When it comes to building a successful small business — the sky is no longer the limit! Nowadays, we have a plethora of tools and software at our disposal with which we can streamline workflow and organize tasks better. 

Cloud computing is one of these tools. 

According to TechRepublic, 69% of companies are already moving their critical business data to the cloud, and it’s only a matter of time before others follow suit. 

If you want a more thorough analysis of the subject, just read the article below.

Lower Operating Costs

When you’re a small business, you need to make every dollar count. Maintaining a proper data centre, on the other hand, is costly. It requires frequent hardware scaling as well as skilled personnel to operate it. 

This is where cloud computing comes in handy. Migrating to the cloud does not only reduce the cost of operating but is way simpler and easy to use. The updates are handled by the provider and you can integrate almost anything a lot faster and cheaper than you could with extensive hardware upgrades. What’s more, there are multiple packages to choose from. Meaning, you can pick one that fits your particular business needs without going over budget. 

Can Be Used as a Backup Plan

Remember all those old action movies where hackers would breach into a company’s data centre and completely erase all data within seconds? Well, thanks to cloud computing, this phenomenon will remain on the silver screen. 

A lot of companies nowadays are using cloud storage as a form of backup, should disaster strike. On the cloud, data is stored automatically and in the case of a cyber-attack, it can easily be restored. This will keep your business operational even after a potential data breach and you won’t lose money or time recovering all that lost data. 

Increased Scalability

Scaling your data centre the old-fashioned way takes considerable time and resources. Luckily, there are some exceptional cloud services on the internet today that allow you to scale your data storage within a few minutes. Depending on your particular business needs, you can choose between a wide array of packages and increase your maximum storage capacity in a matter of minutes. All you have to do is contact your provider and ask them to upgrade your package. That way, you don’t have to rebuild your entire storage infrastructure from the ground up when the need arises.

Added Flexibility

When you’re a small company you need to be agile with the way you run your business; things won’t always go according to plan. Cloud computing gives you just that. It provides not only great flexibility but increased mobility as well. In essence, you can work and access data from any location; as long as you have a stable internet connection. As a result, you can save more money — and invest it elsewhere — by hiring remote workers to counter the need for more office space. What’s more, you can even have teams working in the field (on different locations) if need be. 

In addition, employees can also collaborate with each other a lot better and share data with ease. This brings about an increase in productivity and overall efficiency of your workforce with minimal effort on your part.  

Better Data Security

Small businesses are still a prime target for cybercriminals; as if they didn’t have other things to worry about. In 2019, 43% of all cyber-attacks were conducted against smaller companies. That’s exactly why a lot of these smaller brands are looking for a safe haven in the cloud and are storing their data virtually. To put it bluntly — it’s not just about the hackers. Laptops and computers can be stolen. Data centres and physical servers are more susceptible to cyber-attacks and, therefore, more volatile. 

On the other hand, clouding platforms have more robust security measures than the average small business; they are more resilient and harder to breach. If anything, using cloud computing as a storage solutions means you won’t have to do regular maintenance checks and updates as your provider will do these for you. This will ensure you don’t miss out on any important patches that can potentially compromise your security.

All in all, migrating to the cloud is not only cheaper but more reliable overall. It offers small businesses better security and protection than traditional data centres, brings them more flexibility, and provides them with ample room for growth; all a budding business requires.