More and more businesses are turning to the cloud for business. Instead of investing in on-site servers, businesses are paying a monthly fee to store their files and information in the cloud. Following this trend brings many benefits. These include cost, convenience, and efficiency. Of course it also presents some risks in the form of security and accessibility.

Benefits of using the cloud for business

Convenience – You and your employees can work from anywhere. All of your files are accessible anytime  from any computer. If you’re stuck at home in a snow storm, you can still get work done. 

No maintenance – Cloud servers are maintained behind the scenes by the hosting companies. You don’t have to worry about maintenance costs or the big purchase of replacing a server. Updates happen as needed without you even knowing. This keeps your files secure without interrupting your work flow.

Scalablity – You pay only for the services and user accounts you need at any given time. It’s almost as though the cloud grows and shrinks according to your needs. Add a new user with a few keystrokes. Remove one just as easily. There’s no hardware to buy so there’s no big upfront cost.

Safety – With the cloud, your data gets backed up automatically. If your computer crashes, you can just use another computer to access the data. Plus, your data is safe from flood, fire, theft and other physical threats.

Risks of using the cloud for business

Security – Any connection to the internet exposes your data to some risk of hacking. While many cloud storage services are very reliable, none of them are perfect. Make sure you weight the benefits against the risks. Teach everyone on your team internet security best practices to avoid hacking.

Accessibility – Your data is only accessible if you have an internet connection. The internet seems to be everywhere, but there are still some places where the internet is unreliable. Unfortunately, central Maine is one of those places. If you don’t have reliable internet, the cloud might night be right for you.

The best cloud services for business

Ron Potvin, Owner and technician at Technology Solutions, recommends Google’s GSuite for most small to medium businesses. This collection of collaboration and productivity apps helps businesses stay organized while using the cloud to its highest potential.

Business owners can manage users, devices and data starting at just $5 per user per month. Ron prefers GSuite because it has some of the best internet security features in the industry. While no cloud storage solution is completely hack-proof, Google has strong security and encryption features to keep your data safe.

For help getting set up on GSuite or another cloud-based computing solution, contact Technology Solutions Inc.