10089 Willow Creek Road Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92131 (858) 225-6230

www.xceptional.com

Cloud Solutions Give Your Small Business an Enterprise’s Reach

10089 Willow Creek Road Suite 100 | San Diego, CA 92131 (858) 225-6230

www.xceptional.com

CLOUD SOLUTIONS GIVE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AN ENTERPRISE’S REACH

One of the biggest problems a small business has is that it’s small. While this allows it to be agile and quick – changing directions and pivoting rapidly – it can only do so as long as its cash flow holds out and there is enough money in the bank to stay afloat. Small businesses, therefore, need to focus on revenue gains and expense reductions. One of the best ways to get there is with cloud solutions, which can give small businesses all the features enjoyed by larger enterprises but without the big enterprise bill. While small businesses can use most any cloud solution that they care to, there are some services that work better than others.

Cloud-based phone systems A service that should be a must-have for small businesses, cloud-based phone systems deliver massive value for any small businesses that spends a lot of time on the phone. Cloud phone services open up a range of potential services for small business that are either unavailable for other phone services or available at such substantial extra cost that most would shy away. These services range from the simple, such as automated greeting systems, to skills-based routing that lets you send particular calls to the right person for the call.

Work manager applications Several cloud-based tools allow businesses to readily chart the flow of work through an organization. With a tool like that on hand, it becomes easy to tell where a project is on a path to completion, where problems have emerged, and who’s responsible for what. This is great for small businesses that deal in projects like design or construction.

Cloud-based storage Cloud-based file storage is one of the first major cloud developments – one that concerned

WHAT CLOUD SOLUTIONS DO FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

10089 Willow Creek Road Suite 100 | San Diego, CA 92131 (858) 225-6230

www.xceptional.com

CLOUD SOLUTIONS GIVE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AN ENTERPRISE’S REACH

many about security. Who, after all, would put their valuable data out on the web like that? Cloud-based storage providers, therefore, had to hustle to prove their security was up to snuff and make them a worthwhile option. Now, those who use cloud-based storage find it a welcome alternative and a great way to add an element of disaster preparation to the mix.

Cloud-based disaster recovery Sometimes called disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), disaster recovery systems let businesses do just that: recover from a disaster. If you’ve experienced a flood or fire, been hit by a tornado or hurricane, or have just been hacked, cloud-based disaster recovery can step in and help your business get back on its feet. Cloud-based storage is actually a part of disaster recovery, but it’s only part. The full range of disaster recovery tools is much larger and will be a very welcome help in the hours after a disaster – either natural or man-made – that might have otherwise closed your business for good.

Infrastructure One of the most valuable cloud-based assets for small businesses is a hosted infrastructure. A small business commonly does not have the dedicated IT resources to maintain, update, and support IT infrastructure, which is where cloud-based solutions come in. Small businesses can rely on outside organizations to take care of IT hosting and infrastructure, so they can get back to what they know how to do. As a bonus, cloud infrastructures support energy-efficient processes and virtual services over physical products to reduce user-related emissions.

Predictable costs Because cloud services can be built and grown based on a business’s actual usage of the service, small businesses know they’re only paying for applications and services that they

WHY CLOUD SOLUTIONS DELIVER VALUE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

10089 Willow Creek Road Suite 100 | San Diego, CA 92131 (858) 225-6230

www.xceptional.com

CLOUD SOLUTIONS GIVE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AN ENTERPRISE’S REACH

actually need and use. The cost of IT is now based on what a business needs instead of the traditional large initial expense to set up IT and its features the business may never use.

No huge hardware costs Cloud solutions typically operate on the provider’s server. That means you don’t need to buy a lot of high-end servers to make these solutions available. You’ll need endpoints — commonly, PCs or smartphones — but since you likely have these anyway, your expenses become minimal.

Scalability Scalability is just a term that means “it can change with your needs.” If you have a “busy season,” then you understand the need for scalability. Adding new users, adding new features, or removing these later after the need passes, can often be just as easy as placing a call to the cloud service provider and getting the new features turned on or shut down as needed.

Flexibility Some cloud solution providers will even offer free samples – a 30 day trial period is fairly common. This allows you to immediately see the impact that cloud solutions can have for yourself, and if you don’t like how the trial is going, just shut it down right there. Again, there’s no need to buy a lot of hardware before you step in, so you can take advantage of trials to find just the right cloud solution for your current needs.

Universal quality One cloud-based solution delivers the same value, whether for a big business or a little one. Sometimes there are big-business-specific solutions, but much of what you’ll find in cloud

HOW CLOUD SOLUTIONS GIVE SMALL BUSINESSES BIG-BUSINESS POWER

10089 Willow Creek Road Suite 100 | San Diego, CA 92131 (858) 225-6230

www.xceptional.com

CLOUD SOLUTIONS GIVE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AN ENTERPRISE’S REACH

is universal as far as value goes. For example, a hosted infrastructure solution manages the infrastructure of both a large and a small business – the difference lies in what the business pays as per its needs. The quality remains the same. And if you have the right provider on your side, your needs will be met regardless of your business’s size.And if you have the right provider on your side, your needs will be met regardless of your business’s size.

Overestimating? No problem. Remember when we talked about scalability? That comes with another benefit, too; there’s no longer a penalty for guessing wrong. It used to be, when you were bringing in a new service, you’d have to have the right number of software licenses, the right amount of processing power, and so on. Buy too much, and you wasted your money. Too little, and service fell off or there were licensing true-ups to face later. A cloud solution can change as needs require, so there’s no need to worry about buying too much or too little; just change it when it becomes an issue. Protect yourself like the big guys Data security is a problem for everyone. Data breaches take place routinely, and the question “how long until we’re next?” is on a lot of businesses’ minds. The good news here is that cloud systems don’t separate themselves into “security for the little guy” and “security for the big guy.” Cloud systems protect their clients’ data the same way no matter how much data is involved. Of course, different cloud vendors promise varying levels of security depending on what cloud solution you go with. This is a point to discuss with your cloud services provider.

By now, you’re likely thinking that this cloud thing is a pretty good idea, but getting started

HOW CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDERS CAN HELP

10089 Willow Creek Road Suite 100 | San Diego, CA 92131 (858) 225-6230

www.xceptional.com

CLOUD SOLUTIONS GIVE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AN ENTERPRISE’S REACH

might be a bit of a problem. It’s not like you can run down to Best Buy and pick up a box of cloud solutions on your lunch hour. Turning to a provider of cloud services, though, can be the biggest help of all in picking the right cloud solution. The right cloud partner will talk with you about your business needs, strategize with you, and implement cloud solutions that make your business more efficient, productive, and safe. Small businesses will get a consultative approach to address their unique needs.

If you’re ready to take on cloud solutions and give your small business the chance to experience many of the same tools enterprises use, then start by getting in touch with us at Xceptional. We offer leading cloud solutions, starting with complete desktop as a service (DaaS) and through backup as a service (BaaS). No matter your cloud need, drop us a line and let us show you how the tools of the most powerful businesses can be yours today.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE READY FOR CLOUD SOLUTIONS

10089 Willow Creek Road Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92131

(858) 225-6230

www.xceptional.com