Advantages of the Cloud for Entrepreneurs (and not only!)

Millennial.This is the generation to which the overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs belong, who today open small businesses and create start-ups. And that tells us everything about how your suppliers have to position themselves to continue to be considered by this generation, which is, perhaps, the best-formed, most demanding and peculiar of all time.

They are the ones who, before making any decision, study the market, compare prices, consume rationally, avoid credit and, above all, prefer to share or rent, rather than own. We cannot yet ignore the fact that they have grown up with the internet, in a globalized, mobile and borderless era.

This brief characterization of the ‘generation me’, as it is also known, associated with the accelerated technological development, forces today the information technology companies to offer very different solutions from the already distant producer-distributor-implementation chains. These are now archaic, as I predicted more than a decade and a half ago.

More than thinking about the future, it is in the cloud that the present of technological solutions for SMEs and start-ups, such as management software solutions, already resides. If until recently the offer was for a simple billing solution, today it is much more robust, and there are already authentic ERP available in the cloud, many of them with software as a service (SaaS) licensing.

Cloud services are especially suitable for companies that do not have a specific IT department, as is the case with most start-ups. Investing in the cloud is a simple and effective way to ensure services are up and running with high performance, agility and flexibility. But there are still many entrepreneurs who do not really know how cloud services work and what are their advantages, despite noticing their concern in the search for a more efficient, low-cost IT infrastructure that allows for a more productive environment.

CLOUD SERVICES ARE SPECIALLY INDICATED FOR COMPANIES THAT DO NOT HAVE AN IT DEPARTMENT

If simplicity, efficiency, availability, scalability, low price and the fact that it allows to try without compromise seduce entrepreneurs, there are other important factors that make the cloud attractive as a solution for start-ups (and not only!). For this article I have gathered six that seem essential to me.

ECONOMY:

Backup and redundancy of information are ensured by the cloud service provider who constantly monitors access, preventing any possible attack on company information. No more expensive licenses for complex security systems and no more specialists.

FOCUS:

Through cloud solutions, the management team and start-up employees can focus on what matters most: improving the user experience and growing the business. The times of concern with the stability of the technological system are over, today, the essential base of the overwhelming majority of start-ups.

SPEED:

The difference between identifying the most suitable solution and its implementation can be the brief minutes that the initial configuration takes. And that is the speed of success for any start-up or new business, as well as being fully aligned with the immediate mindset of millennial entrepreneurs.

SCALABILITY AND CUSTOMIZATION:

Regardless of the speed of business growth, a cloud service is increased at the speed of the company’s needs, allowing it to scale and customize the services according to this growth. Flexibility is the watchword for companies that are at an exponential growth rate.

SAFETY:

Backup and redundancy of information are ensured by the cloud service provider who constantly monitors access, preventing any possible attack. No more expensive licenses for complex security systems and no more specialists.

MOBILITY:

Any cloud application is prepared for the biggest challenges. Providing access and the possibility of sharing detailed company information securely anywhere, anytime and on any device, as long as you have access to the internet, is an unquestionable advantage these days.

I could list more arguments. Many might think that these are arguments for selling cloud services. Actually, they are not. These are just requirements that new entrepreneurs (millennials and others) do not dispense with when hiring information technology.

Fernando Amaral is Chairman and CEO of the Sendys Group, owner of the companies SENDYS, ALIDATA, LABSEAL, MARCA CRIATIVA, MASTERSTRATEGY, SEAL ANGOLA, SEAL MOZ and SORT.

With numerous investments in the internationalization of its companies and brands, present in no more than 20 countries, from PALOP, EMEA, United Arab Emirates, Latin America, United States of America, among others. With more than 20 years of experience in Management Software, Fernando Amaral also has experience in Consulting, with special emphasis on the Financial, Public Administration, Manufacturing, Distribution, Services and Construction sectors. In these areas, he has developed the most varied themes, including definition and implementation, process redesign and organizational design.