New research indicates a staggering 88 per cent of small to medium sized businesses have experienced cost savings after switching to the cloud. What financial benefits could cloud adoption bring to your firm?
While it’s not an attractive prospect for any business, overhauling your traditional IT set-up might just be the most profitable move you make this year. Why?
As a healthy stream of converts are discovering, the financial rewards of cloud computing are well worth it. Consider these three factors when deciding your firm’s IT future.
1. Reduced costs
A recent study found that 66 per cent of businesses experienced reduced IT costs as a result of shifting to cloud-based solutions, while 60 per cent experienced an overall reduction in infrastructure costs.
Compared to traditional IT infrastructure and support costs, the per-user-price of cloud systems make them an affordable option for small firms, especially in the long run. The elimination of space hogging local hardware also has the potential to cut your office space spend in half.
2. Boosted profits
Cloud converts are experiencing a 22 per cent increase in profits on average. No doubt a degree of these profits is attributable to the increased work-flow efficiency cloud-based systems allow. However, there’s also evidence that firms become open to a wider client pool and greater work opportunities by their use of up-to-date technology. In fact, almost 50 per cent of cloud users report an increased competitive edge when taking on larger rivals for work.
3. Sustained growth
Cloud users that re-invest savings and extra profits back into their businesses report an average 23 per cent investment growth. Extra pocket money is great but, if you want to cement your brand and maintain steady growth for years to come, look at re-investing your cloud savings back into your business with new technology, marketing and talent retention.
Staying on the front foot with innovative business methods and new technology will also give you the agility to respond to dynamic market shifts and adapt to new client requirements, and industry trends.
The full potential of cloud-based applications is yet to be realised, but there’s no doubt that firms getting on board now are gaining financial benefits and a long-term competitive advantage in the market.
