Small business CEOs wear many hats. They often have to make financial, customer service, and IT decisions and focus on logistics and daily operations. It can be overwhelming, but putting strategic, cloud-based solutions in place can make processes more efficient and increase customer satisfaction, two huge concerns for almost any business or service.
Secure, Scalable Data Storage
Online storage of customer data, vendor information, and financials can take up a tremendous amount of computer space. Many small businesses use their own servers for all this data, but it can get expensive when it’s time to scale up as your business grows.
Every few years (or more often), you have to add servers and do a new migration, which can be costly and time-consuming. Add in the possibility of lost data if your company’s servers crash, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Secured cloud storage ensures you can quickly scale up without ever running out of server space or worrying about irretrievable loss of data.
Flexibility and World-Wide Access
For small and medium-sized businesses with a national or global reach, having access to your data from anywhere in the world is a huge plus. Locally stored information on local servers or individual computers may mean employees have to rely on others to email documents or information. It’s inefficient and depends on the reliability of others in different time zones.
Lower Operating Costs
Investing in expensive software, downloading it, and learning how to implement it takes time and costs a considerable amount of money. Your business may also have to invest in expensive computers capable of handling the processing needs of complex software.
If you use programs located in the cloud, all you’ll need are computers with Internet access. The bulk of the computing happens off-site, so you don’t need as much local storage or computing capability.
Better Customer Service
Small businesses can take advantage of customer service solutions such as cloud auto-attendant services to make it easy for customers to stay in touch. In the past, auto attendant systems have been costly and were difficult to scale up as businesses grew without expensive systems and software upgrades. Customer representatives also had to learn how to use these systems, and training wasn’t always available.
You can go from just a few employees to hundreds of thousands without investing in a new phone system or software with a cloud-based phone attendant system. They are easier to use, and many companies offer training and support 24/7, so your customers will always have access even when you’re out of the office.
Before you invest in the next software package for your small business, explore cloud computing alternatives. They offer more growth, customization, and cost savings than ever before.
