The only constant in our lives, as the phrase goes, is changing. That has been shown during the last two years. The worldwide workforce has changed dramatically, hastening the adoption of cloud-based collaboration tools.
What advantages may small business owners expect from cloud solutions? And, in this world of mixed employment, can the cloud genuinely help small businesses thrive?
What are a cloud-based collaboration and calling, and how does it work?
Simply put, cloud-based collaboration solutions allow employees to collaborate on papers and other forms of data. Rather than being kept and accessible on-premises in a physical server, this information is stored and accessed off-premises (in the “cloud”) and outside of a company firewall.
Employees collaborate on projects using a cloud-based collaboration tool to share, edit, communicate and collaborate.
Because many small firms are adopting hybrid work arrangements, where employees work both in the office and remotely, cloud-based collaboration solutions are in high demand.
Users can securely collaborate via video, audio, screen sharing, or messaging in a single application, similar to how email moved from a physical server to a cloud service.
Products like Cisco’s Webex – with its meetings, messaging, and calling capabilities – allow users to securely collaborate via video, audio, screen sharing, or messaging in a single application, similar to how email moved from a physical server to a cloud service.
A number of advantages are available to users, including:
- Improved business continuity
- Immediate product updates
- Mobility for all team members
- Operational efficiency
Can tiny firms benefit from cloud-based collaboration?
Absolutely! For a variety of reasons, cloud-based solutions are ideal for businesses of all sizes. These solutions enable companies to extend their talent pool by allowing full-time remote work, which is a cost-effective way to collaborate as a team, give employees freedom, and provide a cost-effective method to communicate as a team.
Small organizations can gain the same benefits that larger enterprises get from cloud-based collaboration. Small firms can provide a more flexible work environment for existing and prospective employees by incorporating cloud-based technologies.
With 24/7 monitoring from your supplier, you may also expedite upgrades and reduce the need for (and cost of) third-party IT services, improve team collaboration, and strengthen data security, among other things.
Small firms have reported seeing a return on investment within the first year after moving to cloud-based collaboration tools. Here’s how you can get that ROI:
- Transition from up-front costs to a monthly fee
- Less employee bandwidth needed for cloud-based solutions
- Lower overall support costs
- Solutions scale with your company needs
What about the phones on your desk?
Prepare to say goodbye to your desk phones, as they are likely to be phased out in the same way that fax machines have been phased out.
Desk phones are no longer required with cloud collaboration solutions, save in the event of an emergency in a conference room or the common area of an office. While it may be difficult to “break up” with your workplace phone, it will be advantageous in the long term.
While meetings may dominate our workdays, the value of a simple phone call should not be overlooked. Calling remains the backbone of innumerable business-critical operations across various industries, according to the Cisco Hybrid Work Index.
Many businesses have hastened their transition to cloud calling to take advantage of benefits including quick feature deployment, centralized management, and solution scalability.
What impact will the move to cloud-based collaboration have on employees?
Making the switch to a cloud-based solution will have a good impact on your workforce. User adoption is aided by solutions that combine numerous apps and are easier for users to grasp, reducing the requirement for external IT.
Users are no longer bound to their desks when on a business call thanks to cloud-based solutions, which give them more flexibility. People are combining their personal and professional lives more than ever before, and it’s working.
This allows employees to prioritize their work and their families, which has become an increasingly crucial aspect in achieving a work-life balance in the last two years.
However, the discussion of cloud collaboration does not end there. Ben Rife, CEO of Cisco Partner Bullfrog Group, visited our “Small Business, Big Solutions” program to explore cloud-based collaboration adoption and offer his perspectives. On your favorite podcast platform, listen to the episode “It’s Time to Ditch the Desk Phone.”
Contact a Cisco small business expert to learn more about our cloud collaboration options.
