Cloud computing and data sharing: How can it benefit your business?

There are many aspects to consider around cloud computing and data sharing – and this blog will unpack them for you.  

We’ll take you through how they complement each other, your IT infrastructure and how your wider business operates as a whole. We’ll then talk you through why more businesses are using cloud for data sharing.  

What is cloud computing and data sharing?

Cloud computing

Let’s start by defining the terms. Cloud computing, in essence, is the delivery of IT resources or services over the internet, such as storage, servers and software.  

It’s delivered in the cloud, which is a term used to describe an on-demand server that hosts data, software and infrastructure, allowing businesses and users to access information on demand from any type of device. It’s scalable, secure and flexible.  

Data sharing

Data sharing is more specifically around the practice of making data available to multiple users.  

This can be done through ‘internal’ data sharing, such as across an organisation, application, team or department. Then there’s ‘external’ data sharing; this could be data shared with customers, partners, collaborators or governing and regulatory bodies.  

There’s also ‘open data’, which is publishing data to the public, often through research programmes, for example when looking to draw conclusions from a much wider breadth of information. 

Why is data sharing important for businesses? 

There are a couple of important reasons why businesses may need to participate in data sharing, particularly using the cloud.  

At a glance, a business will enjoy better collaboration and decision-making due to improved data pools and accuracy.  

Data sharing is also important to a business as more customer data to work with will enhance the customer experience, along with more efficient operations due to inter-departmental collaboration powered by this new way of working. 

Data driven decision-making

Let’s start by exploring data driven decision-making (DDDM) in more detail, which can be hugely beneficial for small businesses. DDDM is when decisions are made using data, facts, metrics and figures. Using actual data to make these decisions, instead of through observation or intuition, allows for more accurate and logical decision making which, in business, is used for a number of strategic benefits.  

It leads to improved operational efficiency, where data can be used to re-balance resources and costs and make more informed financial and strategic decisions. DDDM also allows for enhanced customer insights; more data to work with means more knowledge about customer behaviour, allowing businesses to provide a service that is much more around what the customer is seeking. 

Through using an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system such as Sage 200 or SAP Business One, DDDM can be carried out much more frequently, due to all data being in one place from multiple business functions and departments. This gives smaller and medium-sized businesses a competitive advantage, helping them to spot and react to trends easier. 

Data storage and backup

Data storage and backup is a necessity of cloud computing and is vital for data sharing. For businesses to maximise cloud computing and data sharing, it’s important that a strong storage and backup setup are in place.

Benefits of having a data setup of this nature include added security, storage space and real-time backups. In storing data efficiently in the cloud, operations can be streamlined and DDDM can become commonplace, all while having greater data protection. Data backup systems will protect the data from being lost due to hardware failure, cyberattacks, natural disaster and human error.

Investing in substantial data storage and backups can improve security, efficiency and decision making, but it also helps to mitigate the risks of data sharing.

Some risks of data sharing

When sharing data, internally or externally, you’ll have to consider a couple of risks that come with it. Prevention is better than cure, so knowing what can pose a threat to your data sharing process means you can plan carefully how to guard against them.

Data misinterpretation

Data misinterpretation is when data is incorrectly collected, presented or analysed. It can lead to incorrect assumptions, biases, confusion over context of the data and bad decision making.

With data often being used to make calculated decisions within businesses, a company must make sure that it avoids any characteristic of data misinterpretation. If data for departments is inaccurate, trust can be lost within the organisation, damaging collaboration.

With data all in one place on an ERP or finance system, stored on the cloud, it can help to mitigate against the risks attached to data misinterpretation.

Data protection misconduct

Data protection misconduct is when personal, employee or company data is maliciously breached. A breach could be when data is accessed by an unauthorised individual or party, sending personal or unsuitable data to the wrong recipient, alteration of data without authorisation or permission to do so or failure to secure or store data adequately.

Misconduct can take place even through simple human error, when data is inefficiently stored on a personal device, for instance.

If data is breached, it can lead to a number of harmful consequences for an individual or organisation; reputation can be damaged, there are legal consequences and fines, financial losses and violation of privacy leading to emotional distress.

By creating a culture of having all data stored on the cloud, it makes it much easier to keep data protected. Many cloud services come with enhanced security features, such as encryptions and accurate, more secure data backups, making it easier to keep on top of data and how it is being shared. With cloud services provision, it also takes care of compliance and regulations, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the UK and EU.

Why are businesses using cloud for data sharing?

Businesses use the cloud for data sharing to mitigate risks, but there are also a number of other reasons. From reducing cost to contributing towards a collaborative culture, businesses will often gravitate towards the use of the cloud when it comes to how they manage their data.

Let’s take a look at some of these outlying reasons.

Cost benefits

Cloud data sharing saves on cost. The overall infrastructure is stripped back, meaning there are fewer hard drives and physical on-premises data storage servers taking away from a business’s bottom line.

Running and maintaining these types of hardware systems can be costly; sharing data on the cloud avoids this. IT maintenance costs are lower, as having dedicated IT staff to manage physical infrastructure is no longer required.

By offloading data storage to a cloud provider, there’s a reduction in IT staffing needs and resources can be deployed in other areas, especially if a pay-as-you-go model is adopted.

Easily accessible, sufficiently protected

With cloud computing and data sharing, files and information are easily accessed, on any authorised device from anywhere, while it is completely protected from anyone outside of the cloud network. Features within the cloud can be deployed to further bolster protective measures, such as password protected shared folders – an example of two-tier data protection best practice.

There are ever-developing efficient data search and retrieval mechanics that are built into the cloud. Full-text searches allow data to be found in seconds and there are growing developments in AI-powered search, where machine learning is deployed to find related documents based on previous user activity.

As part of greater protection is the more robust backups that come with data sharing in the cloud. Cloud systems are designed for high uptime, so users can access data even in the event of hardware failure, network outage or natural disasters.

Collaborative working

Increased collaboration, enabled by creating a culture that uses the cloud for data sharing, can result in increased productivity, as data can be shared and accessed at the click of a button. Less time is spent on emailing files or dealing with issues around version control.

In a world where remote work is now commonplace, employees can get what they need with ease, whether they be working from home or on business trips. Cloud data sharing is global, too, where operators in different countries can collaborate in real-time. All of this is beneficial to the hybrid working model.

Cloud and data sharing solutions with Thinc

At Thinc, we’re always happy to answer any questions that businesses may have surrounding data sharing options and cloud solutions. If you’re a business owner wondering how your business could reduce costs through implementing cloud computing and backups, or how it can bolster your security and improve collaboration, we’re here to help you make the best decision.

For more information, get in touch today.