Cloud computing, in the forms of cloud ERP, cloud storage and cloud-based Unified Communication and Collaboration (UCC) deliver a host of benefits to the mobile workforce. This issue is more relevant today than ever before, as nearly everyone today can be considered a mobile worker, to some extent. Large proportions of the workforce are getting their jobs done from home during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Even without the work-from-home trend, a great many employees had become “mobile” even as they continued to work on-site. People are accustomed to working pretty much anywhere, on any device at any time, even if they are not officially on the road. The cloud is useful for them, too. Here are five notable benefits from the cloud for the mobile workforce:
Flexible provisioning
Mobile workers are, unsurprisingly, on the move. Their movement is physical as well as organizational. People shift from role to role and site to site more readily when they’re mobile. Cloud computing facilitates this mobility with flexible provisioning. A worker might need access to the sales management tool in one role and location, but then have a need for the logistics solution upon moving to another site. A cloud-based system can easily keep up, enabling fast provisioning and de-provisioning of access as required.
Consistent performance and pervasive availability
When employees need to access on-premises systems from the road, they are typically subject to wide fluctuations in performance and availability. The cloud is able to deliver consistent performance because people can access instances of the solution that are hosted in geographically distributed data centers. This architecture also enables high availability, as instances can instantly failover to other sites.
Improved collaboration
Cloud-based UCC solutions and productivity software give teams of people an improved ability to work together, regardless of location or device. One person can be on a tablet at home while another works from a smartphone from a car. They can share tasks and work jointly on documents in real-time using cloud-based tools.
Flexible workflows
Mobility among people is matched by mobility across systems. Business processes have their own mobility today, with workflows getting orchestrated in and out of ERP, CRM, warehouse management, and more. Cloud computing makes it easier to integrate applications and build workflows that span multiple pieces of software. These flexibly configured workflows suit the needs of organizations that freely move people through remote and mobile work scenarios.
Security and centralized backup
Cloud solutions feature strong security at the levels of network and infrastructure. They also enable companies to secure their mobile workers’ data, applications, and endpoints more easily than is possible with on-premises counterparts. This assumes a focused, disciplined effort on the part of the business, however. It doesn’t just happen. But, cloud solutions provide a central point of control and policy enforcement for everyone, regardless of location. Cloud solutions also enable an elastic backup capability and fast restores in the event of data loss.
We work with many companies on the assessment and implementation of cloud computing solutions for a variety of business use cases. To learn more about how cloud computing can help your business, contact us for a free consultation and a cloud demonstration.
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