Take a look at how businesses operate electronically today versus just 10 years ago, and you’ll come upon myriad differences, the vast majority of which have greatly improved productivity and reduced margins for error. There is one major differentiating factor that simply can’t be overlooked, however—cloud Computing. “The Cloud” is responsible for a great deal of daily processes across all industries, and its importance is only increasing with each passing year.

While cloud computing has changed businesses small and large in a number of ways, it has had an especially prominent impact on business efficiencies—here’s how:

1. Scaling Up is Now More Economical

Growth is the goal for most organizations, regardless of how lofty the aspirations may be. In the past, however, scaling-up a business has been a challenge for many reasons, chief among them being the costs associated with doing so. Because of cloud computing and the near endless amount of space available for those willing to pay for it, scaling up a company’s data is now easier and less expensive than ever before. This becomes especially noticeable once a company begins to experience rapid growth, in which case the cloud plays a vital role in providing financial benefits.

While scaling-up a business will always come along with challenges, cloud computing can help to lighten the load.

2. Hybrid Cloud Computing is Growing

One of the biggest fears that business owners and managers have about embracing cloud computing is in relation to switching up processes that are already deeply implemented. This is where hybrid cloud computing comes into play, and it’s growing in popularity as today’s organizations look to move to the cloud without disrupting business as usual. Hybrid cloud solutions transfer some aspects of day-to-day business to the cloud while allowing others to remain as they are. An organization may implement ERP supply chain software via the cloud, for example, while continuing to store accounting information locally.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to hybrid cloud computing, but companies that experiment with this approach often find a lot of success in doing so.

3. Diversity = Increased Speeds and Performance

Time is money, and this is most certainly true when it comes to network speed. Companies with 50+ employees working under the same roof and accessing the Internet via the same network often find speeds grinding to a halt, but cloud computing offers a solution to this all-encompassing problem. Because computing loads are spread and dispersed more thoroughly when they take place over the cloud, performance tends to increase across the board.

If network speed is important to you and/or your employees, the cloud can make all the difference in the world.

4. Cloud Computing Offers Flexibility

One interesting thing to note about cloud computing is that it typically utilizes virtualization and other similar techniques to separate software from physical server characteristics. This means that servers can be redesigned for optimization, which results in a number of opportunities to cut down on energy usage and associated costs. Add to this the fact that multiple physical backup servers are typically no longer needed once cloud backup has been implemented, and it comes clear that cloud computing equals costs savings.

Cloud computing and efficiency go hand in hand. Organizations that embrace the cloud now will have a leg-up on the competition, especially considering how much growth this type of computing is likely to see in the coming years. While localization still has its uses, it’s quickly becoming eclipsed by the many benefits associated with cloud computing. For companies looking to boost efficiencies, the only direction in which to look is up.

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