If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic taught businesses, it’s that cloud technology is quickly becoming indispensable. By utilizing the cloud, companies continued their operations despite widespread shutdowns. And employees enjoyed remote access to digital resources such as software, applications and files.
Countless businesses across all industries are benefiting from cloud technology — including your competitors. So, how do you keep the momentum going and pull ahead?
The Benefits of Using Cloud Technology
Cloud technology offers companies more than just remote access capabilities. It also provides more storage without costly hardware upgrades, better collaboration with colleagues and quick data restoration in emergencies.
By investing in cloud technology, your entire company will benefit in numerous ways:
Improve Employee Performance
Cloud technology has changed the way employees collaborate — think virtual meetings instead of back-and-forth emails. With files in the cloud, screen sharing and file transfers are a breeze.
All this flexibility empowers your team to create the settings and circumstances that will drive their best work.
Boost Operational Efficiency
Cloud technology also brings a level of operational efficiency traditional, face-to-face collaboration can’t match. For instance, virtual meetings are an instant cost and time saver for your team.
And by eliminating server boot-ups, hardware failures or software updates, your employees can get to work faster — anytime, from anywhere.
Enhance Employee and Customer Support
Customer service can make or break your business. Limiting customer service operations to a single site puts your company at the mercy of that location. But cloud technology enables your customer service team to operate wherever they’re located. It also gives companies access to a global talent pool of remote workers.
In addition, cloud-based customer service enables companies to offer omnichannel support that includes chat, text, email, website and voice.
Secure Important Company Data
Keeping sensitive company information safe requires a firm commitment to security. Your data systems are always at risk of a breach, but cloud service providers already have state-of-the-art physical security measures for their data centers. This relieves you of some extra security costs.
Increase Your Overall Cost-Savings
Forget pricey company-wide software purchases and updates and additional storage fees. Companies using cloud technology are free from expensive hardware, as employees can log in from their smartphones or tablets.
In addition, cloud software’s recurring subscription cost per user can be significantly lower than an outright purchase. With app developers handling software updates, you’ll always have access to the newest version.
The Future of Cloud Technology Is Bright
During the COVID-19 pandemic, cloud technology surged to the point where it’s already mainstream. Years’ worth of advancements were made in months. Today, many companies are finding the benefits of using cloud technology greatly outweigh the risks. Plus, the significantly lower costs are a great incentive for budget-conscious businesses.
With the continued improvements in cloud technology, expect more companies to migrate to the cloud sooner than later. If your business isn’t among them, you risk falling behind with little chance of catching up. Here are three reasons why:
Edge Computing Is Here
As more people use cloud applications, servers are handling increased data requests. As a result, more cloud providers are localizing data centers to provide faster, real-time responses.
Instead of accessing data from servers half a world away, edge computing relies on local servers to provide the needed data to complete tasks. This means greater efficiency, better security and lower costs for both operators and end users.
Still unsure about joining the edge movement? According to an IDG/Foundry report published in December 2022, computing resources in the U.S. that now reside at the edge jumped to 35% from 27% a year prior. In addition, 64% of survey respondents expect the amount of edge data to increase within the next 12 months.
AI and Machine Learning Are Going Mainstream
With the rise in popularity of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services such as ChatGPT, many users are getting first-hand experience in using data-driven software. Both AI and machine learning (ML) applications benefit from the mobility and responsiveness of cloud technology to provide real-time results. As such, we’re seeing more cloud-based AI and ML software hold their own in a conversation, provide voice assistance, create stunning visuals and even compose original music.
Two months after ChatGPT rolled out, it set the record for the fastest user growth of any platform. In January 2023, the chatbot registered 100 million active users. Beyond its utility, ChatGPT has also courted controversy for its abilities. Arguing over the ethics of using ChatGPT remains a hot debate topic in many tech circles.
5G Is Powering Cloud Gaming
Cloud technology may have mastered the art of music and video streaming, but gaming still presents some challenges. Unlike the one-way streams required by Netflix, Spotify and others, cloud gaming requires a constant back-and-forth of data between cloud servers and users.
Faster wireless technology such as 5G may help cloud gaming become mainstream. Many game developers hope lags and delays will become a thing of the past, especially for users with less-than-ideal internet connectivity.
Today, cloud gaming is just warming up its engines. Statista reports that by the end of 2023, revenues will reach $4.34 billion. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44.13% over the next five years, the market expects revenue to grow to $18.71 billion by 2027.
What’s more, the cloud gaming market has a user penetration rate of 3.8% in 2023. It’s expected to hit 6.2% in five years.
Cloud Technology Is Here To Stay
As more industries connect to the internet to provide services, cloud technology will continue to improve. At this point in cloud history, 94% of companies have now utilized cloud computing in their operations. For the remaining 6% of companies that have yet to transition to the cloud, grasping the totality of this system can be overwhelming. Thankfully, Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP) is here to help.
We have the know-how and experience to help companies transition to the cloud for good. Our world-class consulting and engineering teams are more than ready to assist with your digital transformation.
Learn more about how GAP can help you reach for the cloud. Contact us today with your needs, and our team of experts will gladly walk you through a solution.
