We all know about the benefits of cloud technology, over 90% of businesses are using some form of cloud software in their day-to-day operations. Adoption of the cloud can be so empowering that experts even suggest — in the not-so-distant future — that cloud services will handle all computing processes.

They go as far as to suggest that the term ‘cloud computing’ will simply be known as ‘computing.’ That’s how widespread the cloud will be.

But we’re not there yet. Despite partial adoption of the cloud, many businesses are yet to fully realise the potential of cloud technology. 80% of businesses are currently failing to utilise all the technological systems they have at their disposal.

The short version of this discussion is that while businesses have access to a myriad of tools that could provide powerful benefits, much of their hardware and software is outdated.

And this lack of utilisation includes cloud services. For example, a survey by Up Systems found that 75% of businesses are still using local servers to store data, despite the fact that cloud servers are more cost-effective, secure and reliable.

Sure, 90% of businesses have some cloud tech, but some is not always enough. And it’s not a lack of information that is keeping cloud services from being integrated, either. Many businesses know that cloud systems are valuable to them but are still using outdated technology anyway.

The reason businesses put off upgrading to the cloud is simply down to time and effort. It’s a big resource investment to change systems, and — on the surface — it appears to make more sense to keep things as they are.

But, surprisingly, it may be more effort to hold onto your current systems than it would be to move to the cloud.

Getting time back: How cloud software benefits growth

Far from being hampered by the integration of cloud services, your IT teams will discover a massive boost to their productivity following the introduction of the new technology.

The vast majority of an IT technician’s time is spent maintaining functionality. Meaning they are almost completely consumed with doing nothing but keeping your business running.

Their job is less about improvements and more about clutching on to the status quo.

The result is that your IT team has little in the way of spare time should they need to do anything else, such as:

• Respond to emergency or unforeseen situations
• Develop new initiatives, goals and projects
• Streamline current systems and optimise productivity.

IT technicians are valuable employees, often with immense and highly technical skill sets that have the potential to increase your revenue, optimise existing costs/processes, and safeguard your future.

Right now, you’re probably not getting the true value of your employee because they’re too busy holding together your legacy systems.

Yet, the introduction of cloud technology can change this.

Cloud technology is managed and maintained offsite by the developers who provide the service. They keep the software running, handle updates and fix problems. Of course, your IT staff can help with any issues on your side — this will largely be usability issues and training — but for the most part, the weight is taken off their shoulders.

This does not mean they won’t have maintenance to do or systems to monitor and manage, but the cloud can have a profound impact on the workload of your IT technicians, freeing up their time to focus on moving your business forward, making changes that improve your company, and dealing with any roadblocks, rather than just making sure everything ticks over until tomorrow.

Where do you go from here?

The next step in taking advantage of this powerful benefit of cloud technology is by making changes. You need to start looking at what cloud technology you can implement to improve processes and start freeing up your IT staff’s time.

This kind of action will inevitably involve investing a good deal of time and effort into upgrades — something you may be apprehensive about. Short term, this can result in slowdowns. But, long term, it has immeasurable value for your business and the availability of your IT technicians.

If you don’t have the capacity to manage the upgrades in-house, if you want to go outhouse IT consultancy services are available to handle these types of system improvements for you. Third-party teams can do everything from advising on the kinds of integrations you need to taking complete control of rollouts and moving your business over to new systems.

Whether managed by your team or by expert consultants, updating your services and moving to cloud technology has one huge and often hidden benefit, it gives you back your IT team.