The cloud. You can’t escape hearing about it. It’s everywhere around us and no, we aren’t talking about Cirrus, Cumulus or even Stratus. We’re talking about The Cloud that stores endless amounts of data, floating around the internet and enabling the sending and receiving of data. Just like the common rainmaking cloud, the computing cloud knows no boundaries or limits. It not just rains, but pours down upon us streams and streams of data.
Very simply “cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive”. Think Google Drive, iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive. These programs allow you to create, edit and share work from wherever you are, instead of having to be on your own PC. Simply log in, and it’s all in front of you. The benefit is now becoming obvious, right? No longer do you have to chain yourself to your work PC to finish that report. Instead you have the option to finish it on your commute. Last minute edit needed over the weekend? No problem. No more need to pop into the office on a Sunday instead of spending valuable time with your family! Everyone wins, and all thanks to The Cloud.
So, we’ve covered the What. Now it’s important to understand Why using the cloud is important, and How it can benefit you and your company.
Here are our top 6 reasons;
- Flexibility – The ability to work from anywhere on any device (that’s connected to the internet) is a privilege that appeals to most. You probably already do it by checking emails on the train or managing bank accounts on your mobile, but it is of even greater value for last minute meeting notes or crucial payroll analytical reports that need finishing. As a customer of Payroll HQ you can check reports on the move, thanks to us operating in the cloud.
- Analytics – According to IBM, “Businesses are using cloud technology to support their analytics efforts. Of leading organizations 54% use analytics extensively to derive insights from big data (data too large for traditional data processing software to store) and 59% use [the] cloud to share data seamlessly across applications”. Whilst analysing ‘big data’ might be beyond your current specifications, it’s nice to be safe in the knowledge that your tech won’t be the factor holding you back.
- Security – The cloud can’t burn down or get flooded. The caveat here is that the physical location may, but by choosing a reputable provider backups of the data would nearly always be provided. Cloud storage is relatively cheap too, especially when you think how much that storage locker is costing you to keep all that paperwork in. Which leads me onto…
- Paperless – Being a paperless office has its obvious merits when it comes to, y’know, saving the planet and being environmentally friendly, but also it cuts down on tiresome handwritten payslips and annual leave forms. Payroll HQ customers, and their employees, submit all leave and time sheets to us using internet enabled devices such as a mobile phone, tablet or computer. No more stacks of paper. No more lost paperwork. Being green hasn’t ever been so easy.
- Collaboration – Having a central document that can be edited by the whole team allows greater control and decreases the chances of putting hard work and many hours into a superseded version. According to a study commissioned by Adobe “73% of knowledge workers collaborate with people in different time zones and regions at least monthly”.
- Accessibility – Sharing files with customers, colleagues or whoever is far easier if they’re stored in the cloud, on programs such as DropBox or Google Drive. Not only can they be accessed remotely but there is a cut down in time spent waiting for files to download / upload or attach to emails. It may only seem small each time, but add that up over a year, especially when large databases are concerned or video files and you may find that the total is quite large.
If you feel like any of those benefits resonate with you, and you’d like to bring your payroll function up-to-speed we’d be more than happy to discuss the Payroll HQ difference with you. We operate fully in the cloud and can provide real time data to you when you need it most.