Wednesday, July 3, 2013
A few years ago I was working at a loan company. I recall sitting impatiently and becoming frustrated as the hours dragged on. It wasn’t necessarily the pain of monotonous work but rather the inefficiency of the company. Excel sheet after sheet, dial after dial, and many dead ends did not feel like progress in any way. Had I known then, I would have tried to reassure myself that the cloud would be there to ease the way--the future of business.

For some years now, the cloud has been the craze, convincing big and small companies to make the shift. In fact, Forbes recently reported that more than half of U.S. businesses use cloud computing. I am all for the change.

Just backtracking a few years ago, it’s hard to imagine successfully running a business when the method of dialing masses through the use of call centers or even from a small office proved inefficient. Not to mention, the costs for creating extra work for the individual turned out to be extremely expensive in the long run. Calculate the costs for setting up software and hardware, maintenance, upgrades, a data center, power, and the little guys are left with a tight squeeze for profit.

This innovation forward into the cloud has opened up the possibilities for a plethora of products to boost a company's efficiency. Let’s say I am starting a new business. I want to open up a new gym in an urban city where competition is hot. I cannot yet afford to pay many hires nor can I invest too much money into the sales and marketing departments.

I realize that by renting a space in a data center, I can cut costs for the hardware and software needed to set up an effective billing system. What I also realize is that I can actually use a cloud-based platform to rapidly dial numbers which will then decrease the amount of employees needed to call prospects.

The unnecessary time spent completing manual tasks isn’t my only concern. Things tend to get sloppy inside a business when everyone is not on the same page. I see how so many industries slow themselves down with internal affairs such as miscommunication or slip ups.

With the use of cloud computing, employees within a company can use a system to alert each other about meetings, project deadlines, and project statuses. This ensures that everyone knows their responsibilities thus creating an easy flow in the company. Time is saved and blaming becomes irrelevant because either everyone received the same message or the personalized message is stored in the platform.

If I can get a helping hand in my everyday work duties that will then bring in more revenue to the company, I will be sure to take advantage of a time saving and money saving feature. I don’t see it as the working industry becoming lazy, I see it as thinking outside the box. The company who works together in a timely manner, will evidently progress.

So what will be the new name of the game in competition once everyone jumps onto the cloud?