The “cloud” which is no longer a buzzword, but an official term that can be found in the world’s most highly-regarded dictionaries, is how modern business is done around the world. For any business owner who once thought the cloud was a passing trend, or that it wouldn’t transcend to the world domination it now has, you were sadly mistaken.
Virtual cloud services are comprised of a massive infrastructure that includes data centers, storage devices, data connections, apps, APIs, service companies, and billions of connected consumer devices at any given time. The cloud allows data collection, storage and sharing. It keeps that information safe from harm, even though it’s a constant battle for programmers and law enforcement to ensure fault-free security from data breaches.
As to what virtual cloud services can do for your business: What can’t they offer? With Elon Musk and crew at the helm of humanity’s future, the virtual cloud will soon contribute heavily to everything on the planet that works off technology, including transporting goods and flying spaceships!
Here’s a bunch of things the cloud can offer to help run your business better:
VOIP
Voice Over Internet Protocol allows you and your team member to talk over the Internet. Since VOIP is 100% Internet based, voice and video chat can be accomplished from any device operating on a WiFi connection, without using valuable minutes or incurring data charges from your mobile provider.
VOIP also makes national and international communication easier than ever for businesses round the world. If you haven’t tried any VOIP-based tools recently, due to the bad rap Skype and other tools got for poor quality, things have improved dramatically. It’s time to relax and try this technology again!
Nearly every online business tool out there includes the use of VOIP-based technology. Even getting into the consumer end of things, look at apps like Facebook chat and Apple’s Facetime and it should be clear that VOIP will continue to be a part of everyone’s lives.
Collaboration
There’s never been more accessible and feature rich, cloud-based collaboration software than that which exists today. Affordable solutions are available from Google, MSN, and many of the other popular platforms such as SalesForce and Asana.
Collaboration tools make it brutally simple for teams to manage projects and communicate ideas from a 100% cloud-based environment. The downside is less physical face-to-face time than used to exist in the past, but businesses and their staff are quickly getting on board.
Business App Integration
There are currently more business apps available than there are companies in the world to make use of them. Obviously, there are a lot of poorly conceived software apps out there on the market, but the best of the bunch always rise to the top in our digitally driven world. The cloud harbors the ability to use all the best use desktop software we’ve all come to rely upon and love.
There’s no limit to the apps that can help your business run better, from the aforementioned collaboration and office tools, to fully functional accounting and expense tracking software, and marketing solutions such as social media scheduling and posting apps. Virtual service solutions such as virtual offices, virtual receptionists and virtual assistants also operate together in harmony within the cloud, allowing business owners to run their business from their devices.
The best thing about apps and their ability to deploy seamlessly from the cloud is the flexibility they offer business owners and their employees. Best: Where there’s a need, there’s an experienced developer waiting in the wings to cure whatever need or problem is weighing a business owner down!
Storage/Backup
The cloud has come so far over what it was just a few years ago. Megabytes of storage evolved to gigabytes. Gigabytes have now evolved to terabytes. In fact, there are numerous cloud storage providers to choose from, offering gigs of free storage and data backups for a lifetime including Google, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, MEGA and many others.
Even though this comes with added security concerns, the ability to upload your data to the cloud and keep it there indefinitely is a definite asset to businesses who need to protect and share that data on-the-go. The big advantage with cloud storage is that you don’t have to continuously monitor the health of the media it’s stored on.
This is dependent on where that data is stored, but with social media being what it is, a bad cloud storage provider literally cannot hide from a negative reputation. There are too many options and therefore, those who can’t meet the standards of the CSSC simply will not be around in a year’s time.
Security & Monitoring
Data security will never be 100% assured. As encryption technology improves, criminals seeking to get ahead by immoral means will certainly find a way to steal that which isn’t theirs. Still, as cloud technology moves forward, security measures improve.
Moving your data security to the cloud takes away a lot of the risks that in-house measures can, as you go from a small team of IT guys and locally hosted antivirus and other security software, to a vast array of genius-level professionals doing round-the-clock monitoring in the cloud all over the world.
Consider the difference between a small team of Secret Service agents trying to protect the President from harm, versus the entire United State’s army doing that same job. There’s no question the Secret Service can do a great job with smaller threats, but sometimes the army needs to move in to get the job done!
Embrace the Cloud!
The cloud offers many more benefits to businesses than just those mentioned above. It should be clear that the cloud isn’t just the future of how business is done, but rather the only way that it makes sense to service customers and get business done right now.
If you’re one of the few business owners out there who haven’t yet embraced virtual cloud technology, can you honestly say there isn’t a single cloud-based tool out there your company can’t possibly benefit from?
Don’t be stubborn — the cloud is waiting!
