Technological progress has made more and more companies start using new technologies to increase their productivity or facilitate their daily tasks. The use of technology has led to the massive collection of data, and, thus, the need for a place to store all this data safely has arisen.
This has been the gateway to cloud computing technology, simply the cloud. Its acceptance has been such that a large part of the country’s companies already uses cloud technology somehow.
In addition, it has played a fundamental role during the pandemic. According to the reports for the year 2020, 62% of the companies admit that it has been key to avoiding closure and around 35% affirm that it has been the critical element for their subsequent recovery. It is, therefore, a technology that is here to stay.
Suppose you have doubts about whether it is worth implementing cloud technology in your company below. In that case, you will find the five main benefits that this technology can bring, whatever the company.
The five main advantages of storing data in the cloud
1. Price
20% of companies are concerned about the initial outlay of moving their data to the cloud. They see it as expensive and doubt it is really useful and profitable. Contrary to what one might think, the use of technology and storage in the cloud has a very low price.
Depending on the type of server and the capacity we need, the price will change. There are also different additional features or functionalities that can affect the price. But even if we opt for the most premium and complete service, it will still be a worthwhile investment and more profitable than storage on physical devices.
If we store our data on a physical hard drive, we run the risk of crashing first. Willingly or unintentionally, physical devices can be damaged, and we can be without all our data from one day to the next.
On the other hand, these devices or storage on their servers require costly maintenance, while at the same time, they generate a lot of resource expenses. In the case of cloud storage, you pay for use. You pay exclusively for the space you use and nothing else. You can increase or decrease this space according to your needs with a single click.
2. Ubiquity
Another of the main advantages of storing our data in the cloud is that the data is available at any time of the day, and we can access it from any device. It is not necessary to be in the same room as the device where the data is stored. Not even in the same building or country.
By simply having the access codes, we can have all our data in a few seconds, no matter where we are. The ubiquity of data in the cloud has made many software developers turn to offer their programs also in the cloud.
Among them, accounting software stands out, which allows you to consult the state of the company’s finances at any time. They also allow us to generate reports or even invoices from any device and post and send them instantly.
If previously, during commercial visits, it was necessary to wait to return to the company to make and send an invoice, running the risk of it falling into oblivion, now it is no longer required. At that moment, we can generate and send the invoice to the client from a mobile device.
All of this has been key to the implementation of remote work. By accessing all the data, it is no longer necessary for everyone to be together in the same place. Each worker can work comfortably from his home with precisely the same tools as if he were in the company.
This can be seen reflected in an increase in productivity and worker satisfaction. You no longer have to travel, thus wasting a lot of time and gaining stress, and you can more easily reconcile your work life with your personal life.
3. Security
If cloud technology stands out for anything, it is for its security, in the broadest sense of the word. On the one hand, we have the security of having all our files available on a non-physical device. As mentioned above, physical storage devices can be damaged or malfunction.
We risk losing valuable information due to incorrect use of the device or simply due to an internal failure entirely external to us. We have all been in the unpleasant situation of having a device that stops working.
We can blame planned obsolescence, software, or whoever we want, but that data can’t be recovered. In the cloud, this does not happen. On the one hand, the documents are stored on private servers with all the necessary technology to make them fail-safe.
In addition, these servers usually have other secondary servers that serve as backups. Even if the first ones fail, we can still access our information on the secondary ones. And since we mentioned “backup,” another advantage of cloud storage is its backups. The changes are constantly saved, but the previous versions are kept in memory.
This way, if, by mistake, we delete a file, we can be calm since we know that we will be able to recover it. On a physical device, once deleted, there is no going back.
Finally, the most exciting aspect of security is access to our data. Being so accessible, anyone would think that they are more vulnerable to hackers or malicious people attacks.
Nothing is further from reality. All cloud storage systems have security measures and advanced encryption protocols. Your data will be completely safe once stored or during the transfer process.
4. Comfort
The technology that we apply in our company must have, as its ultimate goal, to make our work more enjoyable and comfortable. And if there is one thing that cloud technology does, it is just that. Cloud technology gives us comfort, allowing us to do our work more freely without giving up any tools.
All cloud tools work in the same way as software installed on a computer or device. In addition, we avoid compatibility issues or unnecessary hardware. It is only necessary to be able to access the internet, and we will have all the tools with full functionality at our fingertips.
Gone are the days of having to constantly download new updates and wait hours for them to download and install. The software in the cloud updates automatically, without our realizing it.
You close the program at the end of the day, and the next day you already find the software updated and with the new features already applied.
Finally, the most important aspect, which we have already mentioned, is that it makes it much easier to reconcile personal life with work life. We can work from anywhere and at any time. We can decide when to work and better organize our time to dedicate it to leisure or our personal life.
Employee satisfaction improves dramatically when working remotely, and cloud tools mean their productivity doesn’t suffer. We have, in this way, happy workers and maintain a good pace of work—the ideal situation for any company.
5. Collaboration
The last but not the little benefit of using the cloud is that it makes collaboration and file sharing as easy as possible. Previously we had to make sure that everyone had the necessary software and the necessary version to open a document.
It was necessary either to work in shifts or to have all the people together in front of the same screen to work together.
With cloud technology, none of this is necessary. Cloud tools often have HTML5 programs that work directly in the browser, so we don’t need any specific software to access and edit them.
These same programs allow multiple editing in real-time. Several people can edit the same file simultaneously, adding comments or communicating with each other.
This has revolutionized group work and tasks, making them more accessible and avoiding wasting time in meetings. By simply sharing a link, everyone can open the document and edit it if necessary. All this does nothing but increase the facilities for remote work and the comfort of workers, which is, as we said at the beginning, one of the main objectives of cloud technology.