Who has the finances to set up an IT department? Well, big corporations might, but your small business doesn’t, right? It’s probably smart to outsource your IT services if you are a small business or startup venture, but there are a few other wise choices you should make too.
Getting your Business Online
Your business has to be online – one way or another. If you are a product based company then you need an online storefront, if you are a service based company then you need a website that is both useful and informative – but are you missing anything? This tech-era we find ourselves living in offers businesses a lot of advantages, and sometimes getting your business ‘online’ doesn’t mean making you accessible to your customers via the internet. There are a variety of ways to be online, one of them is through file storage.
Out with the old
Up until very recently, it was customary for a business to have a dedicated space where there server resided. This server stored crucial files for the company. Everything from logos and templates, to customer files and purchase orders – it was all electronically logged here and stored away. But that wasn’t the end all, be all of the tech world for businesses. In fact, server malfunctions are fairly common. Whether you run out of digital storage space, are affected by a nasty virus or who knows what, sometimes your server will go down and then what? Then nothing. You are locked out of some of your most critical information – not to mention you are totally cut off from the online world. This is where Cloud hosting comes in.
But what’s the new?
“The Cloud” is an ingenious concept that allows you unlimited storage capacity in the virtual world. No more big bulky servers breaking down or running out of space. No. Today you can store al your vital information online through a Cloud hosting service, which is essentially a business that manages the servers for you. You can access your vital information via the internet whenever you need it. If your Cloud host has an issue with their servers, the redundant design of the system ensures you are never locked out of your information, and that you get as much storage space as you need.
I don’t get it.
That’s okay. Lots of people are still really new to the idea of the Cloud and how it works, but think of it like this: when you save a file on your computer’s hard drive, you need your computer to access that file directly (let’s not get into remote access here, this is a simplified explanation!). However, if you emailed yourself that same file in an attachment, you could access it from any computer simply by logging into your email. Think of your email as a conceptually similar idea to the Cloud. You log into your email online, and all that data, all those uber important messages you receive, are maintained in an independent online space – they are not saved to your computer taking up precious hard drive space. That’s how the Cloud works, except it’s capable of much more than storing your emails. You can store documents, massive files, spreadsheets, and photographs – whatever you need – and then access them with a password, like you would your email.
Why is this a smart business investment?
To the point now. Companies spend a fortune on IT each year. From their IT experts, to increasing their server storage, server maintenance, and anything else tech related. Despite this large ongoing investment, servers crash, they become outdated, they are insufficient in size etc. By investing in Cloud hosting, you get to put all your vital data on to servers that are constantly maintained by professionals, which you don’t pay extra for. You pay for the space you use, and your host ensures their servers are up to date, working correctly and have the capacity necessary for all their clients. As a business owner, it only makes sense to cut all your previous costs and replace them with one fee, not to mention the peace of mind.
Cloud Hosting is growing in popularity and use of the Cloud and online portals to do business, trade files and store data is becoming increasingly common. Don’t get left behind, and stop blowing your budget on pricy IT associated costs.
This article was written by Tyler Farell, a freelance writer, discuss about the advantages of cloud server hosting.