The Importance of Cloud Services in South Florida

Cloud Services in South Florida

Businesses across the globe are having to transition to a more digital model to stay ahead right now, and South Florida is no exception. One of the most efficient and effective ways to help your employees stay on task and project oriented in today’s economy is with a cloud platform. This makes it easy to access files and store data where employees can access it on the go, thereby eliminating roadblocks and helping to ensure that deadlines are met–even if employees aren’t working together in the same office. This means that employees across South Florida can work together and help your business grow.

Benefits of the Cloud

Cloud computing can be a huge help to your company, especially as employees and clients are increasingly expectant of being able to access information and complete tasks online at their convenience. Becoming part of the cloud provides your company with added flexibility, essentially creating a virtual office space where data can be stored and easily accessed from computers, smartphones and tablets, making your data platform more versatile and efficient.

Here are just a few of the biggest benefits you’ll see from pushing your company to cloud services in South Florida:

• Save money: Cloud computing can help to reduce your overhead and IT costs, reducing the need for space-consuming servers and also reducing dependency on the office space as a mandatory hub for employees. The cloud can help you save money by reducing the cost of system upgrades, not to mention reduction to energy consumption costs. A cloud can make it easier on employees to work simultaneously from wherever they are located, which can mean less roadblocks and fewer time delays.
• Scale it to your need: The cloud is not a one-size-fits-all solution, which means that large companies can utilize as much space as they need while smaller companies can invest in small storage capacities that are more budget friendly.
• Continuity: Setting up a reliable system like a cloud is important for business continuity. This is a great way to securely store important data without running into issues that may cause you to lose access to your in-house platform, such as natural disasters or power failures. The cloud ensures that it is always active and always available, from wherever your business is operating.
• Increased Efficiency: The cloud makes it a lot easier for your employees to collaborate on projects, making it easy for them to upload files and download the information they need from wherever they are, the instant that it becomes available. Cloud platforms encourage regular communication between employees and makes it simple for employees to share and work together even from separate locations.
• Increased Flexibility: Cloud computing makes it easier to be more flexible with your workplace. This may mean more flexible hours as employees work staggered shifts, or it could mean added permissions for employees to work from home or from separate offices. This can be especially helpful in South Florida, where employees may be commuting from Palm Beach to Miami and would benefit from added connectivity.

Shifting your business platform over to the cloud can be a highly beneficial transition that can help your business to save money and become more efficient as your employees find added ease in collaborating on projects. Of course, once you begin to make this transition, there are several security updates that you ought to keep in mind so that you can ensure that your employees personal information, your client information, and your corporate data all remain protected.

As you begin the process of transitioning to the cloud, keep these IT security needs in mind:

• Password security: While passwords may seem like the most basic level of digital security, they are increasingly important in an increasingly digitized world. Make sure that passwords are updated regularly across your business. This may require enforcing a new password mandate in your office that would force employees to update their passwords every three to six months. You can also require employee passwords to be more complex with the use of special symbols, numbers and capital letters. Small steps like this may seem basic, but they can make a big difference in preventing the most common malware attacks.
• Employee awareness: Some of the biggest threats to corporate data comes from employees, and in many cases the risk will come from practices that the employee isn’t even aware of. Employees need to be aware of phishing scams that will try to get them to click on links that will compromise corporate security. In addition, employees need to be careful to only access the cloud platform from a secure internet connection. Connecting to the cloud from a public space or open network could allow hackers to follow them in and get access to sensitive data.
• Secure your data: Work with a strong IT services management team to protect your data. This can be done by adding simple security measures like two-step verification and file encryption practices. These are added steps that can be taken to help prevent access to sensitive data even if hackers are able to bypass the most forefront layers of security, like a password breach. Your IT team can also set up digital security alarms to raise your awareness to potential threats as they attempt to break past security so that you can identify any areas of weakness and take further steps to protect your company.

Working with a strong IT team is incredibly important as you begin to make the transition to a cloud platform. Being part of the cloud can make business practices easier, employees happier, and can help improve your budget, but you need to make sure that you are making the transition safely and effectively. Discuss your needs with an IT support export to find out exactly what you need.