Due to the ease and efficiency it brings to businesses of all sizes, cloud storage has become a popular alternative to storing data on a physical on-site server. In fact, the cloud computing industry is expected to reach $150 billion by the end of 2020. With so many business owners deciding cloud storage is right for their organizations, there must be some compelling reasons to migrate. Read on to discover what benefits can cloud storage technology provide to small and midsize businesses like yours.

Benefits of Cloud Storage for Businesses

For most businesses, cloud storage means using the cloud as a file server. The files businesses would typically place on a physical on-premise server, such as documents, spreadsheets, graphics, etc. are instead stored in the cloud. There, they can easily be accessed from any location and shared with colleagues, vendors, and clients. 

Cloud storage for business provides a variety of benefits that can impact your company’s bottom line:

1. Cost Savings

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of cloud storage is the cost savings. In general, cloud storage tends to be more affordable because you’re only paying for what you currently need. By using cloud storage, you are immediately forgoing the cost of having a physical on-premise server. This also means that you no longer need to invest in extra storage that your business will eventually need.

Chances are, if you are already using an email client like Microsoft Outlook or Gmail, you have access to some free cloud storage. If you exceed the storage space you get for free, it’s much easier to upgrade to a plan with more storage than if you had a physical server that needs to be physically upgraded. Additionally, when you use cloud storage, you also have cloud-to-cloud backups, which cost much less than backing up with an on-premise solution.

2. Increased Accessibility

With cloud storage, any user who accesses data or files stored in the cloud acts as a remote user. This means that it doesn’t matter where or what device your employees are accessing files from. Everyone will have access to the same data and files everywhere they go, as long as they have the right credentials.

Increasing mobility creates a number of benefits for businesses. With cloud storage, accessibility is no longer dependent on the user’s location, so employees can access the data and files they need with ease. This even allows for some businesses to go entirely remote, eliminating overhead costs. It also makes it possible for companies to support more flexible work options, as employees can work from home or while traveling more easily.

3. Improved Functionality

Cloud storage for business often provides beneficial features that help your employees work more efficiently. For example, within Microsoft Office 365, is a common cloud service small businesses can use to store files and other data; it allows multiple users to edit documents that are stored in the cloud in real time. This makes collaboration and co-authoring much easier than when individuals store documents on their local machines and have to email different versions back and forth.

Speaking of versions, Office 365 also makes it easy to see the changes that have been made to documents over time without you having to save multiple, separate versions. When you create a Microsoft Word document and make edits to the draft, you can go back and see previous versions, all on the same doc. And the system saves your work to the cloud automatically after you make changes.

4. Scalability

When you choose to migrate to cloud storage, it becomes very easy to adjust the amount of storage you need as your company scales. Businesses have access to what is essentially unlimited storage in the cloud. Companies using cloud services like Office 365, get a decent amount of free storage that they will likely never exceed. However, if you happen to exceed the free storage limit, it’s much less expensive to subscribe for more cloud storage than it would be to expand your physical server capacity.

For businesses, this provides the benefit of eliminating the need for capacity planning. With cloud storage, you don’t have the same limitations that you do with physical servers. If you are using a physical server, you have to predict how much storage you anticipate needing in the future. But with cloud storage, you buy more capacity as you need it, so you won’t be wasting money on purchasing too much storage.

5. Business Continuity

What would happen to your business operations if your office became inaccessible? What if your internet went down? Many businesses with on-site servers would have to shut down operations until they were able to re-enter the building and get the server back up and running.

However, with cloud storage, accessibility of files and data is no longer dependent upon a single location being available. That means that if there is an issue with your office building or internet, you can still access data and files and complete tasks from any other location or device with an internet connection. Cloud storage provides a way for businesses to improve continuity in the face of challenges or disasters.

Get Started with Cloud Storage for Your Business

While cloud technology gives the appearance of being more user-friendly, that isn’t always the case when it comes to setting up, securing, and managing your system for business use. Cloud storage gives end users more access to data, which makes it all the more important to ensure that permissions are in place to restrict employee access to the data they don’t use to do their job. 

Just as you need technical experts to help maintain a physical server, you also need professional support in your corner to help you properly maintain cloud storage. A managed service provider will manage, maintain, and back up your cloud storage solution so that it continues to provide value for your business over time. 

Are you ready to get started with cloud storage for your business? CoreTech is here to help you choose the right cloud storage option, migrate your data and files, and back up your data, while providing maintenance and management along the way. Call us today to learn more.