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Computing in the cloud is slowly becoming the standard way we operate in work and leisure. Even if you aren’t 100% sure what cloud computing is, chances are you’re probably using it already. Simply put, cloud computing is performing computer-based tasks via the internet – so anything from sending a tweet to checking your bank balance online counts as cloud computing.
Microsoft Office 365 is one of the most popular cloud computing solutions on the market, particularly for business use – but what are the advantages of cloud services like Microsoft 365 over traditional computing?
Storage
Cloud storage is a service which maintains, manages, and backs up your data remotely. So, if your business chooses a solution like Microsoft Office 365, files can be stored online and accessed from any location via the Internet. These files will be stored remotely and backed up for you, so you don’t need to worry about losing data.
One of the greatest things about cloud computing is how much more affordable it is compared to buying storage in its hardware form.
Organisations can reduce operating costs by choosing cloud storage as it costs pennies per gigabyte for cloud storage. This means you can store terabytes of data in the cloud for a fraction of what you would need to pay for laptops or PCs and other hardware with large enough hard drives to cope with you data storage needs. You can also easily expand or reduce you storage requirements in the cloud giving you greater flexibility.
Security
Relying on cloud services means that you’re no longer solely responsible for the security of your files. Your cloud host will build in resiliency and agility to limit the risk of security breaches, as well as providing round the clock security monitoring.
Cloud computing also gives you greater security in the instance of lost equipment. Storing your data in the cloud means you can access it from any device, so no matter what happens to your machines, your data will remain safe. You can even remotely wipe data from lost or stolen equipment to ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Unity
Microsoft Office 365 was designed for team collaboration and file-sharing. It lets your team edit files in real-time and access them on any device, from anywhere in the world. This means your team can work remotely and still work together.
Storing your team’s files in the cloud also means they’re all under one roof rather than distributed across multiple computers. Files aren’t confined to one user’s drive, which means all team members can easily access the files they need without having to transfer them from one computer to another.
Updates
Monitoring your infrastructure 24/7 is time consuming and expensive. One of most appealing elements of managed cloud services from ITSB is that the servers are remote, so you don’t have to maintain them yourself – as your hosting provider we’ll take care of this for you.
ITSB and Microsoft take care of maintenance and regular software updates – including security patches – leaving you to focus on more important things, like running your business instead of updating your Office 365 package and IT infrastructure.
As you can see, we’ve got a lot of great stuff to say about Microsoft 365 and other cloud apps, but don’t just take our word for it! Many of our clients use Office 365 and here’s what they have to say:
Fiona McLaren, (small business owner): ‘I’m terrible at updating my devices, which means my laptops always end up slow and laggy after about a year. What I love about Office 365 (and my other cloud apps) is that these updates are taken care of by my service provider, so my latest laptop has been going strong for about 3 years now and still feels as quick as when I first bought it, plus I don’t have to spend ages doing annoying software updates!’
Justin Richards (freelance journalist): ‘My laptop got lost on a flight a couple of months ago. Luckily, I got it back in one piece, but while it was being found I could still carry on with my work using a different laptop and logging into Microsoft 365. My mind was at ease knowing that no one else could access my files if they broke into my laptop, because they’re all stored on the cloud and not accessible to anyone without my password.’
Thomas Harrington (business owner): ‘I run a startup software company which means I have a small team of developers and content producers around the world. Using Office 365 means we can all collaborate on the same documents in real-time, and we can all access the same materials without the annoyance of emailing them to each other. Office 365 has made running my business so much easier and I wouldn’t swap it for the old-school software we used to use.
Get in touch with one of our experts today to learn more about cloud computing and to get help setting up Microsoft Office 365
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