Why your small or medium business should use the cloud

This article was written for our sponsor, Cii Technology.

There are more than 31 million small businesses in the country, compared to about 20,000 large businesses, making them vital contributors to the economy, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. In fact, small businesses have created more than 10 million new jobs in the past decade, while large businesses have created about half that amount.

If you are part of a small or medium business, you know how much effort goes into keeping your company running from day to day. An essential element of that is securing private information for your business and its customers, because, while large businesses being threatened by cybercriminals may get more attention, your business is also at risk.

In fact, cyberattacks are a growing threat for small businesses, with the cost of these crimes reaching $2.7 billion, according to the SBA.

"A lot of times, it was the small to medium businesses that were getting attacked," said Mike Taylor, vice president of business development for Cii Technology Solutions. "They didn't have the IT budget to support the necessary preventative measures."

Fortunately, there is a solution in the cloud. By storing your data offsite, you can afford better security rather than trying to go it alone.

"Small to medium businesses are getting enterprise level security and availability at a fraction of the cost because it's consumption based," said Taylor. "It's based on their usage. It's absolutely a game changer and a welcome one at that."

Because your costs are based on usage, your expenses are predictable.

"From a finance perspective, it's important to have a dependable infrastructure," said Kristin Stewart, Cii's chief financial officer. "But it's also important to have consistent costs."

Not only does the cloud have a predictable and consistent cost, you are not responsible for replacing hardware. This can add up to major savings, as failing hardware can be expensive to repair and replace if you store all your data onsite.

Business operations

Another benefit of using the cloud is the ability to expand your business easily and securely. For example, hiring a new employee means adding pressure on your server, internet connection and other infrastructure if it is all housed in your office. Using the cloud means you can add users cost effectively while protecting your data.

To start, you can allow new employees to use their own devices and simply tie those into the existing infrastructure on the cloud. You then control the data, no matter where the employee is.

"If a laptop gets lost or stolen, and the data's not on it, it's in the data center, you have not lost anything," said Taylor.

Not only is it easier to onboard new employees, using the cloud makes remote work simpler.

"Having your employees able to work from wherever you need them to work, from whatever device at any time is so critical," said Stewart.

With the cloud, your employees can use their own WiFi to securely connect to company accounts, so they are all working on the same system while in different locations.

"It streamlines your connectivity," said Stewart.

Moving to the cloud

If you decide to switch to the cloud, you can do so without grinding your business to a halt or even having your employees and customers notice the change. Your entire system can be synced with the cloud, so you continue working "until it's cut day and time," said Taylor.

This seamless transition is one Cii Technology Solutions has developed over the years, making it easy for your business — and not just large businesses — to make the change.

"Cii has come up with a solution for those folks that makes it very manageable, very predictable and very dependable," said Stewart.

This article was written for our sponsor, Cii Technology.