How The Cloud Can Help Grow Your Business

What is the cloud?

The cloud, technologically speaking, is a bank of remote computer servers that your business can connect to via the internet. 

But it’s much more than that dry-sounding definition. In the cloud, you can store data, run business apps, stream content, develop and deploy software, manage databases and so much more, all for one low monthly fee. You get access to state-of-the-art computers without the need to buy and maintain them on your premises.

A brief history of the cloud

The cloud is an old idea. Oracle launched the first cloud in 1996 with its Network Computer (NC). NCs were minimum spec; a central remote server stored your files and ran your software programs. Consumers never latched on to the technology, however, and the NC flopped. 

Slowly, the rollout of broadband was internet-issued in a transformation. Salesforce started using the internet to deliver its customer relationship management (CRM) system via a browser. In 2006, Amazon began to offer information technology (IT) infrastructure services; this was the birth of Amazon Web Services. Google, Microsoft, Oracle, CloudBolt and other companies launched their own cloud services later.

Types of cloud services and clouds

Cloud providers offer these five main types of service:

• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS):These providers rent out storage disks, facilities, IT networks and servers.
• Software as a service (SaaS):Instead of downloading programs onto your hard drive, SaaS platforms deliver their services via a web browser. Salesforce CRM has done this since 1999 and now, you can access accounting and bookkeeping apps and online document storage repositories wherever you can connect to the internet.
• Platform as a service (PaaS):These companies offer database management, operating systems and development tools to create new services and apps. 
• Desktop as a service (DaaS):DaaS is like the NC idea from 1996, in which your files and programs are run from a remote location. (However, it’s not the same as remote desktop software.)
• Business process as a service (BPaaS):This involves the automation of tasks, such as advertising, marketing, procurement and payroll.

There are also three types of clouds:

• Public cloud:This is the cheapest option; you share remote cloud servers with other clients. You’re limited in the types of apps you can run and they’re more visible to cyberattackers.
• Private cloud:With this option, you purchase equipment that’s hosted at your provider’s location and customize the hardware and software to your own specifications. The private cloud comes with higher setup and maintenance costs, but you don’t share cloud servers with any other company.
• Hybrid cloud:This is a mix of the public and private cloud. You can allocate certain types of files and tasks to a cloud server (either public or private) and your internal IT network. It’s the most customizable and flexible arrangement, but there are heavy upfront costs.

Businesses can create the remote IT infrastructure they want by selecting the types of service and cloud that best serve their purposes.

How can the cloud drive business growth?

Here are 15 ways you can use the cloud to grow your business.

1. Be more productive

Cloud computing benefits productivity in a variety of ways. For example, you can run reports on your accounting software to determine which products or services sell best and which sales reps bring in the highest revenues.

Integration tools, such as Zapier and Make, link the apps you use to run your business. This means you and your staff work from the same dashboard and share and edit the latest customer, financial and performance data. 

Immediate availability of accurate, up-to-date business information makes it easier to spot and fix the inefficiencies within your company.

2. Sell wherever you are.

You no longer have to get in the car or on a plane to deliver impressive visual sales presentations to clients. [Related article: How to Increase Sales for Your Small Business]

With Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint Online connected to Zoom or Google Meet, you can pitch clients wherever you are. If you need to make last-minute changes to your slides and sales collateral, you can, thanks to cloud connectivity.

It’s also easier to get all the decision-makers in one place. You simply send them a video conferencing link.

3. Secure your business data and documentation

The latest cloud data encryption tech ensures that all data sent to and from your devices is safe, even if cybercriminals intercept it. This includes all documents as well as all internal and external communications.

You can rest assured that the cybersecurity measures cloud providers have in place are better than any on-premises backup storage servers you could set up. That’s because their reputation depends on being able to store commercially and personally sensitive information for millions of individuals and companies around the world. 

4. Scale as you need to

Before spending money on an on-premises IT system, you need to be sure that you’ll use it to its full potential to justify the substantial upfront investment. It also takes months of planning and specifying.

With cloud computing, it’s different. Growing businesses require scalability in their infrastructure and cloud computing allows you to expand or reduce your services at short notice. Better still, you pay only for the storage, apps and computing power you require. 

Cloud technology is much better than internal IT infrastructure at adapting to companies’ changing needs and it’s far cheaper.

5. Exploit big-data opportunities

Smaller business IT networks have traditionally lacked the storage or computing needed to handle big data. Plus, few small businesses have their own in-house data scientists.

Now, you can choose from a variety of prebuilt data analytics tools to extract actionable insights from your company data. For a small monthly fee, plugin tools from companies, such as Akkio and Arize AI, can help you reduce customer churn, predict deal sizes, optimize sales funnels, detect fraud and establish predictive maintenance schedules for equipment and machinery.

6. Benefit from better team collaboration

With cloud-based communication apps, such as Slack, you can create closed departmental and project groups. You can then link Slack to the project management tool Trello to show individual team members the tasks they must complete.

You can link both tools to a Gantt app, such as ClickUp, to assign tasks based on the progress of individuals or the whole team. Because these apps are synced, you and your team see the latest information.

7. Automate more tasks

Cloud automation of tasks reduces employees’ workloads, thus giving them more time to be productive. Productivity software maps out the work required in the coming days and weeks and alerts team members long before something is due, so staff accomplish more and need less day-to-day management.

For example, a content planner keeps your marketing team a month or two ahead of the blogs and social media posts they need to create. They use artificial intelligence (AI) image creation tools to create custom, one-off artwork and imagery for their content. Then, they use an app, such as Buffer, to upload content on a specified day and time.

HR apps can now automate hiring, payroll and annual reviews. For example, RoboTask records mouse and keyboard actions to make it easier for administrators to open documents, handle automatic backups and run applications.

8. Save money

Cloud apps help you save money in two ways, and you can use that extra money to grow your business. 

First, there are no IT infrastructure, hardware or software costs with cloud tech. This saves money on electricity and it’s a great way to show your customers that you can be socially responsible and make a profit at the same time. Second, your operational costs are reduced. You don’t need to hire as many workers because the cloud can automate the mundane tasks that people used to have to perform. 

With most cloud apps, you pay only a monthly fee, although some apps also charge feature usage fees.

9. Hire fewer programmers and IT staff

The less physical IT equipment you have on your premises, the fewer people you need to maintain it. With cloud service providers, you email their customer service team, and they can get you up and running.

10. Expand employee availability

Working from home is now a feature of the American employment landscape. Given the remote-work trend, top talent may choose to work only for companies that embrace this kind of flexibility.

Cloud apps and connectivity give many companies the secure remote access their employees need to their networks, no matter where their team members are located.

11. Be prepared for business interruptions and cyberattacks

A fire, flood or cyberattack at your business can knock your company out for weeks. But if you use the cloud to store most of your data and run most of your apps, you could continue to work while you’re recovering from these disasters. [Learn more about disaster preparedness for small businesses.]

Many business owners are afraid of a so-called ransomware attack, in which hackers block access to a system and data, threatening to wipe out both if the owner doesn’t pay up. Neutralize that threat by automatically backing up your data and files to the cloud every few minutes, where they’ll be out of cybercriminals’ reach. [Learn more about how to prevent a cyberattack.]

12. Capitalize on e-commerce

Cloud services, such as Webflow, Wix and Squarespace, allow novices to build functional, sophisticated and beautiful websites. Business owners can also link these websites directly to their cloud or on-premises CRM, databases and other business management software to keep track of sales, items left in inventory, payment and shipping statuses and more. [Learn more about how Wix can help your e-commerce business.]

Cloud hosting service providers also assist with search engine optimization to give your site the best chance of being seen by searchers. Cloud software, such as Jasper, can help you write blogs and product descriptions to rank even higher in Google search results. [Learn more about how to build a successful SEO strategy.]

13. Improve your customers’ experiences

CRM systems for small businesses, such as Salesforce or Zendesk, allow SMBs to plan every step of the customer journey from the first touch point to the initial sale and beyond.

From one dashboard, companies can run email marketing campaigns, take orders and provide after-sales service. Previously, multiple platforms working from different databases were needed. Information was siloed in businesses leading to disappointing outcomes for customers and missed sales opportunities.

Now, with a CRM, SMBs have complete customer histories, which means they can personalize text message marketing campaigns, the pages website visitors see, the nature of AI chatbot interactions and more. Firms can automate workflows so that staff have more time to chase up leads and resolve customer service issues.

The best CRM systems manage this complexity superbly, offering users an intuitive dashboard and simple operating processes. 

14. Manage your finances better

Prior to the cloud, accounting and bookkeeping were complicated, challenging and paperwork-based. Today, the best accounting software automates bookkeeping, generates performance reports, raises and chases invoices and can even predict future cash flows and profitability for better financial planning. [Related article: How to Create a Small Business Invoice]

Rather than waiting for your bookkeeper and accountant to let you know how well your business is doing, you can see it in real time. This financial visibility gives the opportunity to identify cost savings, decide on pricing for your services and estimate company cash flow to guide investment and growth decisions.

They can even connect to your other cloud apps, so if you process a sale with a high-quality point-of-sale system, it registers an entry automatically in your financial records.

15. Make smarter decisions

You can configure cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to act as a CRM, accounting tool and much more. You can run your entire business and store all your data in the cloud from one platform so that you have complete visibility over your business.

Plug-ins allow you to make even more informed decisions with the ability to monitor key performance indicators across all your departments, analyze market trends to inform inventory purchasing and observe customer behavior to spot opportunities in your sales funnel.

This level of oversight was always beyond the reach of SMBs until recently. And, just like your CRM and accounting software, you can plug your ERP into other systems that you are using for seamless company data transfer. [Learn more about ERP industry trends to watch for.]

How much does the cloud cost?

What you pay for cloud services depends on how you use the cloud. If you want simple document and data storage on a platform like Dropbox, expect to pay from around $15. The best document management software systems, which offer high storage capacity, document reading through optical character recognition, streamlined document workflows and quick search and retrieval can start at a few thousand dollars annually.

SaaS and BPaaS cloud apps, such as the top medical billing services and the best payroll services, charge higher fees. For example, billing service providers can charge up to 8 percent of your collections while payroll providers start from around $40 per month with additional fees for every worker.

Popular CRM software can run from $15 per user, per month, up to hundreds of dollars if you choose a higher-level package with more features. The best website design and hosting platforms charge from around $11 a month for a single website to hundreds for agencies wanting to host multiple client sites including editing access for staff members and contractors.

For IaaS and PaaS, the pricing depends on the functionality, number of users and amount of bandwidth you need.

Chris Porteous contributed to this article.