The drivers of innovation and technological shifts have resulted in the growth of third-party, on-demand services; especially cloud computing, which acts as a catalyst to make enterprise level resources available to all businesses, regardless of size. Businesses can use a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.

With advancements in cloud technology, it is often perceived as a remedy to IT pains. Services are sprouting up and helping businesses concentrate on the crux of the business instead of IT troubleshooting and glitches. It’s widely known that implementing cloud solutions can help small business owners manage information and collaboration more efficiently.

Let’s take a look at a few notable capabilities of cloud-based services.

Versatile Computing

Greater flexibility and reduced up-front costs makes cloud technology a natural fit for SMBs (i.e., small to mid-sized businesses) as the cloud simplifies IT processes and accelerates the learning and growth curve. The cloud empower SMBs to battle toe to toe with other startups and established enterprises.

A simple situation can shed light on the practical, yet immense potential of cloud computing. For instance, let’s say you reached a client’s office to present a deal, but forgot to carry an important document with you. But you keep all of your data, documents and key presentation files in the cloud. With a Wi-Fi connection your file is easily accessible right at your fingertip, and not stuck on your desktop or laptop computer.

Storing data in the cloud enables secure access to data, using all of your devices such as PC, tablet and smartphone. This means entrepreneurs can maximize efficiency by gaining access to information, using any device, at any given moment.

IT Expense Reduction

Launching a startup usually requires hardware, software and costly equipment expenditures. Some industries require the purchase of database licenses, servers and other IT tools to perform daily business activities.

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Cloud computing helps smaller businesses leverage big data by forgoing the need for onsite servers – taking away with them, operating costs and extra on-site space required for server storage. Also, the need for managing a network and information by devoted onsite staff diminishes. This leads to improved cost efficiency.

Cloud technology eliminates on-site expenditures and costs; saving up-front capital, freeing up cash to invest in high priority activities. The cumulative effect of this is simple: startups require less capital to launch.

Collective Knowledge Access

Almost every entrepreneur shares the same experience in realizing that it is not possible to execute business processes smoothly without a reliable network, computer and associated equipment.

It is often difficult for non-techies to keep a network up-to-date and maintain functional software and other tools. By making the move to the cloud, guesswork is eliminated.

Cloud vendors delivers an immediate resolution to any kind of repair or troubleshooting issue that may arise. This helps entrepreneurs focus on more important things, like running a businesses smoothly.

Enhanced Scalability

Nowadays, maintaining a company website is at the crux of every business. Generally, it’s not a cost-effective solution to host a website using an-onsite dedicated server. The cloud helps small businesses operate a fully-functional website quickly and easily.

When you enlist the services of a website designer and developer who uses various cloud-services to store data and content, you and your team are able to efficiently manage the website; saving time and money.

Although, there are cloud security threats that require proactive assessments at an additional expense, the pros outweigh the cons in terms of improved productivity and big savings.

Instead of investing a vast amount of resources in the deployment of conventional IT services, startups can incorporate cloud-based services to get their business services up and running quickly. You are literally a few clicks away to cloud-enabled services that make the need for traditional IT services a thing of the past.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Shraddha Tewari, an Editor at The Real Time Data Services blog, holds a strong command of cloud technology and its endless applications that simplify business processes. She believes in a world with the least hardware possible, endless mobility, and endless connectivity. This persuades her to explore more on cloud technology and share her experiences through @TheRealPBX blog. Connect with @tewarishraddha1 on Twitter.