The Future of Work From A Cloud Computing Perspective

“Without a doubt, the cloud has impacted the future of work, making our business lives easier, encompassing everything from virtually unlimited email storage to access-from-anywhere enterprise resource planning.” *

*Source: Jon Roskill / CloudTweaks

It’s not surprising that the 2014 cloud computing research IDG survey revealed that over 80 percent of firms polled run at least one cloud-based application. The future of work in the cloud allows companies to focus on their core strengths, and for the majority of business owners, this isn’t operating and maintaining servers or email exchanges; if another can do it better and cheaper, that’s great news. In recent years, businesses have put more trust and resources into the cloud, and it’s altered the nature of work in many ways, for the best.

The future of work grants us more time.

Cloud hosted software runs online through a third-party provider, and users access it via their web browser. Users don’t need to install it, maintain it, upgrade it, or worry about data security. Users don’t need to set up more servers to run new software or to store more data. 

Whereas in years past, IT departments spent a great deal of their time troubleshooting equipment, when the bulk of a company’s software is cloud-based (and such tasks are handled by the provider), it frees up the IT team. They can engage other critical projects, while IT execs can spend more time planning and thinking strategically.

The future of work gives us more space.

Both qualitatively and quantitatively we have more room. Many businesses have relinquished their own physical data centers and local office servers, storing loads of data in the cloud instead.

The future of work saves us considerable capital.

Paying a lower and predictable monthly rate for software and computer capacity is a game-changer for smaller concerns that cannot afford to pony up lots of cash up front. Mission-critical applications can run in the cloud, so businesses don’t need to buy costly new servers.  Many or most data-storage plans charge only for the data-volume a business is using, so no capital is wasted.

The future of work keeps us on the cutting edge of tech.

Unlike locally installed hardware and software, when a newer version or update of a cloud-hosted application is released, users get instant access. This means software is always up-to-date, and patches can fix potentially harmful bugs as soon as they’re ready.

The future of work provides us greater flexibility and mobility.

In the previous era, you couldn’t take software applications installed on your desktop on the road with you. Today, regardless of whether you’re home, at the airport, or in a coffee shop, the cloud allows you to log in and access your programs and data from any Internet-ready device.

The future of work brings workers closer together.

Collaborating with co-workers has never been easier, no matter where they’re located. Sharing and comparing documents, proposals, and presentations happens in an instant, allowing users to stay in sync with the latest changes, reducing version-control confusion. The cloud is even facilitating mergers and acquisitions by reducing the time it takes to transmit data files from one system to another.

The future of work keeps us more in sync.

Mobile computing continues to propagate. The cloud provides a backup and synchronization, no matter which device you’re working from.

The future of work lowers our risk.

A good cloud provider needs to have the best security in order to stay competitive — typically far better than SMBs can afford on their own, individually. Backup hosting facilities take over when there’s an outage, which means you won’t be affected even when there’s a natural disaster or other threat to a data center.

The future of work is now.

As a small business owner you must take appropriate action to ensure the growth and security of your company. The cloud is an inescapable solution to obstacles like start-up investment challenges and rapid scalability. Take a Cloud9 demo or free trial and find out what all the excitement is about first hand.

…..The Future of Work Report from PSFK Labs