Cloud Adoption in Small And Medium Business(SMBs)
When cloud technology came into the picture, the world was unsure of its implications in the business realm. But, gradually with easy access to high-speed internet, cloud computing has become one of the most popular technologies of the digital era, especially amongst small and medium businesses. It allows companies to leverage a myriad of applications for accounting, business agility, human resources, and much more. All of these without having to invest big numbers in software and hardware.
According to Gartner, more than a third of the organizations worldwide look forward to cloud computing as one of the top priorities in terms of technological investment. Now let’s unravel what caused this surge in the adoption of cloud computing in this article.
Advantages of Cloud Computing for SMBs
Cloud computing can be characterized by on-demand computer resource availability, quantized IT services, and remote access to IT services. It has helped small businesses scale up their company performance to match the global companies by overcoming the hurdles they face in implementing a financially rewarding IT infrastructure.
Some of the key benefits of cloud computing for SMBs are:
- It gives access to integrated, cutting-edge software at affordable prices.
- Businesses can upgrade their software at any time and create an agile IT infrastructure that withstands the fluctuating consumer demands.
- It allows small businesses to automate repetitive tasks and improve their productivity at the molecular level.
- It shields the business from cyber phishing attacks and guards them against software and hardware failures.
What is the Reason Behind Cloud Adoption of SMBs?
Research by Gartner states that the confluence of pandemic and other factors that drove businesses towards cloud transition resulted in a growth of the global public cloud service dependence by 18.4% in 2021. Some other interesting findings from the Gartner Report that point towards a leap in the adoption of cloud computing are:
- The software as a service (SaaS) still holds the lion’s share and forecast to grow to $117.7 billion in 2021.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) is anticipated to gain the highest margin in terms of growth among the cloud services, of around 26.6%.
- Almost 70% of the organizations leveraging cloud are planning to invest further in cloud services post-COVID -19 scenario.
There is a multitude of reasons why SMBs are shifting to cloud computing. Let us look into the prominent reasons that make cloud computing a lucrative choice for companies :
- Business Resilience
Cloud computing ensures the continuity of businesses at all times. It has made backups and discoveries in case of IT and hardware outages far more accessible than it was a few years ago. Most cloud service providers have automatic upgrades to safeguard businesses from cyber attacks.
- Workforce Productivity
Cloud computing helps SMBs achieve scalability in terms of improving productivity. Since most cloud applications like SaaS leverage in-house IT resources, companies can utilize their time creating better employee experience and strategies that can improve the productivity of their employees. A study by Cisco revealed cloud computing can increase overall productivity by almost a whopping 400%.
- Evolution Of Business Operations
As cloud computing gives easy and affordable access to the leading edge IT tools, businesses are leveraging this to improve and evolve their business operations. About 87% of the US companies are encouraging their employees to use their smartphones to access mobile business apps and services through the secure power of Cloud computing. This improves the responsiveness of the business operations as more employees will be able to access cloud-based apps on the go.
- Allows Remote Work
Cloud allows employees to collaborate and communicate with each other irrespective of where they work. This has immensely benefited businesses of all stature especially during the past year of the global pandemic. Employees can seamlessly carry out their duties without jeopardizing their health and business growth.
Cloud Computing for a Sustainable Growth of SMBs
To conclude, cloud computing is the present and the future of SMBs. The plethora of benefits it offers for SMBs cannot be overlooked. It provides flexible solutions for them to grow their business beyond leaps and bounds, with cloud technology advancing at a lightning-fast speed.
As newer additions to the cloud services come into existence, more SMBs will be able to adapt sophisticated technologies in the coming years.
About the author
Mr. Vishal Nair
President (Business & Technology) – CodeValue Technologies (www.codevalue.in)
Co Founder and Director – Code Xperts (www.codexperts.sg)
He can be contacted @ Mobile : +91 96268 52558 or
E- mail : [email protected]
Also read my earlier article
