4 Ways Ohio businesses improve their bottom lines with cloud computing

Businesses across all industry sectors are investing in their technology budgets, with one study placing the average figure at 3.28% of total revenue. That’s a lot of money, but the figures are far bigger when you start thinking about technology as a way to reduce running costs and add value throughout the organization.

Today, technology permeates every business function and has the potential to add value in a multitude of different ways. Cloud computing is one of the most exciting developments, since it doesn’t just provide ways for companies to save money, but also ways to boost profitability and open up new markets.

Here are four exciting ways Ohio enterprises can achieve more in the cloud:

Maintenance

Cloud computing services are typically provided for a fixed monthly fee. When you’re paying a subscription fee, factors such as maintenance and upgrades are the responsibility of the service provider. And with no costly hardware needed on-site, there’s much less to take care of in-house.

Staffing and supporting IT internally is easily the single biggest expense for a business when it comes to in-house IT. Management level IT staff can command six-figure salaries — far beyond what the typical small business can afford. You also need to identify and hire the necessary expertise to formulate your strategic IT plan, then select, install, implement, and maintain your systems. Accomplishing that in-house can be expensive.

Hardware

Hardware is usually the second-biggest expense associated with in-house IT. A typical on-site computing environment consists of a dedicated server room with high-end hardware, multiple workstations, and plenty of company issued portable devices. Then you have to factor in the cost of regular upgrades and hardware management costs (such as cooling), which will always be necessary.
With cloud computing, applications and data are hosted in remote data centers. Instead of computing workloads being handled by a high-end workstation or server in your office, they’re managed and supported by the service provider. All you need is a basic device with an internet connection. This slashes your hardware budget drastically.

Mobility

Today’s workers don’t expect to be restricted to the office desk. With the number of contractors and freelancers steadily growing, business leaders face increasing pressure to offer their staff greater flexibility if they want to retain the best talent. But that’s not going to happen if the only way to get work done is in front of a specific machine at a specific desk.

Cloud-hosted apps and data are accessible from any device with an internet connection, which means people can take their work out of the office and use the devices they’re most familiar with. This can reduce costs enormously by reducing office space requirements and tapping into remote talent without having to worry about geographical limitations.

Scalability

When you’re growing your business, it doesn’t take long before in-house data centers and other systems start bursting at the seams as they struggle to handle periods of high demand. If that happens, business leaders are faced with a choice between investing in expensive and hasty upgrades or missing out on new opportunities to save money.

With the cloud, you only pay for the computing resources you need when you need them. Enrolling a new employee is simply a matter of setting up a new account where they can immediately access the app and data necessary for their jobs. That’s a lot cheaper and faster than buying and configuring new hardware devices, and no longer is there a risk of overprovisioning.

Arnet Technologies is Ohio’s premier technology guidance and solutions provider. Call us now to schedule your free consultation.