Start-up businesses face a growing number of challenges in a marketplace that is getting more crowded seemingly by the day. In recent years, cloud computing has gone a long way towards helping small business owners thrive without necessarily having a wealth of resources at their disposal.
Why has cloud computing been so popular, and are there any disadvantages to it?
Cloud Computing Pros:-
There are many cloud storage options available online that are currently totally free of charge. This in itself offers many benefits to new start-ups. For new businesses who do not wish, or have the financial resources, to operate from a premises, cloud computing enables them to travel around easily and meet new clients. In terms of access to information, it means that business owners do not need to worry about always carrying a laptop or physical documentation with them. Utilising a cloud storage platform means any potentially embarrassing situations are avoided as important business data can be accessed from anywhere.
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For businesses with a permanent premises, specifically those such as retail, cloud computing can be a big plus, too. Modern point of sale systems, for example, often need a lot of disk space and can be very expensive. If you are a retail business and need to keep inventory information as well as record sales easily, something cloud based is potentially a lot more desirable and affordable than a high end point of sale program.
By far the biggest advantage, as alluded to earlier, is the ability to work on the go. Whatever your business, being able to access documentation and information wherever and whenever you want will give you added flexibility when it comes to business operations. Just avoid the trap of working at home too much after already putting in a full day at the office!
Cons of the Cloud:-
The biggest issue around cloud computing is unquestionably related to security. Potentially, all it takes is for one mobile device to be stolen or a laptop to be hacked, and all of your information could be available for anyone to view. Although there have been huge steps taken by cloud technology providers themselves to safeguard users as much as possible, they are still not fool-proof and are open to abuse.
One idea is to use cloud technology to save on disk space, but only access the information from one terminal so as to reduce the risk of silly mistakes such as leaving yourself signed in. This sounds stupid, I know, but how many people have forgotten to sign out in libraries and internet cafés and then had their information accessed by strangers?
Until you are satisfied with the security of any cloud provider, it is also worth limiting the information you save to the service.
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