Up in the Clouds

Businesses develop with technology. The increasing implementation of cloud computing is revolutionising the work place in many ways. The greatest advantage of cloud computing is that it allows unprecedented flexibility within a business; effectively the office is wherever you are, employees can remotely access their systems from any device or laptop anywhere in the world. This allows them to make real time decisions and keeps the team connected and in sync with each other. It is allows businesses to combat the disruption caused by bad weather, family challenges and broken limbs. The cloud could also be put to good use during the Olympics when travel is expected to be difficult.

Further advantages are found in the choice of how we work and what we use to work on: tablets smart phones, PCs and Macs all can be utilised through cloud computing. The offer of choice it presents encourages companies to hire recently graduated tech savvy talent who will no doubt contribute to the company’s development; BBC found that "globally 40% of college students and 45% of employees would accept a lower paying job with a choice of device, than a higher paying job with less flexibility".
An obvious positive in implementing cloud computing is cost. Revenue is important in any business, whether a start up or long established brand and the greatest advantage of having cloud computing is the amount it saves. It is no longer necessary to buy expensive hardware and software licences, and manage IT in-house. Also employees can use their own laptops and devices so businesses can get more out of employees without the cost of additional equipment.

The down side is the security concern that rises from everything being in a central location on the web and it means that information is harder to protect from hackers and viruses, nevertheless it can be protected. Other pitfalls include possible problems with the internet, if connection is lost then access to your remote server will be down and therefore all the data you have in the cloud too; this new technology is not without its shortcomings. Developments are ongoing meaning support is crucial for when things go wrong with cloud computing which is why it is useful to employ someone that can help with IT support. The significance of cloud computing is related in this article.