What are the top reasons why small businesses should consider cloud services in 2019? Before we go deep into the reasons in this article, it’s best to define first what is cloud computing. International Business Machines or IBM, one of the biggest technology companies in the world today, defines cloud computing as “the delivery of on-demand computing resources—everything from applications to data centers—over the Internet on a pay-for-use basis.”
And cloud services have come a long way the past several years, according to an article in the IT Chronicles: “Cloud computing has come a long way since those early days of mainframes,” and this a big thing considering that still according to the article, “concepts of the cloud have existed for many, many years, and in fact can be traced as far back as the 1950s with mainframe computing. In those early days, mainframe computers were huge machines, and very, very expensive—too expensive to buy and maintain one for every single employee.”
The biggest misconception out there, however, is that cloud services are more suited for big multinational companies and not for medium-sized businesses or small businesses. Perhaps the misconception stems from the fact that many executives think that small companies do not necessarily need cloud services and that because they are, as IBM describes them, a “pay for use,” cloud services are thought of as expensive.
And the thing is, though, cloud computing is here to stay, according to Tech Radar’s “The Future of Cloud Computing in 2019.” The article states: “Cloud adoption has seen a significant increase over the last few years and recent reports from Gartner suggest that we will see a 50 percent investment in cloud technology over the next four years. The cloud is obviously here to stay…”
But back to cloud services and small businesses. While it is true that cloud services offer many benefits to organizations of all sizes, it is dramatically more beneficial to smaller companies. Let’s take a closer look at the top reasons why small businesses should consider cloud services this 2019.
Small businesses get better security
One of the top reasons why small businesses should consider cloud services this 2019 is that this year the threats to businesses’ data have actually grown, and it is no secret that cloud-based applications are much more secure than onsite applications. This is especially true mainly for small businesses and small companies. For a small company, taking care of the security of a business infrastructure is difficult—and also involves huge expenses and expertise—which would be a big challenge for any small business. Thus, the better option for a small business that wants better security for the company is to actually tap the services of a reputable IT solutions provider and consider their cloud services.
Small businesses get easier access to apps
Small businesses, not just big companies, need to be able to access business data and applications anytime, anywhere. And if there is an indication of this truth, it is the increase in the use of mobile devices nowadays, such as smartphones and tablets for business applications.
Cloud services have made it even easier for small businesses to access their business apps from mobile devices. This is, obviously, one of the top reasons why small businesses should consider cloud services this 2019.
Small business owners will enjoy scalability
We often hear about the word “scalability” being thrown around when talking about business, but scalability when talking about cloud computing is different. Scalability, when talking about IT, is the capability of a process, network, software, or appliance to grow and manage increased demands. This is one of the most valuable and predominant features of cloud computing, and one of the top reasons why small businesses should consider cloud services this 2019. Through scalability, small companies can scale up their data storage capacity or scale it down to meet the demands of the business.
Small businesses get reliable support and performance
Depending on the IT support provider that a particular small business will tap, cloud services often come with reliable support—usually available 24-7, to assist users with any issues and problems they may encounter.
And the performance of an IT solutions provider’s cloud services should be top of the line, in order to effectively take care of a small business’s needs. For example, NST IT Solutions’ Private Cloud solution is built on a VMware Virtualisation platform, configured for High Availability, with all infrastructure components required to host and manage servers in the cloud. All components are monitored and managed using NST’s core management tools and resources, and servers are backed up with a cloud backup solution.
And the most important of the top reasons why small businesses should consider cloud services this 2019: saving money
This is, needless to say, the most obvious reason among the top reasons why small businesses should consider cloud services this 2019. Small businesses are always looking for ways to save money, and cloud computing is an excellent investment—the money saved by a small business that decides to go the cloud-computing route will go a long way in helping the company grow and reach its full potential.