For small businesses, time and money are everything. With so much to do every day, it can be challenging to get it all done. For most small business owners, the last thing they want or have time to think about is data storage. However, to maintain operations data storage is an important topic. One method of data storage that is quickly picking up steam is cloud storage.

What is the cloud?

Cloud storage is a method of data storage in which information is stored across multiple servers in data centers owned by a data company.

According to Forbes, over 80% of business workloads will be in the cloud by the year 2020. Migrating to the cloud can be ideal for small businesses. Here, we will discuss the five most significant benefits of moving to the cloud and why you should consider it too.

1. Cost Efficiency

For most small businesses, the alternative to cloud storage is an external hard drive or network-attached storage. These methods of storage are costly. It is not uncommon to have to invest thousands of dollars initially to obtain the equipment. Furthermore, both external hard drives and NAS require regular maintenance and upgrades, which can also be costly.

The upfront cost of cloud storage pales in comparison to the solutions mentioned above. For example, a small business can obtain unlimited cloud storage from AWS for a subscription cost of $59.99 per year. This cost can be expensed immediately, and the rest of the money you save can go to invest in other areas of your business. However, cloud storage can become more expensive when you factor in the need for increased bandwidth to upload data to the cloud, and charges to download data. E Squared C can assist you in evaluating these costs and matching it with the best return on investment for your business.

2. As-Needed Storage

With cloud storage, you can add storage as you need it with the simple click of a button. If a business experiences an unexpected boom, there is no need to go out scrambling to find a temporary or “band-aid” solution for your storage needs. All you have to do is upgrade your plan. Thanks to the cloud, it’s possible to grow at your own pace. If scalability is important, it is hard to bear cloud storage solutions.

3. Increased Security

In the age of data breaches and personal information-sharing, security is more important than ever. Small businesses not only have the responsibility of protecting their customers’ data, but they also have their data to protect. Data companies that provide cloud storage have installed high-level security around their systems to ensure their clients’ information resides in a protected environment. Everything that flows to and from the cloud is scanned to prevent security breaches and data loss.

4. Routine Updates

Routine computer maintenance is a vital component of any small business’s IT plan. Unfortunately, regular updates can be time-consuming and challenging to manage for someone who is not an experienced IT professional. With the cloud, hosted software solutions include routine updates and are installed automatically to ensure the best data storage environment.

5. Disaster Recovery

When hosted on the cloud, disaster recovery plans become a thing of the past for small businesses. Cloud storage is spread across multiple servers in multiple locations and backed up by the data company. And although there is no need to pay for additional disaster recovery solutions, the costs to provide enough bandwidth to support the cloud solution, in addition to cloud hosting fees to download backed up data, should be evaluated before moving to a cloud hosted disaster recovery solution.
MIGRATE YOUR RENO-BASED BUSINESS TO THE CLOUD? CALL US TODAY FOR AN EVALUATION!

At E2C, we are experts in cloud services and can help you with a cost analysis and devise a plan to migrate your business to either an on-premise or cloud hosted solution. Contact us today to set up a consultation!