How Cloud Computing Can Benefit IT Staff at Your Company

Cloud computing brings significant advantages for companies these days. Moving operations to a cloud-based platform can avoid a lot of headaches for IT departments. Cloud computing is not only cost-effective and easy to maintain, but it also offers increased security and productivity. These eight reasons show how cloud computing can benefit IT staff at your company.

1. Saving Money

One of the most significant benefits of cloud computing is its cost reduction. Switching to a cloud-based service would cost money, but the long-term savings would do more than break even. The company no longer needs to purchase hardware and related equipment with cloud computing. That means less work for IT specialists who would otherwise spend their days fixing computers and other hardware. 

Companies using cloud-based servers can eliminate the costs of purchasing hardware and the expense of upgrading the hardware. Cloud computing takes much of the work out of the IT department’s hands. 

2. Increasing Security

Another form of cost reduction with cloud computing is increased cybersecurity. IT departments have a lot on their plate daily, and cybersecurity can be one of the trickier problems to handle. With a cloud-based server, all of the security becomes centralized.

Attempted hacks and other cybersecurity threats can be costly for a company. They can threaten revenue, reputation and other factors that matter to customers. Cloud computing protects that by implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), vulnerability scans and other protection measures. With teams becoming increasingly decentralized, a centralized security plan is how cloud computing can benefit IT staff. 

3. Boosting Collaboration

Collaboration is a benefit of cloud computing that the entire organization sees in addition to the IT department. Cloud servers help teams streamline processes and save time. No longer do coworkers have to email attachments to each other. They can upload documents to the cloud for everyone to see.

For IT departments, the collaboration takes a load off and gives them fewer things to worry about. Collaboration between IT employees and the rest of the company is just a few clicks away. Improved communication means better results come quickly. This teamwork promotes problem-solving and can be a major asset for an IT department.

4. Reaching Across Lands

Before the pandemic, some people worked from home, but it wasn’t widespread. People have now embraced it as this work-from-home (WFH), and hybrid models have become the norm. About 58% of Americans say they have the opportunity to work from home at least one day per week, and 35% say they can work from home every day of the week. So, what does this mean for IT departments?

Many companies with WFH employees utilize cloud computing to make things easier for remote workers. Employees can access their cloud from multiple devices, whether a work computer, laptop, cellphone, tablet or something else. That means IT workers can quickly access anything they need from any location as long as they have internet. 

5. Automating Updates

An essential way to protect software is by keeping up with device updates. Operating systems like Microsoft Windows often release updates with security patches. These software updates are critical ways to prevent cyber theft and cyberattacks. Hackers can easily infiltrate systems when the computers are not up to date. For example, the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attacks occurred against Windows devices that did not update. 

The advantage of cloud-based servers is they take the task of updating software for themselves. An IT department would typically have to perform these updates manually, but cloud servers take care of the work. This opportunity saves these workers a lot of time from dealing with updates and keeps the office safe with a reduced risk of cyber theft or cyberattacks. 

6. Lessening Downtime

One factor contributing to the lack of productivity in an office space is computer systems going down. When this happens, IT employees must take time out of their day to mitigate these problems. A benefit of cloud computing is the uptime increases to nearly 24/7. 

The cloud service typically has an IT team of their own, and they work around the clock to monitor for any bugs or attacks on their software. This service reduces the load and is a significant reason how cloud computing can benefit IT staff.

7. Data Recovery

When push comes to shove, sometimes a hacker can infiltrate a company’s database and attempt to compromise sensitive data. This information is safer in a cloud because it can recover data quickly. Cloud computing systems constantly back up information and store it for situations like ransomware attacks and other ways an office can lose its data. Ransomware attacks attempt to steal and hold data for ransom, but that tactic doesn’t work if the company’s data has backups on its cloud. 

8. Analytical Insight

Companies these days are always searching for ways to improve. Data and advanced analytics are significant across many industries, from banking to health care and even professional sports leagues. Many cloud servers offer analytical insight as an asset. These servers process thousands of transactions and interactions per day. The cloud can analyze the data much faster than a human can and create valuable insights for the company on how it can grow. 

Businesses can use this information and find ways to streamline processes, reduce costs and make the experience better for their employees and their customers. Analytics also help an IT department by quickly using the information to process audit logs and show what they need to do to fix a problem and how they can prevent problems in the future. 

How Cloud Computing Can Benefit IT Staff

Cloud computing services have been around for about 20 years, and they’ve become more popular because the advantages are nearly invaluable for workplaces. As of 2020, about 92% of companies use cloud services, which will likely stay high because of the increase in WFH. They take the burden off an IT department that already has enough tasks on its plate. These eight reasons show how cloud computing can benefit IT staff at your company.