Cloud computing is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in business and in the wider world in general, with most people utilising the technology in one way or another – whether they directly realise it or not. Due to the inherent flexibility, expertise and cost-efficiency which cloud computing can offer to small and medium sized enterprises too, these organisations are becoming increasingly wise to the fact that it is something that they at least need to consider adopting.
Many small businesses however, either remain reticent about adopting cloud computing solutions or take up the option in an inefficient or improper fashion. This is often because of misconceptions that they still hold about cloud computing and the following three, which we will now attempt to debunk, are amongst the most common around.
It’s Not for Small Business
This damaging misconception is fortunately becoming less prevalent, but there are still decision makers at small businesses who believe that cloud computing is something just for big budget firms or high tech enterprises to consider.
The fact is however, that this quite simply isn’t the case and that a huge majority of smaller businesses can benefit greatly from cloud computing if they adopt it correctly. Putting tasks such as data management, recovery and hosting into the hands of the experts at cloud computing providers can prove really cost-efficient. What’s more, it has the added bonus of freeing up your and your staff’s time for the more important day-to-day tasks of running and growing your business.
It’s Fundamentally Insecure
We all know that cyber-security threats are rife and with that in mind it is understandable for small businesses to be cautious about cloud computing if it is something relatively new to them and that they don’t fully understand. The idea that cloud computing is fundamentally more insecure than local storage or using physical servers to store data however, is simply untrue.
The fact is that cloud computing and cloud storage in particular can often prove more secure than more traditional methods. This is the case as cloud computing providers have experts and systems dedicated to the security of their services and tend to react very quickly to threats. What’s more, there is still plenty that a small business itself can do to ensure secure utilisation of cloud computing. Training staff in best practices for accessing the cloud and implementing strong verification mechanisms for devices which are used to access it for instance, can make a real difference.
It’s Expensive
There is a common mind-set amongst small business owners and decision makers that essentially boils down to the idea that it is always cheaper to keep things the same if they are working, rather than to devote any expenditure to making changes.
That mind-set is still applied by some to the idea of cloud computing and holds businesses back from adopting use of the cloud. The truth is however, that with cloud storage, a huge raft of different costs such as those of powering, cooling and maintaining servers – as well as the time and expertise required for managing data – are taken away. That means that utilising the cloud is often extremely cost-efficient, and the International Data Corporation in fact claims that almost every small and medium size enterprise that uses cloud services saves money.
