Small business owners who are not already on board the “cloud” may be missing out on a great opportunity to improve their business operations as well as profitability. Cloud computing has changed the landscape of business dramatically in the past few years. In order to reap the most rewards from technological advances, it is important first for business owners to understand what they are dealing with and how new technologies can improve the functionality of their business.
What is cloud computing?
To better understand this concept you must only turn to the Internet. How the Internet is used has changed greatly over the years and in terms of business, any programs or services that you use via an Internet connection could loosely be described as a cloud service. Cloud computing allows you to utilize software and services without having to run the servers or software in house. These outside vendors run the software and servers, making it possible for you to pay attention to what is most important, running your business. Examples of cloud computing services that are commonly used by businesses today include; Salesforce.com which offers programs to aid sales staff in tracking customer information and data storage backup services such as those offered from Amazon.com. read more
Every dollar a small business spends needs to have an immediate and quantifiable return. This is especially true for critical services such as I.T. support. If you are one of the millions of small businesses that depend upon your technology to keep your business running, proactive Managed Services will save you money, improve your efficiencies and reduce your downtime.
The Solution
With the advent of new monitoring tools and the ability to remotely deliver help desk services to small businesses all over the world, Managed I.T. Service Providers have developed proactive maintenance plans for their clients that maximize their uptime and reduce I.T. costs over time. By implementing newly available automated processes, systems can be patched and updated overnight without the need for onsite visits, or disrupting an organization’s work day.
In addition, remote help desk tools and technology allow Managed I.T. Service Providers the ability to react immediately and assist users when they experience day-to-day problems, without forcing them to wait for an on-site service call.
Forward-thinking Managed I.T. Service Providers are also implementing proactive remote Network Monitoring tools and services, which evaluate the performance of systems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and alert these Service Providers of potential issues before they become work-stopping problems for their clients. read more
You hear the term every day, but most people I talk to are unsure exactly what “The Cloud” is or how they can use it to further their business bottom line. Shoot, even for many of us that work with cloud computing on a daily basis find it difficult sometimes to explain exactly what the cloud is and how it can benefit your small business.
Cloud Computing is something every small business should be giving serious consideration to at this point. Many business apps once out of the reach of the smaller SMB shops can now be utilized cheaply and easily with little cash outlay, and no hardware/software purchasing or support headaches. Best of all, it is easily scalable as your business needs grow (or shrink).
SaaS (Software As A Service) is one of the easiest and most important areas small business can jump into cloud computing. Examples of SaaS include such critical business tools as unified messaging (Hosted Exchange, Google Apps), CRM systems such as SalesForce, and many others.
