There has been much noise around the cloud over recent years, as its impact widens across many sectors and uses, in both professional and personal lives. Andrew Peddie, managing director of cloud consultant and reseller First Hosted, explains how the cloud can transform e-seller businesses for the better.
Software as a service (SaaS) innovators such as Safesforce, NetSuite and Oracle have provided cloud-based ERP, CRM, e-commerce, accounting, supply chain management and inventory software to businesses across all manner of sectors, both improving their operational effectiveness through simple to use applications, and reducing their IT support and set up costs.
Although there are still those with reservations over its efficacy and security, those businesses, including a wide range of e-sellers, who have implemented the cloud in their business, are seeing great benefit.
The cloud, despite its ethereal name, is simply a description for computers in a network, and the accessing of data and applications via the internet. Some have found this concept difficult to come around to, especially when considering transferring their data to the cloud.
Concerns over the security of their information, particularly when the cloud provider is US-based and businesses fear there will be some kind of malicious attack on the storage server, have come to light, but it is important that businesses realise there are comprehensive incorporated security and back-up functions in place with any reputable name in cloud provision.
Those with fears should also consider the huge proportion of internet users who regularly utilise online platforms like Facebook, internet banking and Gmail on a daily basis, all cloud based facilities.
As more businesses get to grips with these concepts and look to move their systems to the cloud, they are able to take advantage of the operational efficiencies and cost savings the cloud offers. e-sellers and internet retailers in particular can gain greater visibility of the entire operation, and enable quicker decision making based on readily available Business Intelligence.
These businesses eliminate the costly on site server, which is fallible to overloading, power-outs, overheating and downtime, all of which cause dips in productivity, lost business, problems related to the loss of vital data, and the list goes on. The server also takes up valuable space, which for online retailers and e-sellers in a valuable commodity which could be utilised for product storage.
In addition to these reduced costs and the increased peace of mind of knowing their data is safe, e-sellers and internet retailers can use cloud applications to connect all aspects of their business via cloud-based applications.
For example, using a cloud-based point-of-sale application which integrates with back office cloud-hosted applications such as accounting, CRM and inventory, can ensure that point-of-sale transactions are reflected in these figures in real time, as well as providing business intelligence such as top-selling items, high and low sales volumes, and customer satisfaction and loyalty data.
Conversely, the back-office information such as inventory levels has visible via the point-of-sale application in real time, improving operational efficiency.
The real-time aspect of cloud-based business applications is particularly useful for e-seller businesses which run across multiple sites, which many do.
For example an e-seller or online retailer which has a retail store, online site and several stock storage sites, between which it transfers stock items, will be able to view inventory levels and update them in real time, completely eliminating the possibility of mismanaging stock and over or under-ordering or even disappointing waiting customers.
Transferring business processes and transactions to the cloud like this also eliminates the need for time-consuming data replication and input to different systems such as accounting and CRM.
Not only do cloud-based applications reduce the time that e-seller businesses have to spend on IT maintenance as they update automatically and are not fallible to unexplained failure, they also allow the business to simplify certain processes.
For example, an e-seller may want to conduct an e-mail campaign to all customers who have purchased a certain product or shown interest in certain types of items on the website, and the cloud makes this simple.
Through the CRM system integrated point-of-sale and website analytics, the company can quickly and easily conduct the e-mail campaign with a few clicks, as well as integrating any feedback by synchronising that data with the CRM system simply too.
It is clear from examples such as this that the implementation of a cloud-based solution can help improve the efficiency of a business, providing the opportunity to focus on and expand its core business to meet financial and business targets.
This ‘work smarter, not harder’ concept along with the reduced costs, worries and inconveniences associated with cloud-based applications mean that when it comes to eliminating the traditional storage and software hub, the server, or ‘brain’ of an operation, the decision really is a no-brainer.
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