Cloud computing has come a long way in recent years. It’s no longer just about having an inaccessible Dropbox account that fails to integrate into your working life. For companies big and small, cloud computing presents interesting opportunities that can help to cut costs and increase security – and what company owner wouldn’t want that? If you are the decision maker for a company that uses computers on a daily basis, here are just a few reasons you should think about switching to the cloud.

Improved security
With the rise of ransomware attacks, it’s becoming more and more important for companies to protect their data. The average cost of a data breach in the UK is £3,000 and this is a huge sum for small companies to be able to overcome. In some cases, a data breach can force companies to close. When using managed IT services in the cloud, the risk of having your company data held to ransom is all but removed. Even if an employee manages to circumnavigate your security protections, if their computer is compromised, you can simply restore from the cloud and get on with your business.

Improved collaboration
The days of having a 9-5 workday are coming to an end, and more and more people will be working flexible hours and working from home very soon. This is the biggest change to the workplace since the introduction of the weekend. To stay ahead of the curve, it’s important to ensure workers can still collaborate seamlessly no matter where they are in the world. With the cloud, the obstacles for collaboration are all but removed and workers will have access not just to files, but the programs they need to be able to work efficiently. No more passing out of date documents back and forth.

Make smarter decisions
When using the cloud, you make all of your business data available to you in one place. This information is very valuable as it means that you can use big data to make data-driven decisions. These might be decisions that aren’t immediately obvious to you from the outset but using the cloud will open your eyes to new opportunities.

A lot of people assume that cloud computing is expensive, but it can actually provide savings for small businesses as it allows them to scale.