The potential cost savings and anywhere accessibility of the cloud allow many businesses to gain some major advantages and streamline their IT processes. However, a company that runs on customized software and has an infrastructure in place starts out at a disadvantage. Whereas a startup may be able to build operations around the tools and applications available out there, established businesses often are uncertain as to whether those same applications will be able to provide any new benefits for them.
Yet the advantages that cloud computing offers can expand the productivity and efficiencies of any company as long as its leaders approach the cloud with the right mindset: toward development and growth, instead of superficial benefits. Here we’ll examine how to take the right myth-free approach to adopting a cloud-based system and the path it can provide toward greater company development.
What does a Business Need?
It seems like a simple question, but many business leaders don’t know the extent of their technology needs until they start doing business. A new company may be able to start out with accounting software that’s already on the market but then later find tailored software that’s more effective at meeting its needs.
Cloud computing doesn’t prevent businesses from developing their own applications. In fact, it makes developing easier. Multiple cloud companies provide an application programming interface (API) for developers that enables the creation of new applications as a company needs them. Since APIs are cloud based, they’re accessible from anywhere, making development portable.
How does a Business Grow?
As a tree needs space for its roots to grow, a business needs room to expand to reach the pinnacle of its success. Unlike physical servers, which have limited capacities, cloud hosting provides scalable solutions that grow along with a business. Instead of spending time shopping and waiting for equipment to arrive when new applications are needed, developers benefit from the cloud host’s network of servers. This network provides additional resources as soon as they’re needed, making the development process more efficient.
Scalability in the cloud also enhances consumer satisfaction with a business’s website. Since resources are always available when needed, website operations never have to be interrupted by a lack of storage or bandwidth. A cloud storage provider can also provide even better security than an in-house server can offer.
Who does a Business’s Maintenance?
No matter what a business does, there’s a good chance that much of the IT team spends time on important but basic tasks. They keep the servers up and running, make partitions available and perform data backups. Although these things are essential, they don’t look toward the future.
Plenty of cloud hosting packages include those maintenance services that a company’s IT team spends so much time on. This frees up a company’s developers to actually do some work expanding and perfecting the business’s functions. InfoWorld suggests that any company focused solely on saving money with the cloud is missing the cloud’s truest benefit, the ability to develop and grow a business through new, scalable technology.
The accessibility of the cloud makes it a highly collaborative, open environment for developers. Scalability makes the availability of resources immediate. Cloud technology can serve as the foundation for new business development, and those who take advantage of its capabilities have the potential to grow their company infrastructure in unsurpassed ways.