Shifting from on premise to cloud can unlock powerful productivity benefits. Here’s how.

Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past decade, chances are you’re familiar with the idea that moving to the cloud can improve productivity.

You may have read, for example, that businesses that adopt cloud computing grow almost 20 percent faster. Or that cloud solutions decrease SME workloads by up to 42 percent.

As a company that specialises in cloud-based productivity solutions, we regularly see our clients experience similar gains when they shift from on premise to the cloud. But what is it about the cloud that supports businesses to become more productive?

Let’s take a closer look.

1. Cloud makes it easier for staff to work from anywhere, on any device

How much more productive would your employees be if they weren’t limited to working from their office desks? What if they could check emails at the airport, run reports from home while looking after a sick child, or take a conference call between meetings?

Cloud technology makes it possible for staff to work from anywhere, on any device, and at any time. Of course, we should stress that enabling a mobile workforce isn’t about stretching employees to breaking point. Instead it is about giving them the tools to work more efficiently.

2. Cloud frees IT staff to focus on higher value tasks

Between paying for servers, extra space and inevitable upgrades, maintaining on premise technology can be expensive. And most of the time, keeping on premise technology running is the responsibility of an already-stretched IT team.

With cloud technologies, you only pay for what you use. There is no need to provision extra servers for occasional surge periods. This creates significant cost savings relative to the traditional model of on premises IT, and frees up both money and staff availability to invest in digital innovation.

3. Cloud helps to eliminate shadow IT

Shadow IT is when employees purchase or use technologies without explicit approval from the IT department. Using Dropbox to store corporate information instead of an approved storage repository is one of the most-cited examples of shadow IT.

Shadow IT is especially common in organisations that limit staff members to on premise technologies. Frustrated employees go searching for the flexible, mobile-enabled solutions they need to do their jobs, regardless of whether or not they are sanctioned by the IT department.

The problem is that shadow IT can make businesses seriously unproductive. Employees time, money and staff effort in solutions that aren’t fit for purpose. At the same time, the loss of data to external third parties and failing to guarantee data quality can quickly eat up valuable time and resources.

How can cloud technologies help? By providing access to flexible, on-demand resources with a fully cloud or hybrid cloud solution, employees have the agility they need, in a structured and secure manner. Businesses regain control over the IT environment, while ensuring employees work with practical, relevant tools that support them in their day-to-day roles.

4. Cloud helps businesses make faster, data-driven decisions
Recognising the opportunities that big data affords, many cloud solutions providers now offer advanced analytics to help businesses:

• Make sense of their data
• Uncover insights buried in systems
• Create new data linkages in real time

However, many of the leading advanced analytics solutions, such as those offered by Microsoft, are only available in the cloud. This means businesses that are not willing to adopt cloud technologies – even as a hybrid solution – miss out on creating and executing advanced analytics that provide powerful insights.

In this way, the cloud boosts productivity by delivering deeper insights and predictions that support effective decision-making.

 

What next?

There’s no doubt that Australian businesses are open to experiencing the benefits that cloud technologies have to offer. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of local businesses using commercial cloud computing services has risen from 19 percent to 31 percent in just one year.

The challenge is ensuring that these investments translate into tangible productivity gains. To learn more about how to overcome modern productivity hurdles with cloud technologies, download Antares and Cloud Collective’s white paper: Overcoming the productivity challenges of the modern workplace.