The cloud is not a meteorological term referring to the white puffs of steam in the sky. It refers to software and services that run entirely on the internet (across a network of servers, everywhere), instead of in a box next to your screen, or locally within your computer. 
Most services and apps saved in the cloud are accessible on your online devices and can be accessed ANYWHERE you can connect to the internet.

So why move your business to the cloud?

Keep your business resilient throughout natural disasters

Don’t we know about it here in Christchurch. Throwback to 2010/2011 when our city was locked out of the CBD. Your business will come to a standstill when the important document or contract is in the cabinet in your red zoned office.
In 2014, the New Zealand Red Cross moved their IT system to the cloud  to improve resilience throughout natural disasters.  Plan ahead. Don’t wait for another natural disaster to occur to realise the importance of going digital.

Save money, make money

Servers, maintenance and upgrades of servers, the space it takes up, cooling costs, software licensing... It all costs money, money you could be reinvesting into your business - never mind the clutter or the bill shock when emergency upgrades are needed.
By moving your business to a cloud-based service, you can reduce those costs or move them to a constant per-monthly fee, and spend more time doing what you do best (and less time of what you don’t).

Snap – and you’re in your office (but really on a beach in Fiji)

Ever find yourself out of town and urgently needing access to a document, or to work on a presentation for a client? When your go-to system is to work from the cloud, you’ll find yourself navigating this process like second nature.
It doesn’t matter where you are or what file you or your colleagues are working on – collaborating is easy as pie when it’s all online. Make life easier on yourself and don’t let where you are geographically affect your ideas and business progress – when your business is on the cloud, you can be in the next office cubicle or on the other side of the world.

Stop your customers from rolling their eyes

Picture this, you’re presenting to a potential client and they ask you for an example of work you didn’t expect. You can either say “I’ll send you this when I get back to the office” – or you can keep the momentum up and present the document straight away from your cloud based system.

The world is moving to the cloud, don’t let your business miss out on the future in more than one way.

Improve your data security

When your data is stored within a cloud based software, you’re protected from offsite breaches – such as a negligent employee and in-house judgement. Thinking about physical security, picture your server now - is it in a closet or storage room? Could your office cleaner plug in a USB stick? But, is it as secure as a fully-managed Tier 4 data center with multiple locked doors and 24/7 security personnel? Cloud providers take security a lot more seriously than you thought.

Finally – think of the health benefits by sleeping better at night knowing your valuable business data is protected, safely tucked up in the cloud, and available to you wherever you are and whenever you need it.

If you would like to future proof your business - consider switching your business to fibre broadband.