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Cloud computing isn’t just one of the latest trends. It’s also a smart move for many small business owners. If you’re still on the fence about how you want to handle your data storage needs, check out these advantages of cloud computing to help make your decision.

Advantage #1: Save Vital Space

If you choose to host your server internally, you’ll need space for it: a server room and a cooling system can’t simply be stuck in a corner. Instead, save vital space by turning to cloud options. There’s no on-site storage, so you don’t have to worry about finding a place to put it.

Advantage #2: It Grows With Your Business

The size of your business could change at any moment. You might decide to add a partner, suddenly increase the size of your client base, or find yourself adding new services faster than you thought you would. When you choose cloud computing, you won’t have to worry about whether or not your servers will be up to the challenge.

Advantage #3: Cloud Computing Comes with Tech Support

You need to know that your system will keep running smoothly no matter what comes your way, and cloud computing can help make that happen. With tech support that understands the specific challenges faced by cloud users, you can rest assured that your technology will keep running according to your expectations. When it doesn’t, it’s easy to get in touch with tech support to set things to rights!

Advantage #4: Outages Are Minimal

Outages are one of the worst things for your business. You can’t get any work done, you might not be able to contact your clients, and there’s often no way to tell when your system will be back up and running again. Thankfully, with cloud computing, outages are minimal. When you need a system you can count on, cloud computing is the way to go!

Advantage #5: Spread Out the Cost

As a small business owner, you’re operating on a tight budget. Cloud computing allows you to spread out the cost over the lifetime of your usage, rather than finding it necessary to pay for a server as part of your up-front cost.

For many small business owners, the choice is easy: cloud computing makes it easier to get the job done. If you’re ready to choose a cloud option for your workplace, contact us today to learn how we can help make your plans reality.

Modern businesses run on data. Whether it’s something as simple as a customer mailing list and invoice records or a complex global enterprise, data is what keeps the lights on and the bills paid.

What is a Disaster?

It depends on who you ask. In 2011, the Joplin tornado destroyed the St. John’s Regional Medical Center. As a result, they’d probably give you a different definition than 21st Century Oncology after they revealed a data breach had released information on as many as 2.2 million patients. Two different medical providers lost countless records. In one case the confidential information literally ended up in trees. In the other, it ended up on the laptop of a malicious criminal. Both qualify as disasters.

What is a Disaster Plan?

A good disaster recovery plan looks at both internal and external threats. External threats include everything from a physical loss of the facility to fire or natural disaster to the loss of data from a breach of your computer systems. When you look at internal threats, you have to assess your exposure to things as mundane as an employee downloading a virus into your system to employee theft and industrial espionage.

The best disaster plans include people from all of your departments who can all throw in “what if” scenarios. Then applying principles of risk management, the threats are ranked on the basis of least probable to most probable and least damaging to most damaging.

Business Continuity and Disaster Planning:

Once your company has determined its threats, your team can work on business continuity plans. In today’s world, a key part of this plan is IT recovery. Not only must your data be recovered and secured, it must be accessible if your business is forced to move to another location after a fire or natural disaster.

One of the fastest ways to get up and running again is to use a secure cloud computing solution. Not only is your information secure, but it is also easily accessible. No more waiting for the retrieval and reinstallation of backup files. With a cloud solution, your employees can pop open a laptop and be back to work.

In a natural disaster, this is key if your business is part of the recovery framework, such as medical services, building supplies, or construction. In an internal disaster, such as a hack or physical compromise of your computers, a cloud-based system has your data protected behind another layer of security while still being easily accessed.

Regardless of your size or business, contact us at WHOA.com for a consultation on the IT recovery portion of your business continuity plan. We can craft a solution that works for your business and your budget.

Cloud servers are a great solution for small businesses. You rent what you need, and only pay for that amount of disk space on a remote computer. There is no need to hire an IT professional. It is not a massive tower computer that takes up space in a closet that overheats on a nice day. You do not pay an electric bill on this sort of major appliance that runs 24/7. So when the choice is Cloud vs Dedicated Server, how do you decide between the two?

Dedicated servers, on the other hand, are a better solution for a bigger business. The company owns or rents the hardware, the company pays for IT support, the company pays for the electricity to run the hardware.

Both solutions to data storage have their good sides and bad sides.

Cloud servers are less expensive than dedicated servers because someone else is paying for the electricity to run the hardware, someone else is paying for the IT department that keeps things running. With cloud servers, you pay for what disk space you use. You can scale up at any time quickly and easily.

Dedicated servers are more expensive initially than cloud servers, but they pay for themselves quickly because the servers themselves are yours. Your data, your disk drives, your hardware, all in your space. You can have your IT department upgrade it at any time. If they do it right, you will never notice they upgrade the entire system. The best advantage to dedicated servers is that they are yours.

If you are running a small business with a simple network, it is a good idea to cloud serve your data because it is far less costly. If you are running a bigger business that has a complex network and an IT department already in place, go with the dedicated server. It all comes down to cost and space.

The PCI seal of approval indicates that a company is PCI compliant and its customer payment card data is adequately protected. However, the benefits of maintaining PCI compliance are far-reaching for both the customer and the organization:

“The security benefits associated with maintaining PCI compliance are vital to long-term success of all merchants who process card payments.” -Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)Magazine

In 2015 approximately 80% of companies failed their interim PCI Compliance Assessment. One expert cited inadequate operations and maintenance of the security systems as the cause and suggested that the lack of enforcement within businesses cause 99% of compliance breaches. Violation of PCI compliance standards can result in brand damage and more; even though it is not an actual law.

The PCI Security Standards Council lists 10 potential liabilities answering the question why is PCI compliance important? These liabilities include Non-Compliance Fines ranging from $5,000-$500,000 that increases the longer the company is not compliant. There can also be Breach Consequences resulting from card holder data breach. Consequences include: additional fines ($50-$90 per card holder), suspension of card processing capabilities, brand damage, law suits;loss of both public trust and customer loyalty. Companies are able to calculate their potential liability by utilizing the online Penalties Calculator.

By adhering to PCI security standards, companies can avoid the costs associated with non-compliance, which can eventually result in the business closing down. Instead by maintaining PCI compliance, they can enjoy long-lasting success driven by customer trust and loyalty.

WHOA.com is a secure cloud computing solutions provider. Please contact us for a multi-layered approach to PCI compliance security.