to:
- Improved manageability. By expanding your technological infrastructure resources as it is needed, cloud computing adds flexibility. You will no longer need to figure out how much data storage you need in the next year nor how many locations will be needed to access that data. Cloud solutions eliminate the need to know those answers now, or months in advance. Data storage size can be scaled up or down depending on your needs.
- IT infrastructure costs are considerably less. Instead of infrastructure costs from capital expenditures (purchasing servers) you only need to plan cloud services operational expenses because:
- You only pay for what you use (usage-based pricing).
- You need fewer IT hours to implement and manage your data.
- Limitless accessibility. If you’ve got an internet connection, there are no limits to being able to access your data from anywhere. Another advantage is that multiple users can work on the same data simultaneously so work gets done more efficiently and usually quicker.
- Significantly less maintenance. No longer will you need to install applications on every user’s computer. All the applications are in the cloud. There’s also no need to update or patch every endpoint’s computer. Again, all that happens on the cloud as well.
- Better response during peak demand. Resources are shared across a large pool, therefore peak load capacity increases and there is more efficiency for systems that are less utilized.
- Backup redundancy. Most well-designed cloud solutions use multiple redundant sites so that your data is protected and available even if one site is compromised.
- Security. Cloud security, if implemented properly, is as good as (or better) than traditional systems.