It’s estimated that by 2018, around 85% of businesses in the UK will be taking advantage of the benefits of Cloud Computing. The effects of moving to the cloud are tangible, in the form of increased productivity, efficiency, and collaboration.

If you’re one of the 15% still on the fence and weighing up your options of business IT in the future, consider these gains when you move to the cloud:

Cloud Computing is Secure

For some businesses, security is an issue with owners fretting that moving Computing to the cloud will result in the wrong people getting access to sensitive data. Cloud computing actually gives you more control over documents and data since you can restrict or ban access at will. It also gives you the power to remotely disable or delete data from lost devices, removing the threat of unauthorised access.

It’s Cost Effective and Scalable

Solutions such as OneDrive cloud storage and OneDrive for Business cuts out all the expense of hardware and its maintenance.

Microsoft offers various subscription based models that are tailor-made for all sizes of business operations. You can add or remove applications as they’re needed so your IT infrastructure always balances with needs and budget. This scalability alone is one of the most powerful aspects of cloud computing.

Your Software is Always Up to Date

With cloud computing, the days of outdated software are long gone, removing strains on the budget through expensive upgrades.

When software updates are rolled out, you’re automatically upgraded to the newest version. This releases business owners and IT departments from what can be a major headache, since Microsoft updates its software frequently to stay on top of security threats and other potentially harmful issues.

Automatically keeping software up to date in the background goes a long way towards reducing security concerns, as well as helping productivity along by providing employees with the latest features as they become available.

Your Team Can Easily Communicate and Collaborate

One of the main benefits of cloud computing is the ability your team has to keep in touch, collaborate on projects, communicate with each other, and never run the risk of working from older document versions.

Business cloud solutions like OneDrive for Business provide total compatibility and access capability across all your business devices. Whether they’re working in the office, outside at client’s premises, or telecommuting from home, people work from the same data set with access to the same range of tools and applications. Cloud based file sharing apps streamline the workflow, so data and document updates happen in real time.

Disaster Recovery Built In

When all company records, data and documents are stored in the cloud, the information is safe regardless of any on-site calamities that would otherwise result in lost or corrupt data. If the main computers go down, you can still access information from mobile devices (providing you have Internet access). Backup and data recovery are suddenly no longer the expensive, time consuming processes they used to be.

Reaping the benefits of cloud computing can be simpler than many think. With the scalable flexibility of the cloud, it’s even possible to migrate gradually.

If you’ve been thinking about it, but it seems complicated or beyond your reach, we’d be happy to advise.

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