It’s a global world, and we want to take advantage of borderless technology. We want to be able to work anywhere and access crucial information at any time. However, we also want to keep our data safe, protected from cyber criminals and internet hackers.
The solution? Cloud storage.
Keep all your important files safe and backed up in the cloud, and avoid data breaches by securing your information on a remote-access server, not on your laptop.
This article will look at why you should get your business off the ground and into the cloud. With cloud storage, you don’t have to limit your business to the four walls of your office — take it wherever you go.
Is Cloud Storage a Good Option for Businesses?
There is a range of support packages available as part of managed IT services, including:
Do you want the flexibility of being able to work from home as well as the office?
How about from a beach in Barbados?
No matter where your business, you could do most, if not all of your everyday activities, through the cloud. You don’t need to be in an office to check your sales figures, monitor your monthly accounting, write a new report or revise your marketing plan. It can all be done remotely.
You may be questioning why you need to use the cloud when travelling when you can have all the documents you need on your laptop. The issue is, what happens if a thief steals your computer and accesses your sensitive files? Keeping your files in cloud storage will not prevent someone from stealing your laptop, but it will prevent them from viewing your data.
Cloud storage improves your work flexibility and the security of your data. But there are many more reasons why cloud storage helps businesses. Let’s take a look at them.
Top 5 Benefits of Cloud Storage for Your Business
Easy File Sharing
Imagine you are working on an important project and you have to travel, maybe for a meeting. One of your colleagues asks you for that report you’ve been working on, which you can email over, but you’re out of WiFi. You can’t get a connection, so you can’t send your colleague the document. In this situation, you can’t make any progress until you find a connection.
But if you have cloud storage set up, it is also easy to share your documents with anyone. You can grant people access to particular folders and files, allowing them the convenience of accessing and using important documents at any time. No internet? No problem.
Collaboration
Using cloud storage, you don’t have to be sitting beside a colleague to collaborate. You could both be on opposite sides of the planet while working simultaneously on the same document. Some cloud applications allow you and your colleagues to see live edits and comments made on work.
Prevent The Worse-case Scenario
What’s the worst-case scenario? When you’re editing your work in the cloud, your work is automatically saved, so you no longer have to worry about losing several hours’ worth of blood, sweat and tears. But, there is something much worse than a forgotten save, which having cloud storage can prevent.
Imagine, while filling in a report, a window flashes on your computer screen: “All your computer files have been encrypted. You have 30 minutes to send us £10,000, or we will delete everything.”
This CryptoLocker virus could have not only infected your computer but all the computers in your business; all your tax files, HR documents, business contacts, strategic plans, or intellectual property could all be at risk.
But having your essential information safe in cloud storage means that even if your computer network got infected, you could safely refresh all your computers without worrying about losing all that data.
Prevent Data Overload
Even if you buy the best computer on the market, you find that it no longer functions like it once did after a couple of years of regular use. Files take longer to open, videos take longer to buffer. You could watch a Lord of the Rings movie while waiting for it to boot up.
If this is happening to you, then one of the problems could be data overload. Your computer will struggle with documents, spreadsheets, and whatever else you download in your spare time, when it’s filled to the brim.
One option is to buy an external hard drive, but this means you will have to carry it with you wherever you go. Hard drives are also liable to corrupt, meaning if you don’t have a second copy of all your files, then they are gone—forever!
A better option is to move your information over to cloud storage. That way, all your data will be backed up safely, and be easily accessible by your colleagues at any time. This will boost the performance of your computers, because they will run faster thanks to carrying less of a memory burden, and improve the performance of you and your team members because you will be able to complete tasks faster.
Keep Your Important Info Backed Up
We all know we should back up our data. In fact, we often think we are backing up our data, yet when we need those backups, they cannot be found. We soon discover that the programme we depend on to run the backups automatically did not execute properly, and now it’s all gone.
But with cloud storage, backing up your data is simple; some do it automatically, and all services offer rubbish bins, just in case you delete something by accident and want to retrieve it. Some even have file version history, allowing you to select different saved versions of a file, useful if you notice a significant error only after clicking save.
Optimising IT Recommends: Microsoft 365 Cloud Storage with OneDrive
If you would like to set up cloud storage easily, try Microsoft 365 Cloud Storage with OneDrive. OneDrive allows you to back up all your documents to the cloud automatically. Just copy and paste your important documents into the OneDrive app and let it do its magic.
Also, if you are saving highly sensitive and critical data to your cloud storage space, you want to feel confident that your data is safe. Microsoft has been leading the computing and technology sectors for decades, and you will not find a more reputable and secure service.
If you are interested in setting up a secure cloud storage service, we can help. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we will ensure you get the best solution based on your company’s specific needs.
Author: Graham Clements, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Senior Consultant at Optimising IT
