Today's cloud technology has become a great equalizer for the startups and the small companies. It is the technology which let startups and other small organization access the same resources as multi-national giants therefore, as far as entrepreneurs are concerned, it is one area where they must invest as much as they can Period. Talking in context of starting a new business there can be many factors and decisions which may seem overwhelming but with the help of some basic guidelines you should be able to tap into full potential and maximize the value of the cloud.
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In fact the question that one should ask is “Why not cloud?”
But, with the cloud generating so much noise in the market it is very easy for startups to lose sight of their real business goals and the benefits which the cloud can provide. In order to leverage the full power and potential of the cloud one must understand fully what it can do for you and for the business.
In earlier days it was essential to anticipate how much the business can grow to determine the investment needs but with cloud services available today, any business can meet their immediate needs as it provides the flexibility to scale up with a simple call and credit card. This ease of scaling up has become so popular that everybody has lost sight of scaling down. A small business needs to be agile and flexible in order to try new experiments to push their boundaries and with the cloud if they fail at some point they can simply scale down easily and it is as easy as cancelling a subscription.
One of the most common misconceptions about the cloud is that it is risky and can be hacked easily. It is exactly as funny as keeping all your money under the mattress because you fail to trust that bank can protect your money.
Now with companies like Google and Amazon who are making huge investments in cloud technology, the cloud is able to provide security better and faster than any small company. A small company can take months to determine/uncover a single vulnerability but the cloud is monitoring for attacks and bugs proactively 24×7 and is fully capable of providing the secure environment customers are looking for.
Below are some areas where startups should focus in order to gain the fastest impact.
This is the first and foremost thing to be placed in the cloud for any company. Availability of plug-and-play solutions for accounting, payroll and staff management, and operations are the easiest to deploy on the cloud.
Applications such as emails, and sales software can also be placed in the cloud. Deploying custom-based or pre-built applications (like Gmail and Salesforce) will allow entrepreneurs in up and running with the business.
Earlier, advice for entrepreneurs is to have a nice suit or a good business card. Now it is more like having a well-designed website.
Related: Big Data v/s The Cloud Dilemma
Every startup must act like a Fortune 100 company and in this game cloud is a game changer and not just a buzzword with cloud resources not only available but available at affordable prices to everyone.
