Few things are harder than growing a business. On the one hand, you’re trying to scale your processes, bring in new talent and serve your customers in more sustainable ways. On the other, you’re trying to hang on to the agility and culture that made your small business so special in the first place. It’s a tough balance to find.
Fortunately, there’s never been a better time to be a growing business. The rise of cloud-based tech (technology managed or accessed over the internet) has changed the game. The cloud has made it incredibly easy to tap into the kinds of powerful, ultra-secure technology that only the biggest businesses used to have. What’s more, this tech is more affordable and easy-to-use than ever before. Now growing businesses can use it to collaborate more effectively, work with remote talent and accelerate their projects.
With the right cloud roadmap, you can have less IT baggage and more IT firepower. When that happens, a lot of great things become possible:
1. Lower Costs
The cloud eliminates the need for a huge capital expenditure (CapEx) and can help you save on licensing fees. Best of all, pay-as-you-go pricing means that you only spend on what you use.
2. Tighter Security
Cloud providers can deliver a level of security that no small or medium-sized business operating alone can match. From full encryption and firewalls, to automatic patches and upgrades – the cloud means small businesses stay secure.
3. Less Admin
Cloud solutions are easy to implement and deploy, and ongoing maintenance and management is handled by your provider. This means your IT team can focus on more important matters.
4. Greater Agility
Since the cloud works on a pay-as-you-go basis, it’s easier to scale your solution up and down, on demand. Cloud contracts are also more flexible than hardware contracts, so you don’t have to worry about being tied to one solution for an extended period of time.
5. Easier Mobility
With everything in the cloud, data, apps and even entire desktops are always available to your team on any device – whether they’re working in the office or on the road.
Planning Your Cloud Journey
While the benefits of the cloud are well-established, it pays to think about how you’re going to embrace them. Too often, growing businesses take an ad-hoc approach to technology, buying solutions as needs arise, without really thinking about a broader roadmap. In fact, a lot of growing businesses don’t even realize they’re already using the cloud (if you’re using Gmail, you’re using the cloud). A more strategic approach means you can identify what you’re missing and plan your way to better collaboration, easier remote working and more efficient processes.
We’ve developed a guide to help you think about what’s possible in the cloud and what the right roadmap might look like. Whether you’re new to the cloud, or an ‘as-a-service’ expert, it will help you make the most of your cloud-based infrastructure and accelerate your progress.
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