Leveraging the most effective and economical IT solutions is a must for today’s businesses. Practically everything is going online. We’re even on the brink of paying for goods and services with digital currencies.
For businesses to meet the fast-changing demands of the market and the operational requirements of employees, organisations must invest in a robust IT infrastructure that facilitates your business needs within a budget you can afford.
There’s no question that the paradigm shift for providing the most efficient IT services and software resources is cloud computing. It is reported that six out of ten businesses have already converted to the cloud.
The global pandemic forced the hand of many companies to convert to a cloud-based solution in 2020. Many businesses found that moving to the cloud provided numerous benefits and cloud software improved productivity.
A study published in the Harvard Business Review reveals that 74% of companies confirm that cloud software has helped to improve productivity. The ability to ramp up output gives companies a competitive edge.
Flexibility, Agility and Scalability
The business landscape changes at a rapid pace these days. Technological advances influence consumer behaviour and regulations around the digital space impact how businesses operate.
Cloud services give you the tools to be more agile and move rapidly with the changes. This flexibility can help enterprises adjust to the market quicker without minimal disruption and without having to invest heavily.
Innovations with cloud software also enable employees to be more flexible. With the ability to access files from anywhere on any device, your staff can work from wherever they want, whenever they want.
For companies that intend to pivot to a hybrid model and/or introduce a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, cloud computing is essential; not only because cloud software improves productivity but also because cloud services provide a secure work environment and tighten your defences against a data breach. More on that later.
A volatile economy also presents challenges for businesses. As a consequence, companies intermittently scale up and down. Connecting to the cloud also helps manage fluctuations in workforce cycles.
Cloud software is typically purchased on a per-user basis for a minimal fee. Monthly subscriptions facilitate scalability by giving you the option to simply add and remove users as and when you need to.
The other benefit is that numerous services are available in the cloud. This gives you access to qualified specialists based in remote locations. Again, you can add or remove cloud services as and when you need them.
The ability to purchase and activate cloud software improves productivity because it does not disrupt workflow. Cloud software can be installed in a matter of clicks and is downloaded to devices in a matter of minutes.
Enhance Collaboration and Mobility
In the current paradigm, the ability for your employees to work from any location and on any device is a significant benefit for increasing productivity. Several surveys show that remote workers have improved their output since switching to the cloud.
A report conducted by Microsoft reveals that 80% of IT professionals confirmed cloud software improves productivity, lowers costs and enhances security. Respondents reported an average of 20% cost savings.
Moving to host services gives you the option to take advantage of superior productivity tools. Cloud-based applications allow teams to connect easily and execute faster – no matter where they are based.
Companies partnering with firms in other cities or countries can also increase productivity by using cloud software. Participants are able to communicate in real-time in a variety of ways; video conference, instant messenger. They can even work in the same document at the same time.
When two or more people are working in the same document, editing changes are flagged up and the date and name of the person making the change are recorded in the right-hand column.
This makes updating, reviewing and sharing documents far quicker and easier than traditional methods. You can also keep track of the evolution of a project easier.
Cloud software also facilitates outsourcing which means you can contract skilled freelancers on a must-need basis. This means you can acquire top talent without having to add them to your annual payroll.
Accelerate Project Management Workflows
Cloud software improves productivity across the organisation. Tools such as Microsoft 365 have a wide range of tools that enable you to easily manage projects, accelerate workflows and connect with customers in an instant.
Cloud software is compatible with most existing applications that are commonly used in today’s businesses. Therefore, they can integrate seamlessly into your existing task management systems and help to improve the performance of your team.
Dashboards on work management apps like Microsoft Teams also help you to organise workloads. You can assign specific tasks to nominated individuals, set a deadline and share it with the rest of the team.
This system makes everybody accountable for managing their time and hitting their targets. The psychological factor is another way cloud software improves productivity.
Reliability
Cloud services are proven to be more reliable than distributed systems. MicroPro aims for an unbeatable 99.999% availability using a “five 9s” system:
- Careful planning
- Elimination of single points of failure
- Consistent testing of technologies
- Distributed resources
- Comprehensive health monitoring
- And RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)
Maintaining a stable IT network is essential for the profitability of your business. How much revenue does your business lose every time your IT network slows down or fails?
Although cloud technologies are no less complex or easier to maintain than onsite servers, they provide optimum uptime because your data is stored in multiple locations.
That means if a server fails in a single location, you can still access and retrieve your business data from servers in an alternative location. In addition, cloud providers have a dedicated team of IT professionals to ensure your computer network runs as smoothly as possible.
The Help Desk at MicroPro is also available 24/7, so no matter what time of day it is, your staff will always have someone to reach out to. With a seamless work experience available anywhere in the world, cloud software improves productivity by helping your employees solve issues quickly.
Reduce Disaster Recovery Downtimes
Losing business-critical data could severely disrupt your operations and damage productivity levels. For example, if your offices were to experience a fire or flood, you could lose important data that is stored in-house.
Even disruptions to operations such as data breaches, lengthy systems failures and power outages can interrupt productivity.
Cloud solutions alleviate some of the problems your firm would encounter in the event of a disaster. Data stored in the cloud is protected and easily retrieved – meaning you would get back up and running far more easily and quickly than you would if you didn’t store data off-premises.
Reduce IT Workloads
In-house IT teams are typically stretched by spending time resolving minor problems. When you team up with cloud service providers, you have access to a full complement of IT experts that are able to resolve most technical issues from a remote location – thus freeing your in-house team up to focus on more important issues such as strategy and customisation.
Outsourcing your cloud support also means managing software licences that are handled for you. There are also plenty of other services you can adopt to optimise your IT network and cybersecurity defences.
Cloud computing services are also less expensive than in-house servers and a full team of full-time staff on the payroll. By saving a significant amount of your IT budget, you can move the money into other areas of your business to help improve productivity.
Improve Network Security
Until the pandemic struck, many businesses resisted moving their network to the cloud. Even during the lockdown, there was a reluctance for companies to rely on cloud services despite being left with no alternative.
Prior to the global pandemic, enterprises that had adopted the cloud tended to opt for the hybrid model. This involves storing some of your data in the cloud and retaining the rest on in-house servers. IBM reported most companies only restore 20% of their sensitive data on the cloud.
The reluctance to store sensitive data with third parties is understandable even though the hybrid model is more expensive. Handing over data to a third party does provoke a sense of unease. However, there is a misconception about security when storing data in the cloud.
When you store data in the cloud, it’s encrypted. Cloud providers do not have access to the encryption keys so they cannot see it. The only way for data to be decoded is if a hacker gets access to the encryption key – and they can only do that by accessing your network, intercepting the encryption key and decoding it.
If anything, storing data in the cloud improves security in the following ways:
- There are built-in firewalls
- You receive consistent security updates
- Patch management is performed by AI
- Cloud servers are backed up regularly so you don’t have to worry about losing data during a power outage
A cybersecurity attack would clearly have a significant impact on productivity – especially if your network was infected with ransomware. These attacks appear to become more prevalent and prevent employees from accessing files.
However, over 90% of data breaches come from the client end and not from the cloud provider. All in all, cloud technologies provide a secure environment.
Reputable cloud service providers give you access to the latest advancements in IT security. Our professional IT experts in London can even provide cybersecurity training to your staff – and employees are generally the weakest link in the chain.
Access to Better Tools
We’ve already mentioned that outsourcing managed IT to cloud service providers gives you access to experienced professionals that have a wealth of knowledge covering multiple facets of IT.
You also get access to better tools for less cost. Moving to the cloud gives you access to literally hundreds of tools that can help improve the operational side of your business. Moreover, cloud software can be installed in just a few clicks and be ready for use in under 10 minutes at most.
Cloud software is designed to improve productivity, and thus, the profitability of your business. MicroPro uses Microsoft 365 – arguably the most powerful suite of office tools available.
Upgrading outdated software alone can make your system more efficient. Our skilled engineers can also customise a network that helps you ramp up productivity by integrating web apps and tools that will benefit your business.
Outsource IT Support To Experienced Professionals
Managed IT services give you access to a team of experts that take care of updates and the general maintenance of your business systems. Our advanced remote monitoring software captures potential problems before they become a problem, and our experienced IT professionals ensure your employees are not constantly interrupted by network failures.
Our advanced systems and effective strategies can achieve a 99.999% uptime. This gives you a solid foundation to improve efficiency. One of the strategies we use to ensure the optimum amount of uptime is to distribute traffic to servers with the lowest number of connections. This helps to balance data loads and improve the performance of your network.
Managed services also mean your software and operating system is updated in a timely manner. We also offer a patch management service that ensures your cybersecurity network is up-to-date, secure and meets compliance.
We appreciate the jury is still out on cloud-based storage and with the number of data breaches being reported on a weekly basis, outsourcing your IT management to a third-party service provider in a remote location can feel unsettling.
On the flip side, in today’s digitally-developed world, businesses that do not adopt the latest technologies risk getting left behind. Because cloud software improves productivity, you will be able to stay competitive – and with an IT support team you can trust by your side, you can even get ahead of your rivals.