Top 6 Benefits of Cloud Services for Small Business

Teamwork helps you solve problems and inject your small business or startup with new ideas. Cloud services are among the core technologies driving collaboration success, providing startups and small business owners the ability to connect and collaborate with partners, employees, investors, and others from anywhere there’s an internet connection.

Gartner's Digital Worker Experience Survey found that "80% of workers are using collaboration tools for work in 2021, up from just over half of workers in 2019."ⁱ  Moving collaboration workflows to the Cloud offers startups and small businesses many advantages over on-premise applications, including flexibility and mobility.

In today's startup and small business eco-systems, the Cloud is essential.

Cloud services offer an ideal solution for small businesses and startups that need to be able to scale their operations up or down quickly and easily. They are also more affordable than traditional solutions, and they provide you with several other benefits.

“Cloud services” is a broad term to describe services delivered on-demand over the internet. Cloud services provide users with easy, affordable access to applications and resources without needing internal infrastructure, servers, or hardware.

From checking email and listening to music on Pandora or Spotify, to collaborating on documents and doing your taxes on Quick books, to streaming a movie, most people use cloud services throughout the day without even being aware. Cloud services are convenient and flexible, making them ideal for businesses of all sizes.

With cloud services, you only pay for the resources you use, so there is no need to worry about investing in expensive infrastructure that you may not need in the future. Cloud services are also highly scalable, so you can easily add or remove capacity as your business grows. In addition, cloud services are typically much more reliable than traditional on-premises solutions, so you can be confident that your data is always available when you need it.

Whether you’re a small business owner or a founder of a fast-growing startup, it's challenging to keep your eyes on all the moving parts, such as projects, accounting, and employees. Cloud-based collaboration tools can keep you abreast of the latest details from your mobile phone, and, you don't have to wait until you get back to your desk to verify important information or confirm an appointment.

Cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) systems are becoming increasingly popular for small businesses. UC systems allow startups and small businesses to use a single platform for all their communication needs. A UC system can include everything from voice and video calls to instant messaging and email.

By integrating voice, video, and messaging into a single platform, these systems make it easier for employees to communicate and collaborate. Perhaps the most important benefit of unified communications is that it helps to increase productivity. With all communication tools in one place, employees can easily find the information they need and connect with co-workers without having to switch between different applications.

In addition, unified communications systems often include features such as presence indicators, which show whether colleagues are available to talk, and instant messaging, which can be used for quick questions or comments. As small businesses look for ways to better compete with larger organizations, unified communications offer an affordable and convenient way to improve communication and collaboration.

Mobility is a top benefit of cloud services. Cloud-based tools turn internet-connected laptops, tablets, and mobile devices into virtual workspaces. Instead of disconnecting from a customer call or leaving a meeting with unanswered questions, cloud services help workers get answers from other team members, vendors, or online databases. Samsung found that "57% of employees say smartphones are essential to their jobs."ⁱⁱ

Many cloud-hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems even let users switch devices mid-call.ⁱⁱⁱ This feature allows them to start a conversation on a cell phone and shift to sharing their screen on a desktop computer without disruption.

As your small business or startup grows, providing your employees and partners with the ability to access, edit and share essential documents from any location can be crucial.

Leveraging cloud-based applications and file-sharing apps created specifically for small businesses can give your company the edge it needs against competitors and provide real-time visibility into any collaborations within your business.
Regardless of whether your business has two or ten employees, most know the frustration of working on an important document, only to discover they have been working on an outdated version or the wrong version has been saved by someone and overwritten the correct version.

Managing and collaborating on your critical documents in the Cloud, with the proper applications, ensures that everyone has access to the latest (and correct version) of the documents that are needed.

CIO Magazine believes that by the end of 2022, "70% of teams will rely on “workstream collaboration" to communicate, coordinate, and share information between team members.^iv  Real-time communication tools for workstream collaboration, from Microsoft 365^v to Slack, will continue to encourage these social interactions and help small business owners and leaders gain increasingly valuable insights into the day-to-day collaborative efforts that can drive their businesses.

Although many startups and small business owners worried that remote or hybrid work would reduce productivity, the opposite was true in most cases. According to the SBE Council, "84% of small businesses say that cloud services have improved employee productivity and collaboration."^vi

Allowing employees to choose their preferred devices and location can boost output while encouraging teams to interact using the methods most suitable to their situation.

Accenture reports that "63% of high-growth companies have already adopted a "productivity anywhere" workforce model."^vii  This business model also has the additional benefit of increasing employee retention. Accenture notes, "85% of people who feel they can be productive everywhere say that they plan to stay with their company for a long time."^viii

Virtual meetings are the new normal, whether pitching to a journalist to write about your new startup, an investor to fund the venture, or meeting with a web developer who is helping to create a new website for your small business.

Virtual meetings can reduce costly travel expenses and time you are away from your business while still providing startup founders and small business leaders the opportunity to meet and deliver critical presentations when and wherever needed.
Many of the video conferencing platforms available to small businesses and startups today, such as Microsoft Teams, can enhance your meetings with a variety of collaborative tools, and they don’t require technical expertise to operate or manage them.

Cloud technology has been a game-changer for startups and small businesses. By using remote platforms, companies can stay connected and collaborate in ways that were previously impossible.

Cloud services have fueled innovation and encouraged employee engagement. In addition, the Cloud has made it possible for startups and small businesses to scale quickly and efficiently. With so many benefits, cloud services and technology continue to proliferate among startups and small businesses and will continue to play a significant role in defining the future growth strategies of many.