The world can’t seem to shut up about cloud storage, and there’s a big reason for that. It really just makes life easier for SMBs. While there are varying degrees of easy – not all cloud storage providers are created equal – the truth is that the small businesses is experiencing major efficiency boosts as more and more companies climb aboard the cloud block storage bandwagon. In this post we’ll take a closer look at some of the key functions of SMB cloud storage and how that affects the whole organization in a positive way.
Functions of Enterprise Cloud Storage for SMBs
· Data Access – At the core of every cloud-based storage solution is this reality of data access. Storing and delivering data with on-premise servers and storage devices has proved to be an incredibly inefficient use of IT resources. It’s expensive, clunky and often times unreliable. Cloud storage, on its best days, allows for seamless data access throughout your entire organization.
· Collaboration – Cloud collaboration is data access’s not-so-distant cousin. Easy access to company data in the cloud means that it can be shared easily. You can track version histories and implement collaboration tools on massive projects throughout your organization.
· Scalability/Elasticity/Flexibility – The big function of cloud storage and cloud data management in general is that it moves around easily. When your organization grows or scales back, you can easily increase or decrease cloud storage services in an instant, and without skipping a beat.
· Cost Effectiveness – It’s funny how all aspects of cloud technology are closely related, and the distance between scalability and cost effectiveness is incredibly shallow. Perhaps the most important, or at least noticeable, benefit of cloud storage is that it is cost effective. In the cloud, you pay only for the storage you use, and scale up or back as you see fit.
Efficiency Flows Downhill
Whatever makes life easy for your organization directly translates to efficiency. Giving your employees and executives easy access to shareable data lifts a heavy burden off of your IT staff. When you pursue data management efficiency on this level it tends to flow downstream into every aspect of your organization. Most importantly, cloud storage can free up your company’s resources to be allocated to business-specific processes. This basically means that you can really focus on what matters: increasing revenue and growing your company in a sustainable way that truly matters.
Balancing Cloud Storage Challenges with Benefits
Now it’s time for a little reality check. Things in the cloud storage space are not all nice and neat. For all the magic found in the cloud, there are hosts of challenges that SMB organizations face. Some of the biggest have to do with security and stability. In fact, you may even have a bit of a tough time convincing certain members of your IT staff that 100% cloud storage is perfect for your company. The truth is that it might not be perfect, and like anything in the small business space, must be approached with a sense of balance.
Small Business Tech: Expanding the Cloud
