Look, it isn’t a secret – things are moving upwards. And by things I mean business tools, and by up I mean to the cloud. Today you can do anything in that great big virtual space in the sky (I know, it isn’t really in the sky, I just continued the metaphor). You can manage your tasks, use email, have video meetings, send invoices, read newspapers and books – anything that once required pieces of paper now only require a screen and an app to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
There are tons of advantages to using cloud-based tools. You don’t have to install new software (it’s upgraded automatically), you don’t have to worry about different teams using different versions (they all use the same version), your data is securely backed up a long way away – these are benefits that every business knows. You just have to weigh the pros and cons, just as we did at MeetingKing before we launched our own online meeting tool, and see if you want to move your business to the cloud too
Well, here are three more reasons that most people don’t know, and they might just help tip the scales:
1. A paperless office – Saves space!
I can’t tell you how many offices I’ve been in where the paperwork took up the entire wall, and sometimes, an entire room. Now I know that some businesses have to keep actual physical paper records for a very long time, but the rest of you, be honest with yourself. Are you keeping all that paperwork because you HAVE to, or because you just don’t want to start sorting through it?
Just think what you can do with that extra office space! You can add a coffee machine, hire a new developer, or even buy a foosball table!
2. Don’t print – Saves money!
Most of your records were digital to being with, right? You printed out e-invoices you were sent, receipts, meeting minutes, employee rotas – in short, your printer has been working overtime converting your electronic data into hard copies.
Now, I’ve just gone and bought new colour ink cartridges for our HP printer, and apparently what The Oatmeal says is is true – they ARE made out of unicorn blood. The cartridges cost more than the printer itself, and that’s without the paper you need to buy to print on, the electricity that the printer requires to run, and all this just to convert data you already have!
Don’t print. Use online storage. Simple!
3. Save trees – Go green!
Even if all the above arguments failed to sway you, this has to. Paper is made from trees. Print less – and you’ll save a tree. Don’t print at all, and you might even save a forest!
So as you can see, there are tons and tons of pros to move to the cloud, and stop keeping hard copies of records. So what are you waiting for?