Gone are the days of hand written notes and manually entered data into excel spreadsheets, which are then emailed through a chain of several people. Well....almost. It's crazy to think that there are some people that are still relying on this type of "data entry". With today's technology capabilities none of this should ever be needed. Why put yourself through the frustration or the risk of losing everything because your computer shuts down or your program freezes?
Cloud computing has shockingly been around since the 1970's, (back then known as time sharing) although that was only with the large operating system vendors. Cloud computing as we know it, has been available to us since 2000. In laments terms, cloud computing is all of your data in one place stored via the Internet. As most technology the infrastructure has been improved upon year after year to accommodate the users it services today. Even though it's been around for 16 years now, I often see that many companies are still afraid to change their processes and utilize the "cloud". Today I'm here to tell you why you should use Software as a service (SaaS).
It makes life easier. Even though you and your company may be used to doing things the old way, it really does make things easier. It allows you to keep everything in one centralized place without having to search through hundreds of emails to find what you're looking for.
It allows for improved collaboration. Not only can you see the data, your entire team can now log in and see he information they need to in one centralized place. Most cloud computing software is set up on a per user basis. This means that if you are the manager, you can determine who sees what. If your accounting team only needs to see the financials, then so be it. You control and customized your access.
Reduction in operational costs. Creating 10 excel spreadsheets across departments can be time consuming and tedious. By utilizing the cloud you can reduce labor hours and confusion. It is a sure way to increase productivity and monitor performance and metrics.
Organization. See points 1-3. It also holds in most cases, no data limit.
Security. With SaaS, you not only have the logins controlled, you also have a secure way of storing your documents and information. Most cloud computing software providers have your data store on secure servers to protect sensitive data. This also will protect you as a user if your computer crashes, as the data is not only stored on one device.
These are just a few of the important reasons why cloud computing software is so valuable. Even if you're late to the party, don't fret. Many people tend to be afraid of new technology and it takes them longer to assimilate it to their culture. Just think, people were also frightened of the telephone, television and computers when they first came to fruition. It's never too late to dive in.
What are your favorite cloud application softwares that you use? Feel free to share in the comments below.