Increasing profits and improving ROI is fundamental to any business, but especially to those just starting out. It’s easy to waste money on tools that don’t add value to your company, so discovering the right technologies that will support business growth and development is vital to avoid unnecessary overspend. The question is, as a new business owner, how do you determine what investments are the right ones?
The perfect tool will be hassle free, cost effective and functional for your business requirements. Cloud based communications could be the best solution, with intranet systems being a trouble-free solution to HR requests, company processes, content management and access to knowledge to make better, faster decisions. On top of this, Cloud solutions are affordable and have the potential to save your company a significant amount of money. Read on to find out how.
1. Reduce your resources
Traditionally IT solutions that supposedly supported business processes often did the exact opposite, with clunky systems taking up valuable internal resources on everything from user support to tech updates. Cloud based solutions don’t demand attention from the resident technical nomad as they are built to be user friendly, so that anyone can quickly learn how to use them and navigate them with ease. The simplicity of Cloud based software can even eliminate the need for an in-house techie – saving you money on internal resource. Furthermore, the various applications that can be incorporated into such systems, such as holiday and absence management, will save hours on those must-have processes that usually aren’t budgeted for, or were previously only affordable to the largest of organisations.
2. Scalability is key
Once upon a time, integrated intranet systems would amount to a large one off fee to cover the cost of the software and the consultancy required to tailor and set them up for your business. This would be followed by additional fees for technology updates and programme maintenance, meaning systems were virtually unaffordable for the smaller businessman. The cloud has removed this issue, as companies can fund the services on a subscription basis usually calculated on the number of users you have. As a result, small companies can, for the first time, have access to the same essential business tools that were previously out of reach to them and, importantly, can grow their use of them as their company and their needs grow too.
3. Increase engagement, increase efficiency
Employee engagement has been a real ‘hot topic’ recently. Typically, an engaged employee is happier at work and more efficient in their tasks – a win/win scenario! Though the measurement of engagement isn’t black and white, we know that features of internal intranet systems are proven to help. Things like encouraging collaborative working, increased flexibility, effective sharing of news and content and instant access to knowledge all work to increase productivity as well as workplace motivation, and strengthen culture; something that’s vital for any growing business.
4. Embrace new tech at no extra expense
Cloud solutions such as these, often referred to as ‘SaaS’ (Software as a Service) solutions mean that there is no need to budget for special hardware, installation or additional storage space. Businesses can set-up the service and use it instantly, from any location. When the service is updated, everyone benefits at no extra charge, so your return on investment is constantly growing with the cloud.