Why it’s time to embrace the cloud

Why it’s time to embrace the cloud

Today you can be ‘at work’ whenever and wherever you choose to be. Driven by the growing use of smartphones and tablets, mobile business is now really taking off. Embracing the technology could mean increasing productivity and keeping your business competitive.

Three-in-five UK workers now use a smartphone to send emails and access documents and data on the move, according to research by O2. This is predicted to increase to four-in-five by the end of 2012. Providing workers with instant access to information wherever they are is now vital in our fast-moving world.

How can you do business while out and about?

Smartphones, with internet connectivity and thousands of applications, have re-created the functions of a computer in a device small enough to be carried anywhere. Data can be delivered directly to a mobile device on anything from maps to breaking news, with the proliferation of applications putting smartphones and tablet devices to use on a variety of tasks.

While the internet has long been the preserve of the desktop computer, the growth of mobile devices has fed into the evolution of new web technologies, which can be used to create touch screen and mobile-friendly web-based applications.

How can using the cloud help?

While cloud computing may have been seen as something that only large corporates would benefit from, SMEs are increasingly using it. Cloud technology enables businesses to just pay for the cloud-hosted services they use (eg email, customer relationship management, payroll systems and application management).

With a cloud-based system, employees can access files using web-enabled devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets from virtually anywhere.

As well as making a business much more mobile – and easier for employees to work wherever they are – cloud technology can help a business reduce its IT expenditure.

Guidance for your business

Your business must deliver the right solution if you are to maximise the productivity and time-savings you get from your employees. Understand how and where you want to access the data from, device or cloud. It’s generally better for the business to own work mobile devices, as opposed to the employee, because it can protect you from viruses and security breaches from personal phones. If a phone is being used to store or access important business data, you should make sure data protection measures have been taken and that encryption is in place (which is easier to do if company-owned phones are used). 

• Sage ACT! can enable you to stay connected with your customers while on the move via your device or the web. For more information, visit sage. co.uk/sage-act or call 0800 44 77 77.