I read an article with interest this week as it explored a topic which I have been actively blogging about over the last few months. The topic being, cloud solutions and the impact they are having on our world today. In my blogs I have focused on the impact these solutions have on business and the benefits that can be derived from adopting these solutions.
In the article How The Cloud Is Transforming Education, Peter Ranscombe explores the impact cloud solutions are having on our education system today. With that in mind, the school pupils and college and university students of today are the workforce of tomorrow. What will it mean for them to enter a world where the same technologies aren’t as prevalent as they have been for them in school?
Speaking as someone who went to both school and university at a time when Google and the internet as a study aid did not exist, I have adapted to the ever changing digital world in which we live. Some of those were easy and some more challenging. Indeed it did take me a while to fully embrace the world of social media. Cloud however, is one which I have long recognised the benefits of.
There is no doubt that the cloud solutions mentioned in Peter’s article make studying easier for pupils. However, what fascinates me is what the future holds for these pupils. When they leave school and university, they will go into the workplace not knowing any other way of working. What does the future hold for businesses who have been left behind and not adopted these solutions? If the future workforce have grown up with these products and solutions, how will they cope if they enter a workplace where these aren’t standard? On the other hand, businesses that have adapted early will be able to snap up the best of the new workforce and gain an advantage. Where will that leave businesses who have failed to adapt?
What should businesses do now? Wait for this to happen or be prepared. I know which option I would rather choose.
The many benefits a business can gain from embracing cloud solutions are clear. Centralising processes and business information streamlines processes and saves time and resource which can then be focused on more important tasks that matter rather than chasing information and logging details in various systems.
Take for example a CRM system which is accessed by both sales and marketing. In a fully integrated process, leads would be captured in that system and marketing would be campaigning to them. With a sales team out on the road, it is not always possible to keep records up to date if the system is located on an internal server that can’t be accessed when they are out of the office. This delay in keeping records up to date, means that marketers could potentially still be sending campaigns to people who should be removed as the sale has been lost or killed. That’s a fairly extreme example but my point is that data accuracy is key to successful business activities. Centralising data that can be accessed anywhere and at any time speeds up any process and ensures data integrity. Take this example a stage further and when a sale is completed, the record is updated to allow the finance department to proceed with invoicing. People don’t have to chase colleagues to check if it is the latest information. They can see at a glance when something was updated and can be confident they are using the correct information to complete their tasks.
In summary, I believe the main benefits of adopting cloud solutions to be accessibility, data integrity and streamlined processes and activities for your business. All of which ultimately result in increased sales.
Cloud solutions continue to provide benefits to businesses and more are recognising these benefits not only for now but as a way to future-proof their business as well. Don’t be left behind, ensure you are fully prepared for the workforce of tomorrow.