Scale SME to Global Enterprise with Cloud

Scale SME to Global Enterprise with Cloud


Cloud computing is becoming increasingly popular as businesses move more of their processes online and employees work remotely, from home or across multiple devices.

The convenience of being able to access data wherever you are is part of its appeal, as are the lower costs and increased reliability. However, there are other advantages to using cloud storage which you may not have considered, and these can help take your business from small scale and operating locally to supporting clients internationally.

How Cloud Computing can Help You Scale Your Business

1). Increased Storage

The obvious benefit of using offsite storage is that it is easy and relatively cheap to increase that storage space. If you’ve been concerned in the past that the nature of your work requires you to hold large amounts of client data but you don’t have capacity, cloud solves that problem for you. In turn, you can then take on more clients.

2). Increased Reliability

If you’ve been struggling to meet deadlines or you’re frustrated by unreliable software, cloud can help by making your systems faster and more efficient. Multiple staff members can work on the same project at the same time without slowing anything down. You’ll find that your business runs smoothly and everyone hits their targets.

3). Greater Employee Satisfaction

BYOD (bring your own device) is becoming more popular in all types of business. Allowing your staff to access data remotely by utilising cloud computing gives them greater flexibility and autonomy over how they manage their workload.

If you have employees with responsibilities at home, for instance, being able to work away from the office means they can still meet fulfil their obligations to you. The main benefit of this is increased staff loyalty and lower personnel turnover.

Giving staff options in how they work means you won’t lose your best people to another company and have to waste time and money recruiting and training a replacement.

4). Money Saving

Small businesses like cloud computing because it can save them money on infrastructure and upfront costs. This means you’ll have more money to invest elsewhere to grow your business.

You may decide to allocate this extra revenue to recruitment and take on more skilled staff, or look at purchasing other tools to make your business more efficient or more competitive. Alternatively, you might increase your marketing spend to attract new customers, perhaps in a different sector.

5). Greater Security Control

If you choose to pay for your own cloud solution rather than opting for a free, public platform, you can have more control over password security and access, as well as reducing your risk of a data breach if another cloud user’s information is compromised. You also have more say in what access the cloud provider has to your data.

6). Compliance

Investing in secure storage demonstrates your company’s commitment to compliance and data protection. This makes other organisations more comfortable about working with you, as you’re being proactive about keeping their information secure.

Some industries are particularly stringent about the security requirements for their suppliers, so having a protected storage system in place may help you meet these and win clients in these sectors.

7). Competitive Edge

Your customers are used to doing things digitally these days, whether that’s for business or personal needs. In order to meet their needs, you need to able to offer them a fast, flexible and responsive service. Make sure you don’t lose new or existing customers by using cloud computing to deliver exactly what they want when they want it.

8). Collaboration

We’ve already seen that cloud computing makes it easier for your teams to work on the same things, but the same applies for your clients too. Information can be shared safely and securely from one location to another, regardless of which countries you and your customer are in. They don’t need to worry about timezone differences either, as you can each send and update information however you want.

And even if there’s a problem with a software update or a bug causing havoc in systems, by having your data in the cloud, you won’t be affected. Your global clients can be reassured that even if you’re not nearby, their information is still protected.

9). Charge More

Having a robust, secure and responsive system for storage and software makes your company more reliable and trustworthy, and encourages customers to choose to do business with you.

These positives also make your offering more valuable, so you can charge accordingly. As a modern, forward-thinking digital company (and all businesses are digital now), you’re worth more, so look at putting up your prices.

If you already work with an IT partner, find out if they provide cloud computing services. If not, they should be able to advise you on the best solution, as they understand both the tools and your business needs.