The past 25 years has seen a progression of people needing to be in the office less and less. It’s no longer the only place where work can be done. Email has replaced the post room, mobiles have replaced fixed line phones, laptops have replaced desktops and all the while all of these options have become more accessible and more efficient.

Cloud computing is the obvious next step in this progression. With more businesses that are set up remotely, cloud computing allows companies the freedom to compete with larger organisations with less of the resources. Or rather, more efficient resources.

5 ways the cloud helps small businesses stay competitive

1. Processing power and memory no longer matter: So long as you set up your cloud correctly. If you do, then you will need no more than a small tablet or Chromebook to run most of your business functions. With a twentieth of the processing power, and a hundredth of the memory, of a desktop.
2. Focus the core of the business: Moving to the cloud means you can get up and running fast. It removes the need to have a room full of servers or an IT department, freeing precious resources and capital which can be diverted to the core of the business; sales, marketing and product development.
3. Scale quickly: One of the great benefits of cloud services is its scalability. You only pay for what you use. In the short and long term this is a huge benefit as you won’t need to make a large upfront cost or make large continual costs. You pay for what you use and what’s in line with your budget.
4. Work remotely: Instead of trying to assemble the perfect team in one location, collaborate with your team virtually. Use office space only on occasions to meet clients or get together to brainstorm. Therefore, your workspace becomes a pay as you go expense.
5. Automation: If you use Products like Office 365 when moving to the cloud, you can replace a huge amount of human processing power with simple, well-designed flows (Microsoft Flow is the perfect application for this). Not only will you dramatically reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, but it frees up more time to focus on what’s going to grow your business. Marketing, sales and product development. That’s what’s important when it comes to developing a business.

What about you? – What have you found most useful about the cloud?