“Trends in business tend to change often and quickly,” writes Jessica Oaks in an article which examines the ground trend of cloud-based businesses. According to her, one trend that can’t be ignored is the move towards the cloud. And as more businesses adopt cloud-based storage and software solutions, the market for cloud solutions is growing rapidly. In fact, it is estimated that by 2015 spending on cloud storage solutions could reach $180 billion.
Wondering why cloud-based solutions are becoming the go-to for businesses large and small? You’re in luck! We’ve outlined three benefits business derive from cloud computing and an opportunity to receive training and support to start a cloud-based business.
The Benefits
Security – Though there is no such thing as flawless security, you can greatly reduce security by opting for cloud solution. The decentralized nature of cloud-based system makes it attractive to business owners as the odds of data being compromised, corrupted, lost or manipulated in some form due to power outage, theft; hacking or other means is greatly reduced.
Cost Savings – In most cases, cloud-based solutions allow businesses to save substantially on IT costs. Much of the responsibility of an IT team – maintaining data, upgrading systems, looking after hardware, etc.is offset to a third party (in this case, the provider of the storage solution being sought), says Jessica.
Flexibility – Cloud-based solutions puts important information on the fingertips of employees at any given time. By enabling information retrieval across multiple devices, such as business cell phones, tablets and laptops, cloud-based storage allows for quick, easy and universal access to documents and information – perfect for the business person on the go.
The Opportunity
Microsoft Nigeria, Mara Mentor and Fate Foundation recently launched the Cloudpreneurs Project, which aims to train, provide technical support, and mentor young entrepreneurs in building sustainable cloud-based business and co-opt them into the Microsoft network.
For a chance to participate in the project, register at: https://mentor.mara.com/cloudpreneurs/
Application opened on the 20th of March and will close on the 26th of April.