Cloud Technology: the essential tool for modern workplaces

Something that we’ve talked about before is the impact and importance of cloud-based technology.

Arguably, it is cloud-based technology that has enabled us to work from home, and without it, businesses and their processes would have been far less productive and efficient, and many would have failed to operate. But how has cloud-based technology benefitted employers and employees? And how will it continue to innovate the workplace?

How cloud technology enabled home working

Cloud technology shaped how we worked in lockdown. It allowed organisations to continue their day-to-day business despite being away from the office, and enabled employees to continue with their work (relatively) smoothly. As TechRadar points out, without it we wouldn’t have been able to conduct video calls such as those on Zoom or Teams, which kept us all connected during lockdown. Furthermore, without cloud technology, there would be no hybrid meetings, which, as we discussed in our July blog, are a developing way to connect and communicate. But what other benefits does cloud technology have on the workplace?

The benefits of cloud technology

TechRadar recently published a list that details how cloud technology enabled the switch to remote working, and how it continues to streamline our everyday professional lives. They list encouraging productivity, developing team collaboration, increasing productivity, and improving security as some of the main benefits. They also discuss how cloud technology has changed the flexibility of the workforce, with employees able to work from anywhere in the world, regardless of time zones.

However, cloud technology has also changed our working psychology. Documents and projects are saved automatically and reliably and are far less likely to corrupt. It could be argued, therefore, that technology now works better with us, and we therefore spend less time working against it. It’s also much faster than traditional desktop technology and has made the workplace more efficient, if less able to switch off. But the department that cloud technology has had the biggest impact on is arguably IT.

The impact on IT and recruitment

There’s no doubt that cloud technology has changed how IT departments work, including increasing technical reliability so employees spend less time retrieving documents, locating resources, or navigating platforms on different devices.

Yet companies should perhaps be cautious of being over-dependent on some cloud processes. As we have seen recently from Facebook, major platforms can fail unexpectedly. If this were to happen to a platform that a company relies upon, they could lose hours, or even days of work.

Increased use of cloud technologies has also seen the number of attempted data breaches soar. So, whilst cloud technologies are relatively secure, IT departments will have to continuously track and block attempted hackers before they can access the wealth of content that is now stored digitally.

As for recruitment, cloud technologies can change who is considered a suitable candidate. Time zones and physical distances are no longer barriers to working for technology-reliant roles.

We’ve also talked before about how technology is changing the recruitment process itself, including online cloud-based software for placing and responding to applicants, to video call technology for conducting interviews. For many, all the recruitment process, job introduction, and work itself will now be completed online, with little or no face-to-face communication. And this will likely become the norm for more companies as cloud technologies continue to develop.

The future of cloud technology

Whilst it’s true that cloud technologies have already developed exponentially in the past few years, the rate of progression doesn’t look to be slowing. As reported by Installation International, earlier this year Microsoft introduced their Windows 365 platform, which allows users to access and stream their Windows device from any location across a multitude of platforms, including Apple products.

Microsoft themselves have announced that this change was developed “specifically for the hybrid world” And, within the hybrid model of working, cloud technologies hold high importance. Gartner, a technology research and consulting company list cloud technologies amongst AI as the top tech trends for 2022, with employers using them to continue digital transformation of their businesses and modernise and streamline processes for the current and future workplaces.

What’s been your experience with cloud technology?

How has it changed how you work as a business?

We’d love to hear your stories, so please do get in touch and let us know.