Think Your Business Doesn’t Need Cloud Based Services? Think Again.

Why 80% of Businesses Will Be Switching to Cloud-Based Services, and Why Your Company Needs to Follow Suit

Will Gregerson, controller for Schaeffer Manufacturing Company (a synthetic motor oils producer headquartered in St. Louis), said that Schaeffer is a cloud customer who enjoys the flexibility that the cloud offers the company’s managers and overall processes.

Whether on the road, at home, or in the office, the cloud has allowed Gregerson to have access to his work and company information 24/7, he said. The company has grown from $85 to $130 million in sales over the past few years, with a large part of success stemming from cloud-based services. In addition, the company met high sales with no additional customer service, order entry, or accounting staff members.

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Schaeffer Manufacturing isn’t the only company experiencing success through the cloud. Many small and medium-sized businesses are also taking advantage of the benefits the cloud has to offer – built-in automation, economies of scale, and flexibility. A recent survey suggests that we should expect more companies to move key operations to the cloud in the next few years. According to the survey report from Emergent Research and Intuit Inc., 80% of U.S. small businesses intend to be fully adapted to cloud computing by 2020, more than doubling the current 37 percent rate.

In case you were wondering, these businesses aren’t just “tech-type” companies – such as telecom or IT. These are your everyday traditional businesses that offer tangible goods and services, ones just like Schaeffer Manufacturing; and they are rapidly growing into cloud-based businesses.

Also See: Hybrid Cloud is More Secure Than Ever!

Emergent Research and Intuit quoted, “We are going through a disruptive shift…and watching a new economy emerge. The cloud is redefining the small business playing field.”

The study also suggests that the impact of cloud technology tends to shift as it is adopted by businesses. Initially, it starts with a focus on efficiency gains, and then it moves on to stimulate entire new business models. It also notes that the cloud provides advantages to smaller businesses in a number of areas, such as making it cheaper and easier to start and scale a business, enhancing customer acquisition, service and support, and providing access to technologies once only available to large technologies.

Steve King of Emergent, who is also the study’s author, observes that there are four ways small to medium-sized businesses are making use of cloud:

Plug-in players: “Small businesses will increasingly adapt to the cloud by taking advantage of specialized services that can be integrated into back-office operations. Instead of spending time and effort on the nuts-and-bolts of finance, marketing and human resources, cloud-adapted small businesses will plug into cloud-based providers who deliver comprehensive, tailored solutions, giving small business operators the ability to focus on mission-critical areas of business.”
Hives: “Cloud-adapted small businesses will increasingly be made up of individuals who share talent to form a team. These businesses will operate virtually, with employees working in different locations, and staffing levels will be increasingly flexible, rising and falling to meet project needs. For example, independent contractors will use virtual spaces to connect and market themselves. Small manufacturers and producers may share a commercial facility.”
Head-to-headers: “A growing number of cloud-adapted small businesses will compete head-to-head with major firms, using the growing number of platforms and plug-in services to reach markets once only accessible to large corporations. This is already being seen with platforms such as AirBnB, which provide individuals with the ability to reach a mass market through community infrastructure.”
Portfolioists: “Successful cloud-adapted freelancers will bring together multiple income streams to create a career portfolio. These largely will be people who start with a passion, or specific skill, and are motivated primarily by the desire to live and work according to their values, passions, and convictions. They will increasingly build personal empires in the cloud, finding previously unseen opportunities for revenue generation.”

Want to transform your business with cloud-based services? Contact an AeroCom Genius today for your two strongest provider bids.

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