Blog Layout

Access Over Ownership: Big Tech for Small Business

Matt Agnini • Feb 23, 2018
Photo of cloud computing server rack

Cloud computing has been around since the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that businesses were able to leverage it thanks to an expansion in broadband internet services. Large enterprises aren’t the only ones who can benefit from these services. Small businesses have a lot to leverage by moving to the cloud. Here’s how.

Big Benefits With a Small Budget

Cloud services continue to be democratized by countless large, established tech enterprises, startups, and other web companies. These web companies’ services and digital hosted products have stretched their reach to a broad spectrum of audiences. Now, small nonprofits and businesses can access these tools to help drive operational efficiency and achieve their business goals and organizational missions, and they can get this all done without requiring a huge budget.

Sell Products Securely

When you use a cloud-based platform, you can be confident that it is secure enough to handle monetary transactions. These managed e-commerce platforms enable small businesses to sell services and products securely across a whole host of devices and sites. Whether your client or customer accesses your services or goods from a mobile device, social media, or a huge online e-commerce retailer such as Amazon or eBay, you can expect to conduct business securely. As trusted Shopify Experts, we take security seriously and that is why we trust Shopify’s platform to power our customer’s stores.

Manage With Ease

Small business owners can be as busy as large competitors. In fact, they can be even busier. You often wear different hats as an entrepreneur or small business owner, so it’s crucial that you leverage tools that help you make the most of your time while saving time for the business activities that will help you add value to your business and bottom line. Being able to manage systems and processes easily can help you achieve these business goals. When you move to the cloud, you can leverage the benefit of easy user management. You can simplify processes such as removing or adding employees from company systems with the help of cloud-enabled systems, and it can all be done without the assistance of an IT professional or the need to contact the phone company.

Savings on Cloud-Based Communication

Telephone systems that once required multi-thousand-dollar contracts with telephone companies are a thing of the past thanks to cloud-based business telephone services. With the help of these services, you can save on the costs of maintenance trips for servicing on-premise systems. You can also leverage the help of cloud-based service support such as Advancify, a RingCentral Expert , to manage your systems.

No Extra Hardware to Maintain or Own

Hardware can take up much-needed space, which can make a difference if you are in a small office. When you utilize hosted services, there is no need for additional hardware. The hardware is virtual for you, but your information is securely stored on a server hosted by your cloud service provider. This not only frees up space but also makes it easy to access your data from virtually anywhere, including your smartphone, desktop computer or tablet with an internet connection. You can often get supported services too. Advancify provides support as part of your monthly subscription service, so you can cancel your maintenance contract for company servers or phone systems and save money.

Reliable, Cost-Effective Email and Collaborative Tools

Email isn’t going anywhere soon. It’s key to have an email system that is reliable but doesn’t drain your budget. But when you use hosted software and services, you can leverage the reliability and cost-effectiveness that it brings to email. Using hosted services typically saves you more over time than using a Microsoft Exchange email server that’s hosted on site. Google’s G Suite is cloud-based and has expanded its reliable S/MIME or Secure Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extensions , which is the secure way to send emails with encrypted keys. You can also get support for Gmail and G Suite from cloud service providers such as long-time users and G Suite resellers, Advancify.

You can securely store your files on hosted servers. One of G Suite’s cloud storage features is Google Drive, which allows your company to store your vital documents off-site, making it easy for you to manage your content with confidence since G Suite’s Google Drive can be stored securely. You also won’t need to keep your own company servers, which helps to reduce the risk of hard drive failures. You can leverage collaborative tools, including Google Docs to let you work with a remote team of employees on a document in real time and share it easily from the document to your team.

BYOD – Bring Your Own Device

You can save money by allowing your employees to bring their own devices. Moving to hosted services enables you to adopt a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy so that your employees can use the devices they already have and save you money and time on training and equipment in the process.

Final Thoughts

Switching to the cloud comes with several advantages for small business owners. From BYOD compatibility to saving time and money on contracted services, you can enhance productivity and improve your bottom line when you migrate to cloud services. Advancify understands what it takes to leverage the hosted services you need. Book a free online consultation with us to get the most out of your business.

Advancify News Network

Image of a lock symbolizing email security by deploying a DMARC policy
By Matt Agnini 27 Jan, 2024
Learn about DMARC to protect your emails from spoofing with Advancify's expert help. Advance your business or nonprofit's email security today.
Photo of a model shopping cart on a desk
By Matt Agnini 12 Jul, 2022
Are you a small business owner looking to increase reach and maximize profit and brand recognition? If you struggle to bring in new customers and engage existing ones, e-commerce may be your ticket to success.
Photo of a man using a smartphone
By Matt Agnini 15 Mar, 2022
Having a solid digital marketing strategy is one of the pillars of a growing company. Yet, with more and more technologies disrupting the market, how do you choose which tool is a good investment for your marketing efforts in the coming years?
Photo of a virtual restaurant delivery bag
By Matt Agnini 03 Feb, 2022
Just like other types of businesses, the restaurant industry had adapted to several trends in the past. Because of the ever-changing customer demands and the number of competitors entering the market, restaurants are constantly finding new ways to improve their businesses.
Photo of girls using computers.
By Matt Agnini 11 Jan, 2022
Core Web Vitals are currently a popular subject in the SEO world. One key reason for this is that, as part of the new page experience signals, Google Search will now use them as a ranking factor.
Photo of a man experiencing the metaverse
By Matt Agnini 14 Dec, 2021
Do you have questions about the metaverse? This post explains how the metaverse will change the way people and businesses communicate on the web.
Photo of a woman using a business phone system
By Matt Agnini 19 Oct, 2021
At some point, any growing organization will have to upgrade to a business phone system. 
Photo of a computer needing data recovery
By Matt Agnini 12 Oct, 2021
Data recovery is a process that helps to get you access to digital files that are no longer accessible using standard means.
Advancify is moving to Florida photo
By Matt Agnini 30 Sep, 2021
Over the next couple of months, we will be moving our office from Bellingham, WA to Titusville, FL. Advancify has been working with amazing businesses in Bellingham and beyond since 2013, and we’re sure going to miss it here.
Brave: Proud to support a faster, safer web photo
By Matt Agnini 28 Sep, 2021
Brave is one of the newest competitors on the web browser scene.
More Posts
Share by: