5 key advantages of using cloud storage for business during a pandemic

With global workforces now forced to adapt to a ‘new normal’, companies spanning multiple industries have had to re-evaluate their working practices to ensure staff can work remotely safely and securely. This has naturally seen a huge increase in cloud usage as millions work from home and expect to continue doing so. Indeed, some of the world’s leading tech brands have committed to more flexible remote working indefinitely including Shopify, Twitter and Facebook, with other well-known brands expecting to follow suit shortly.

As cloud computing becomes more crucial than ever, tech giant Microsoft has seen huge spikes in sales as a result of the ongoing pandemic. The health crisis has spurred the use of Microsoft’s services and helped drive a 59% jump in sales in the Azure cloud business. With 95% of Fortune 500 businesses using Azure, over $1bn has already been invested annually to protect Azure customers from cyberthreats.

So what are the key advantages of cloud storage during the pandemic?

It is more cost-effective and secure:

With the cloud, equipment downtime due to maintenance, theft or damage is almost non-existent. You typically only pay for the services you use, which provides a level of convenience and cost-control that’s almost impossible to achieve with on-site infrastructure. Additionally, they tend to be more reliable and flexible than on-premises servers.

Provides contingency against security threats:

Since the pandemic has forced employees to work remotely, there is increased demand for effective and efficient security and protection protocols. In recent weeks there have been several cyber-attacks made on businesses but with the cloud, your encrypted data will benefit from constant monitoring of version changes, automated backups and storage usage. This means in the unlikely event of your data being compromised, you always have contingencies in place.

Scale-up depending on usage:

Cloud services are available with flexible infrastructure giving you the ability to scale up or down automatically to ensure that optimum service is maintained. Flex servers are important for eCommerce websites that are particularly experiencing increased web traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collaborative working remotely:

With millions of us now accessing internal systems remotely, the old barriers of physical documents have all but disappeared. You can share information with staff from across the globe from any device and avoid the outdated method of sending huge files via email attachments. This is great for supporting distributed teams during and after the pandemic is over.

Reduces your company’s carbon footprint:

For businesses who wish to move to a more ‘paperless environment’, cloud storage is the perfect solution. Contribute to a more sustainable way of working and reduce wastage by keeping all documents safe in the cloud instead of printing them. By using cloud infrastructure instead of physical products and hardware, you can reduce your carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency.

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