With small businesses comprising of 99.7% of the US economy, it is no surprise that these entities should play a prevalent role in the continued growth of our economy. Unfortunately, 8 out of 10 small businesses ultimately fail. According to Forbes Magazine, one of the top 5 reasons these businesses fail is the “inability to nail a profitable business model with proven revenue streams” and suggest that the solution to this challenge is to move quickly without spending tons of cash to find the best strategy for success. One of the tools a small business can use to enable growth and profitability is the cloud.
According to Deloitte, cloud solutions enable small businesses to ”free up time and capital while setting up a platform for sustainable rapid growth.” According to their research, the fastest growing small businesses are using extensive cloud solutions, and for a good reason. Scalability, cost, flexibility, and innovation just to name a few.
Small Business, Big Technology
Deloitte, in collaboration with Google, conducted interviews of over 35 Small and Medium business IT Owners throughout the world and across industries. An additional online survey of over 1,316 SMBs was done in conjunction with the oral interviews, and the results were very positive for those businesses who utilized cloud solutions. Deloitte found that:
- SMBs using cloud solutions grew 26% faster than those who did not and were also 21% more profitable.
- 83% of SMBs believe cloud technologies enable them to access tools and solutions not otherwise accessible.
- 85% believe that cloud solutions will allow them to grow and scale faster.
- 69% plan to increase their use of cloud solutions in the coming years.
Flexibility, Not Cost, Drives Small Businesses to Cloud Solutions
Despite the prevalence of messaging that touts cost as the driving factor towards cloud solutions, the survey found that the majority of the drive actually comes from the flexibility of the solution and not the cost savings. Mobility and the ability to enable remote work strategies came in as the number one reasons SMBs explore and ultimately move to cloud solutions with 47% of the votes. This is not surprising when you look at the increasing competition for top talent and the demand from those candidates for more flexible working arrangements. Businesses who utilize remote and flexible work strategies have a leg up when it comes to recruiting this top talent, and this talent can be instrumental in helping small businesses to grow.
The Cloud Supports SMB Growth
The Deloitte survey continues with evidence of how the cloud supports such significant growth among SMBs and found that there are specific areas that are directly affected. One of these areas is in the recruitment of top talent. Cloud tools and solutions can open up the talent pool to SMBs in an astonishing way, by being able to tap into the talent pool of the cloud provider. SMBs who use cloud solutions have access to the creators and maintainers of the technology and are therefore the expert in their specific field and can give advice that is fundamental to driving the success of the SMB. As the report shares, “the founder of one start‑up we interviewed uses technical experts from its cloud suppliers to gain free advice on how the company’s technology needs and requirements are likely to change in the future and how that should affect decisions he is making today – expertise he was unable to get from his current employees or necessarily required ‘in‑house’ full .”
Other ways cloud solutions enable growth for SMBs is through economies of scale. 80% of the businesses surveyed believe cloud solutions will allow them to scale and grow faster. 77% believe it has enabled them to access markets and revenue streams otherwise out of range and ⅔ believe it has given them the competitive advantage.
Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) supports the rapid growth of SMBs
The “as-a-Service” economy has experienced significant growth over the last decade, and for a good reason. The agility and flexibility of the solution enable businesses to scale up or down depending on their cycle, adding the benefit of reducing costs as well as enabling better budget forecasting. Cloud solutions, like Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), also has the additional benefit of built-in security controls and disaster recovery, ensuring that your business stays as secure as it can while avoiding costly downtime due to disaster or loss of data. If your business is struggling to grow, cloud solutions may be the strategy you need to make it over the hump. Learn more about the scalability, flexibility, security, and cost savings of DaaS by talking with one of our cloud specialists or read more in our whitepaper, Making the Case for DaaS.
