Cloud computing is not a new technology. People worldwide have been depending on this technology for quite a while now. Cloud is almost a decade old and its customer base is increasing day by day. This technology offers a lot of opportunities and benefits to the businesses, especially to the small and medium ones. However, there are still many organizations throughout the world that have not yet trusted their business to the cloud.

Before the advent of cloud computing, businesses were dependent on the hard drives, CDs, and local servers for the storage and access of their data. Inception of cloud computing altogether maneuvered the way data is accessed. With this technology, organizations attained the freedom to access their applications and data present on a server managed by the cloud hosting service provider from anywhere on the globe.

If you are managing a business and not using cloud computing directly, you are still dependent on this technology indirectly and unknowingly. According to an estimate, around 80 % of all the businesses worldwide depend on the cloud for some or the other activity. Let me tell you that if you are accessing your emails via Gmail, Yahoo!, or Hotmail, you are depending on the cloud.

There is no doubt that cloud computing has a lot of advantages and benefits to offer, however there are some cons associated with this technology. One must not only focus on the positives of this technology but also pay attention to the potential threats that this technology extends. Some of the hazards that cloud computing furnishes include security issues, privacy concerns, issues related to the possession of data and servers, problems encountered while the data is accessed, etc. It is your major responsibility to solve these issues before you entrust your business to the cloud.

Whatever may be the case, there are so many advantages associated with this technology which surpasses each and every drawback. This makes cloud computing a basic necessity for businesses. The best part of this technology is that it lets you save a lot of money. Once you switch over to cloud computing, you will experience a marked decrement in the hardware and software investments. Cloud computing lets you use your existing hardware instead of purchasing the latest versions of hardware. Moreover, with cloud-based setup, you are rendered free from the task of regularly updating your software. It becomes the responsibility of your service vendor to keep you updated. The cloud manages all the essential activities such as managing the storage capacity, upgrading the processing speed, and maintaining the online data backups.

Some other benefits that cloud computing offers

1. Purchase as per your requirement and demand

If you are managing a small or a medium business, then in most of the cases you would not need every element of a business application. You would have experienced by now that in most of the cases, you pay for those components of a business application which you do not even use. In such situations, the cloud is there for you. Cloud computing lets you go for only those services which you and your business actually needs. In this case, you only pay for what you use. This lets you save a lot of money.

2. Hardware is not maintained in your premises

Once you depend on cloud computing, your server is maintained by the service provider himself. This saves a lot of space in your office. Besides this, you also save a lot of money as you no longer need to make investments in purchasing costly hardware and software licenses. You are also rendered free from the burden of employing an IT team for managing the hardware and software. Whenever a new software update comes, all the expenses have to be borne by your service provider for keeping the software up-to-date.

3. Experts to help you in each and every situation

Cloud computing lets you take the help and assistance from the experts of the services that you choose. This is only possible because it is the responsibility of your vendor to employee technical experts for each and every service they offer. Support of the experts lets you optimize your activities and maximize the gains from the cloud. This ultimately keeps you ahead of your competitors at almost negligible price.

4. Scalability is a part of cloud computing

Every business has a desire of expanding its setup in the future. With cloud computing, you can buy extra space and services as a part of your monthly service package to accommodate your ever-increasing data and software needs. Moreover, the expansion is performed in such a way which cannot be noticed even by your employees.

5. Easy access to costly software and tools

Cloud computing lets you access those software which were previously out of your reach because of their high price. With this technology, you can now let your business depend on those expensive software which were earlier only meant for big businesses. Cloud-based Customer Relationship Management tools lets you manage your sales and services, Google Docs enables you to share files and access data even when you are on the move, Dropbox lets you share photos, etc.

Just like any other technology, cloud computing also appears alluring at the first sight. However, you need to do extensive research and train your employees before shifting to the cloud. If you are managing a small organization, then definitely cloud computing can take your business to new heights. This technology lets the small and medium businesses to enjoy those applications and software which were earlier only a dream for them.