25 May Five Benefits of Cloud Storage

Does it seem like you hear or read more about cloud storage? Well, that makes sense.  The “cloud” is the big buzz word in technology now, and storing important files has now been taken to an entirely different level for many companies. That level is in the clouds – no, seriously, the process of storing files is cloud-based and quickly becoming the preferred method for data storage.

What is “The Cloud”?

Yes — cloud storage is storing saved data “in the cloud.”  But what is “the cloud?” We need to establish this before talking about the benefits.

When you think about saving data in the cloud, you conjure up ideas of your proprietary information floating around in outer space where it can easily be accessed by anyone. But in reality, “the cloud” is an actual physical infrastructure with servers housed in enormous centers all over the United States. When you store data in the cloud, you store it in one or more of these centers rather than a local hard drive.  These data centers are maintained by IT professionals utilizing state of the art encryption and security.

Benefits of Cloud Storage

While most business owners understand the cloud, there are still those who are uncomfortable with this “new-fangled” way. To help ease this discomfort, here are the benefits of switching to cloud storage.

Cost

As a business owner or decision maker, cost is the key benefit for you when switching to cloud storage. Cloud storage is much more affordable simply because you do not have the expense of the maintenance of a physical, local hard drive and the salary of an IT person to manage the system. And, yes, the cloud is a physical hard drive but the cost of its maintenance is spread through many, many clients who utilize the service making it more affordable for everyone.

Accessibility

Cloud storage allows business owners to provide employees with accessibility to the data they need to perform their jobs while securing proprietary information separately. Employees collaborating on a project, or simply working on a file, have access to the information without having to email it back and forth while tracking each time it is edited. In addition to the easy access, the data is backed up to several servers so that if one server crashes, another server is enlisted to access the information.

Security

Security is a huge concern for a lot of business owners who avoid cloud storage. But, again, data is very secure with cloud storage. If you think about it, security is at a much higher level with cloud storage with data stored at a huge data center that has top level security applications in place compared to the a server located in a closet in your office.  Additionally, the data is always encrypted whether transmitting information to or from the cloud or sitting securely in the cloud. This is especially important with the newest trend of “bring your own device” taking over the workplace. Unauthorized users cannot gain access to your data. And, like we said before, if there is a major crash in the cloud, the information can be retrieved from the many redundant cloud servers where your data is backed up and backed up again…and again.

Mobility

The benefit of mobility is important because with technology, people work anywhere, anytime. Virtual offices are more prevalent than ever. With cloud storage, you can access your data in this manner – anywhere, anytime and from any device (even your watch before long). Most cloud based storage solution have applications to provide the mobility to most any device.

Scalability

Cloud storage is extremely scalable which means you base the amount of storage you have on what you need. If you need more, you simply add to your plan at the moment you need the additional space and vice versa. It makes the expense much more affordable because you do not have to plan ahead or wait to lessen the cost.

Focusing on Business

Let’s face it. Making the switch from local hard drives, possibly even stored in-house, to cloud storage is a little daunting mainly because of the unknown. But once you get your arms around it, the move can be life altering for your day to day business activities. It takes the constant maintenance and worry out of the mix to let you focus on the more important business at hand – your clients.

All our clients enjoy free unlimited secure cloud based document storage customized to fit their business.  For more information on the benefits of cloud storage, contact us info@TBooks.net.