Problems Small Businesses Encounter When Using the Cloud
Many young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs are cognizant of the benefits of the cloud. Instead of having to hire and manage additional IT overhead, many of these start-ups fully utilize the cloud instead of opting for more traditional IT solutions. This allows many start-ups to get by without an IT staff. Since there is not an IT staff around to help out with user questions and concerns, the founder of the start-up is often the sole source of IT support. Before you launch your small business, it is imperative to keep in mind these potential problems that you could encounter while using the cloud, so that you can circumvent them down the road before they begin throttling your company’s productivity.
Your Internet Connection: The first bottleneck that many start-ups encounter is the internet pipeline in their office. Some bootstrapped companies will work in a humble setting that may not provide a robust internet connection. When you begin adding more employees, your router has to mitigate data more often and if your modem is over taxed, it could cause degradation in performance when trying to access multiple cloud applications. Consult with your local internet service provider to ensure you have enough bandwidth in your location to properly access cloud applications. You may also want to note the ping time between your remote office and the cloud datacenter your company is using. This result can tell you a lot about your local connection.
Training: Unfortunately, many college graduates aren’t well versed in the cloud. In fact, those who take desktop publishing classes that revolve around Microsoft Office shouldn’t have too much to learn but there is indeed a learning curve. When you bring on board new employees, ensure that they are properly trained on how to use, handle data and collaborate using the cloud services you have made available to them. Since many employees are versed in the old methods of doing IT, they may try to circumvent the cloud all together without realizing they are doing so. This often makes everyone’s job much more difficult when certain employees are working outside of the process asked of them by the organization.
