Cloud computing for business hasn’t just taken off, it’s retiring old office practices. Not just how we work or when we work but more importantly, “Where we work.” Thanks to the Cloud, office boundaries continue vanishing.
Gone are the days where you are forced to drive to a building, park your vehicle, grab your lunch and make a mad dash to clock-in. Now we work from home, the airport, in a client’s waiting room and yes, thanks to the Cloud, even on a sandy tropical beach halfway around the world.
This phenomenon is not just for large companies, as many would think, it encompasses businesses of all sizes and locations. Small businesses, Start-ups, and Entrepreneurs have come onboard and are comfortable doing business online and expecting the Cloud to follow them everywhere they go.
Consider the advantage an outside salesperson has gained from the Cloud. In years past, they lugged a thick and heavy black briefcase from one client location to the next. Shuffling through papers and telling the client, “I didn’t know you needed those files. I didn’t bring them with me. I’ll have to get back with you.”
The Cloud has retired that practice. The new briefcase is smaller, fits in the palm of your hand and is a Cloud-friendly mobile device. It’s your phone. Your tablet. Your laptop. All connected in real time to your office, files, emails, and clients.
Here’s what happens now with a Cloud-friendly salesperson. Today’s sales rep is sitting in the client’s office and is asked for the files, “No problem!” They lean back in their chair, whip out their mobile device and with a few keystrokes, they’ve accessed the Cloud, clicked on the files and seconds later the client is reviewing the documents, in an email from their computer.
But it gets better. Let’s look at how a remote conference call meeting is easy using the Cloud. You’re in Tokyo, Japan. Your clients are in Lima, Peru – Paris, France and Des Moines, Iowa. “Gentlemen, the revisions have been written, and as we speak I’ve just pulled them from the Cloud and sent the documents from my tablet to your screens.” Just think a few short years ago that wasn’t possible.
How about when the Cloud assists your professional IT technician in Bakersfield, California running a scan from his laptop, of your systems in London, England and Sydney, Australia while sitting at his kid’s baseball game.
Cloud computing gives you and your company a huge advantage in the marketplace. It gives you the ability to work virtually anywhere, and you’ll never miss an opportunity to make a sale, conduct a meeting or watch your child hit that home run. The Cloud possibilities are endless. Your business boundaries are in place by how far you want to go. Let’s talk.
