If you’ve been resisting a move to the cloud, you’re not alone.  However, with cloud technology saving businesses a lot of money, it may be time to rethink your decision.  Creating an online database is incredibly easy, and incorporating a cloud based call centre, for example, can help you to increase sales whilst saving money.  Still want to know more?  Keep reading for a list of five great ways, the cloud can save your business money.

1. Lower Power Costs

Cloud computing uses hardware much more efficiently, which can save you money on electricity.  When you have a data centre, your own servers are very rarely utilised to their full potential, and often sit around idle until required.  Idle machines use energy that you are wasting.  So, not only will you save money by switching to the cloud, but you’ll be helping the environment too!

2. No Upfront Costs

When you utilise your own data centre, you need to put money down up front to pay for the cost of the hardware you require.  For a small business, this can be quite a significant amount to have to pay up front.  With cloud computing, you have no up front costs, as you’re using someone else’s servers.  The money that you save can be invested into your business for better reasons.

3. Lower Monthly Employee Pay

If you run a data centre, it’s likely that you have staff members who are employed to ensure it runs efficiently.  With the cloud, these jobs are eliminated.  Yes, you’ll still have to pay the provider’s staffing costs, but these are a fraction of the cost of in-house staff as you don’t need them to work full time for your company.  If you’re worried about making your current staff redundant, don’t.  Most companies have found other roles for their IT professionals that have improved profits for the company.

4. Software Savings

When you move your business to the cloud, your workers can access software programmes and online databases through the internet, rather than through a centralised server.  Not only is cloud software a lot cheaper than the hard copies businesses used to have to buy, but you will also, usually, be provided with upgrades automatically.  Support is also included in cloud software, so you won’t need your IT staff to stop what they are doing if there is a software issue.

5. Reduced Downtime

Many small businesses struggle with downtime issues.  However, the cloud almost eliminates them as all you need is an internet connection to stay up and running.  With cloud servers, on the whole, having uptime levels of over 99%, they’re not only reliable, but they can stop you from losing money.

Although many people were wary of the cloud’s security issues when it was first introduced, many businesses have since embraced it due to its numerous benefits.  If you run a small business, consider switching to the cloud, as you could end up saving your business a lot of money.