Cloud Solutions For Small Business Owners

Recently, while renewing a yearly contract/invoice for a press release company, I was suddenly struck by how much more convenient it was to do everything via the "Cloud" rather than the slower old traditional faxing method. Believe the system we used was called "DocuSign" and it made all the difference in the world.

Don't know why I was surprised by any of this, since I have been promoting online faxing for over ten years on the net and web-based solutions are a major component of several of my Internet Marketing blogs. Still, I was rather surprised to find a convenient system like DocuSign (using eSignatures) has over 40 million users and counting.

Just goes to show how prevalent these online "cloud solutions" have become in the day-to-day operations of many small and big companies. Forbes states:

"By 2014, businesses in the United States will spend more than $13 billion on cloud computing and managed hosting services."

At the moment, Amazon is leading the way, but many other companies are providing cloud services such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, Apple and Cisco. For many company owners, using these cloud services have become a routine way of doing business.

However, even with these facts considered, one still has the general feeling that these types of services have a long distance to go before becoming totally accepted, and the learning curve is still firmly in place. Perhaps, all this apprehension comes down to a matter of trust.

Using remote third party servers/companies to host our vital and confidential company information is a leap of faith. Moreover, it is just not our own information which is stored in the cloud, but also that of our customers and clients. To make matters worst, we have all heard horror stories of data centers being hacked and crucial information being compromised.

Security, or how secure these cloud services are, will be the over riding question for years to come? However, as more and more of our banking, shopping, socializing, business... is done online, this argument becomes rather moot. Most, if not all our information, is either stored on the web or can be accessed from the web.

Perhaps, our main task will be making sure any "cloud service" we choose to utilize, has strict privacy, encryption and security measures firmly in place. While complete security cannot be totally guaranteed, even for highly secure government agencies, most information is safe on these third party cloud services.

For business owners, the risk is there, but one which will probably have to be considered as the cost of doing business in our computer obsessed world. One that has become wireless and totally mobile - we want access to our information, regardless of where we are located. In a convenient infographic IBM sums up some of the other reasons businesses use the cloud:

"Collaboration, better access to analytics, increasing productivity, reducing costs, and speeding up development cycles."

As you can see from the Graph below, cloud services are having a big impact on how business is done.

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Modern "cloud services" provide these solutions, whether it be data storage, collaboration, analytics, web hosting, online faxing or even virtual PBX phone services. Computers and the web have completely changed how business is done. Just like we saw in the DocuSign example, we now have online fax service providers, which can eliminate the need for a traditional fax machine in the office, everything can be done via the web with smartphones, laptops and computers.

In addition, businesses and the general public also have to factor in the enormous impact web-based operating systems are having in the marketplace. For example, just consider Google's Chrome OS and the Chromium OS project which was introduced way back in 2009 as open source for developers. These operating systems, where applications and user data can reside in the cloud, are now present in countless Google Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. These are further boosting the importance of using online storage with Google Drive - formerly known as Google Docs.

Similarly, we have web-based VOIP (voice over IP) phone systems, which can replace traditional landlines or wired systems. For example, RingCentral Office offers all-inclusive cloud services which covers text, voice, fax, high-quality video conferencing... and even a virtual secretary if one is needed. This service is a virtual PBX phone system which can completely replace more expensive landline/wired office phone systems.

There are countless business tasks and services which now have a "virtual" solution - data storage, analytics, web hosting, payroll, customer support, promotion... and the list goes on. Most of these services can not only be less expensive than their "bricks and mortar" counterparts, but they offer a mobile portable element which can truly make any company more competitive, even in a harsh economic climate.

More importantly, with proper planning strategy, all these cloud services can be fully integrated into your company's operations to cut costs and expenses. They can also streamline your operations so all your employees, suppliers, customers/clients are on the same page. Used correctly, these services can make any company more efficient and profitable.

These web-based cloud solutions are the wave of the future and every business owner must be aware of the benefits and advantages of using them. Never know, the survival of your company could depend upon it.

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