How Cloud Solutions Fit into Businesses Today

Cloud computing has seen momentous growth over the past decade, but despite this, many business decision makers have been resistant to the change. However, with stay-at-home orders now keeping employees at home for months at a time, the cloud is swiftly becoming the best option to fulfill many of their needs. Let’s review how businesses can use the cloud to present solutions to solve potential problems. 

How the Cloud Impacts Businesses Today

Whether or not they realize it, a lot of the tools even the most cloud-reluctant businesses use today are likely involving the cloud in some way. The cloud is simply a form of computing hosted on rented hardware space, managed by the service provider, and delivered to a client via an Internet connection. Billed on a predictable monthly rate based on its usage, it has become a common way for businesses to receive the services they need to operate, like software, hardware, or infrastructure resources.

As a result, businesses can make use of the tools and services they require, without spending the preliminary investments that these resources once demanded. Added to this comes other benefits, like dynamic scalability to help provide your business with precisely what it requires.

Your Cloud Options

Let’s review some of your options in more detail:

Hardware

Onsite computing power is a major investment that can put a considerable strain on any business that uses it. Virtualized hardware offers the opportunity for businesses to instead use hardware resources from the cloud to host their software applications, or even a platform to develop new ones. In embracing this option, a business can sidestep the need to implement the necessary investments to procure the hardware for themselves.

Software

There are many available options for the business that wants to use cloud-based applications:

• Line of Business – Rather than limiting their users’ use of the essential software needed to run their business operations to the workplace, hosting them in the cloud enables much more flexible access.
• Productivity – The cloud has always been a good match for productivity, as evidenced by the number of titles (including Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G Suite) available via cloud deployment.
• Communication – Many businesses have started to take advantage of Hosted Email platforms and VoIP solutions, rather than maintaining the infrastructure onsite or paying for an additional service to communicate.
• Security – With the obvious importance of security today, it only makes sense that businesses are attracted to the security solutions available through the cloud and the cloud’s inherent security alike.

For more information about the cloud and how you could use it to your advantage, give SCW a call at (509) 534-1530.