As more companies embrace the concept of Cloud computing, the workplace as we know it will go through drastic changes. People will be more productive, supervisors can easily check the progress of a project and employers will save money in a number of ways. Business will be stream-lined, faster and mobile.
Mobility
Using a Cloud for your business gives everyone more mobility. Smartphones, tablets, video gaming consoles, business equipment and just about anything else that has a computer chip in it can be connected and synchronized with the Cloud. You will be able to work from anywhere. It is not just all the data you have access to either. As the technology broadens, you will be able to diagnose a problem with a machine in your factory from the readings and images you can see on your tablet, once diagnosed, the problem can be handled by someone onsite.
Let’s look at the problem of an employee calling in to take the day off because of a sick child. He or she has a tablet at home and can log into the Cloud and complete whatever needs to be done while taking care of things at home. You can check on things at the office while on a business trip or vacation by simply logging in on your smartphone. As long as it does not require physical, hands on work, you can do it from anywhere and everyone will see any updates as they are completed. Any device can log in and instantly be synched with the whole cloud.
More than just File Sharing
File sharing has been around for years. One employee works on a document and then drops it in a file that sits on a server. Anyone with access to that file can then take it out and work on it some more. The work is not being done on the server but on the employee’s device. If anyone picks up the document while it is being worked on by someone else, they will not have all the updated information, which usually creates some kind of trouble.
With the Cloud, employees work on the document while it is on the server computer. Anyone that has access and looks at it will see the updates as they are being made. Add in instant messaging or voice communications and you have whole groups working on the same project at the same time and they could be in different parts of the world.
Business gets taken care of much quicker when everyone is on the same page and able to exchange ideas and help find solutions regardless of location.
The Hybrid VPN
Many businesses have used a Virtual Private Network, which is an in-house Cloud. This requires at least one dedicated server and the IT department to keep it running. You can keep your server and VPN and expand it with a Cloud. This is considered a Hybrid Cloud; part of your data is still on your own VPN for safety and security reasons and part on a Cloud with an outside server. While you will have to pay for the Cloud services you need and use, it will be cheaper than having your own server and paying for maintenance on it.
As your business grows you will not need to add more IT personnel to handle multiple VPNs.
Employees use their Own Devices
A big change that business sees when they have a Cloud is employees using their own devices for work. There is no need to provide everyone with a tablet PC or smartphone.
Employees already have their own personal units and are willing to use them for work because of the freedom it gives them. People are happy to be able to work from home, whether for the whole day or just to finish up something they had started at the office. Now you can reach out to a worker at almost any time and have them finish or fix something.
Instant Information
If your company is product based, you will have constant access to your inventory, even if you have multiple locations. Your POS system can be connected to the Cloud so inventory is updated with every sale. You can easily create an order and have it emailed right to the vendor. There could even be a file in the cloud that sync with the vendor, creating an order at their end too.
Using Cloud computing gives businesses more flexibility in how they function from within and how they interact with customers and vendors. It will save you money, keep things running smoothly and allow everyone to work from anywhere.
About the Author: This guest post comes from freelance writer Victoria who loves discussing Cloud integration Platform.
Image by basketman
