Leverage the Cloud Right! – Why Cloud Services Are Key to Success for SMBs

Small businesses have all the responsibilities and face the same threats as their larger counterparts – with limited budgets and technical capabilities. SMBs have two options – to let their businesses be hampered by the growing pains for months or years – or, learn to leverage cloud services the right way to level the playing field. In this article, we will tell you exactly how SMBs can convert their weaknesses to strengths using the right cloud services partner like Cloud Services Vancouver.Making use of cloud services can allow your small business to scale up or down as per market demands. This enables you to scale opportunistically without the need to shell out extra for infrastructure when it’s lying idle during leaner periods. This also grants businesses the peace of mind to grow their business quickly and easily without having to worry about whether or not the infrastructure can support the increased demand. Apart from saving money, scaling back on cloud services during slow times also allows businesses to get through leaner periods without committing to any major operational changes. This is particularly useful for businesses that face seasonal fluctuations—for example, if you operate a chain of bakeries that get flooded with orders during festive seasons but has a much leaner demand during the rest of the year. Businesses can also leverage cloud services to connect to remote workers and get other project-based needs sorted. There is no need for expensive capital outlay in maintaining a physical office space as they can access all requisite files, applications and infrastructure through cloud services. All companies really need to invest in is to set up clear-cut procedures with careful planning so part-time remote workers have guidance on exactly how to use the shared resources. This way businesses can leverage the benefits of a full workforce without the need to maintain one in-office or employees ever meeting face-to-face.The cloud can be a powerful tool for growth, but it also allows businesses to scale down when the workload doesn’t require additional resources. Businesses can save money by paying for only the exact resources they need as per the market demands of the moment. This helps small businesses to stay on budget no matter how much work they have on their plates at any given time. For example, if a business is hiring a new employee but isn’t sure whether it’ll need more storage space in the next year or two, cloud storage could come in handy. While renting dedicated server space would likely be too expensive a solution, renting cloud storage could provide flexibility without breaking the bank.Cloud services are more affordable compared with other options such as outsourcing overseas or hiring full-time IT staff members. For what you might have to spend on each employee per year, you could opt for a full-site of cloud computing services for the entire year. For more information on this, please contact IT Support Vancouver.Compared to on-site servers, cloud services are more accessible. These can be accessed from anywhere on the planet, and on any internet-enabled device via a web browser or a mobile device. Businesses can use the same cloud-based suite of software on multiple devices at the same time. Employees are able to collaborate on projects in real-time and also access data and programs through a browser or mobile app when they’re away from their laptop or desktop computer. These benefits enable small businesses to get the IT services they need affordably and scale as needed with their business.With cloud-based solutions, businesses can stay secure and compliant without the complexity and costs associated with managing their own data centers. Cloud providers are required to be audited on a regular basis by independent third parties and comply with the highest standards of security, privacy and availability. This means that your business gets to leverage all the benefits along with the sophisticated security systems CSPs put in place. This can significantly reduce your risk of exposure to cyber threats such as malware, hackers and phishing attacks. Many cloud providers also offer additional services like firewalls that allow you to block access from certain IP addresses or countries—as well as tools for monitoring suspicious activity on your network. In addition to guaranteed maintenance of compliance with laws like GDPR in Europe or HIPAA in North America, cloud services can help businesses minimize the impact of failure when disaster strikes. Since all mission-critical data, applications and other assets are stored remotely instead of being kept locally, companies have a much better chance to relocate or transition to failovers seamlessly to ensure business continuity. As files are automatically backed up by default, no files are lost when businesses suddenly suffer an outage. Cloud services have been designed with security in mind from the ground up, which means businesses don’t have to worry about hackers getting into sensitive proprietary or client information (or accidental deletions). Businesses can also avail of 24/7 support for these systems that ensures close to zero downtimes and speedy troubleshooting.In traditional models of infrastructure management, any business is a complex system, and if any part of it fails, the rest of the business infrastructure could be at risk as well. If a business data center suffers an outage, the downtime can seriously hamper productivity. Technical glitches and issues in the business website can result in lost customers. If the hardware suffers a malfunction or an employee accidentally damages it, companies need to shell out for repairs or replacements out of pocket. The cloud can help mitigate all these risks by allowing companies to offload unwanted responsibilities. Professional cloud service providers like Managed IT Services Vancouver can take care of all routine tasks such as backups and maintenance instead of businesses trying to manage them in-house.