PCMag defines cloud computing as: “a means of storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of using your computer’s hard drive”. For something to be considered cloud technology, users have to access data or programs that aren’t stored locally. They’re accessing these services and information over the Internet. Think Dropbox and Google Drive, for example.

Cloud has the potential to have a major impact on virtually all business functions across all industries. Within the financial services space, more and more businesses are leveraging cloud as a means to deliver innovation, customisation and security. It also helps them to create a unique competitive advantage.

Research firm, MarketsandMarkets reports that the size of the finance cloud market is set to reach $29.47 billion come 2021. And during this time period, the professional services segment was forecast to be a market leader. But why is cloud technology such an appealing innovation for financial services? We outline a few reasons below:

Cloud makes it possible to provide unique services to the market: Offerings within the financial services space are often fairly similar. Through leveraging innovative cloud based applications, businesses can enhance their offering and user experience thus differentiating themselves from the competition.

Cloud makes businesses more agile: As financial services companies have become more complex and siloed, it has become difficult for IT departments to create solutions that increase operational efficiency. Using cloud-based applications, financial services companies are able to automate a variety of operational processes and boost operational efficiency. Today, the most successful companies are the ones that are able to innovate fast and efficiently. Cloud makes it possible to best manage offices remotely and to scale up business operations immediately.

Cloud cuts costs: One of the core benefits of cloud computing is the ability to lower operational costs without having a negative impact on performance. Across all industries, businesses are looking for creative ways to tighten their IT budgets and spend. Moving to the cloud means significant cost savings on equipment, infrastructure and software.

Why cloud is essential for the future of modern organisations

Did you know that by 2025, three out of every four workers across the world will be millennials? With this in mind, business leaders need to understand the changes that this generation is bringing to the global workforce. And what do working millennials want? Greater flexibility.

According to 2016 research, some 89% of millennials would rather have the freedom to choose when and where they work; forgoing the traditional 9-to-5 working day. Cloud makes these flexible styles of working possible. Here’s a list of how cloud enables your mobile workforce.

#1 Access anywhere, anytime: With the right cloud technology in place, as long as your remote workforce have a mobile device and an Internet connection, they’re good to go. Employees will be able to conduct business operations and communicate with colleagues and clients through cloud applications regardless of their geographical location.

#2 Reliability: If you want to have a successful remote workforce, their technology needs to be reliable. To ensure reliability, hosting services offer SLA’s (Service Level Agreement). This is essentially an uptime guarantee given by the service provider – should the guarantees of the SLA not be kept; the service provider will have to compensate the client financially. Standard SLA offerings usually include a range of 99% – 99.999% up time.

#3 Only pay for what you use: Many cloud service providers offer usage based, ‘pay -as-you-go’ pricing. This works well for businesses with a lot of mobile employees that experience lulls and highs in demand.

#4 Security: When talking about mobile workers, security is always a concern. And understandably so. The argument around cloud security and privacy comes up often. A report by Alert Logic found that on-premises networks actually tend to suffer more incidents than cloud service provider networks – contrary to popular belief. Thus, in addition to improved cost and operational efficiency, cloud technology can also boost network security.

OneView, our premier telecoms expense and lifecycle management solution, makes it easier to enable and keep tabs on your mobile teams. To find out more about this offering, sign up to our newsletter to the right.