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How the cloud can grow your business

Running a business that is growing fast is both gratifying and exciting, but it can also be scary. Rising demand increases your need for systems that can guarantee supply, while taking on more customers puts pressure on the need for better customer service.

 

What you need is a solution that gives you the confidence to both promise and deliver, no matter how fast you’re growing. That solution can be found in the cloud.

Cloud-based computing companies can manage all your IT needs in a way that enables you to access important information immediately, as well as scale your business as circumstances dictate. That means none of the hassle of hiring an IT consultant and going through the process of planning for more applications, capacity and users.

What’s more, the extra resources you need can be supplied to you right away. No more lengthy installation projects involving weeks or months of testing. No more uncertain outcomes.

 

Be elastic

Of course when you have scalability you also have flexibility. Not only can business software be very expensive, upgrade projects on the whole are often a reliable source of unexpected costs. But in the cloud, you are paying a fixed monthly fee, with continuous upgrades that ensure you’re always on the latest version and that your IT doesn’t cause any anxiety in the accounts department.

 



 
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At the end of the day, a software solution is only as good as the people who are using it. And unlike traditional software solutions, cloud-based offerings are designed to be used by ordinary people, not just those with an IT degree. What this means, of course, is that your staff will have no trouble getting up to speed with its features and functions, saving you time and money through minimal downtime and the fact that you don’t need to spend up big on training.

This approach has real benefits for businesses as they expand, too. Need to open an office in another suburb, city or regional area? With the cloud, you don’t have to deploy a new server, middleware and IT staff as you broaden your company’s geographical footprint – staff simply get a new URL and a password. It’s that easy. Online buying group, Spreets, for example, rolled out five offices in three weeks via the cloud*, something that would have been impossible using a traditional approach.

Remember, too, that because the applications are constantly being updated, you are always running the latest version of applications, so there are no complicated software upgrades and no need for extra staff training.

 

Everywhere at once

Growth often takes businesses into new territories and locations, and this is where we get to another important feature of the cloud. It is wherever you are.

With an internet connection, you or anyone in your company has 24/7 access to important company data, including sales figures, customer contacts and details – regardless of where they are. With minimal office space and virtually no investment in IT – save a carrier’s internet fee and a portable computing device – you can effectively establish a new presence for your company anywhere on Earth. Your small business can look big!

And because information is updated immediately in the cloud, you are able to gain real-time visibility into sales and other aspects of the business via things called ‘dashboards’. Dashboards in the cloud operate in much the same way as dashboards in your car, presenting all the important information you need to drive your business in the one place with virtually no delay.

All of this information is available to anyone in the business no matter where they are, too, meaning staff and management are able to collaborate far more effectively. Forget employees working from different information because someone has forgotten to update their database, with real-time access to the latest information, everyone can be on the same page at all times.

This pay-off here is smoother business operations, including better management and therefore retention of existing clients, plus the ability to identify and sign up new business in less time.

 

Making contact

One of the first things that need to happen before a business can grow is for people to know who you are and what you offer. It’s called marketing, right?

But in today’s interconnected world there are seemingly endless possibilities for people to communicate and share ideas, such that those old marketing text books gathering dust in your office might as well go in the bin.

We’ve all seen the huge impact that sites like Facebook and Twitter have had on the way that people socialise. Well, social networking is now presenting opportunities for businesses to reach out and touch new markets and customers that are changing the world of business as we know it.

 

Onwards… and upwards

With so many options and so much complexity, cost and uncertainty, the big wide world of technology can seem pretty daunting for your average business owner. We understand that often you probably feel as though technology could push you backwards, not forwards.

But with the cloud, you really do have all of the gain for none of the pain.

Whether you are large or small, growing fast or steadily, high margin or high volume, a family business or a private firm, the cloud allows you to choose the technology that is right for you, at a price that is reasonable and in a time frame that won’t cause interruption.

*Using the salesforce.com platform