9 reasons your church should switch to cloud computing
Don’t be left up in the air by traditional IT solutions. Check out the top 9 advantages for churches switching to cloud computing.
Cloud computing is fast becoming the norm because storing information and using software hosted on the Internet has many advantages.
1. Save money
Traditionally, a church spends money licensing software or buying packages to install or download onto individual computers. Cloud computing, on the other hand, can provide ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) – including many programs that are available individually.
They’re stored on a service provider’s remote servers instead of on your hard drive so you don’t need a high-end computer to use them.
The automation provided by cloud computing also saves costs. Many organizations have slashed their IT overheads because their service providers are directly taking care of updates and program maintenance for them.
2. Save time
Cloud computing was developed to be an on-tap service that requires little knowledge or input from the end user. As such, cloud computing has done away with the end user having to install programs, download updates. You won’t have to stop work for a download bar to fill on your screen or until a technologically gifted member can install a program.
3. Share more
Members don’t have to rely on email to contend with location issues. For example, a member on a trip interstate could find a document online, rather than waiting for others back at the church to find and email it.
4. Flexibility
Data storage is one of the core SaaS offerings of cloud computing – it allows even large organizations to access huge databases of information without having to operate their own floors of servers.
This outsourcing means that instead of having to invest in more hard drives and servers to increase capacity, a growing church can simply store everything on the cloud. All you need is an Internet connection and devices to access it.
5. Improve reliability
Cloud computing is proving that software as a service, rather than as a product, is more reliable. With so many people using a single program, instead of everyone using individual copies, service providers are directly managing software and being updated about issues immediately.
Fewer problems are arising because software isn’t being downloaded onto individually customized computers containing other programs and systems that the software might not be compatible with.
6. Be mobile
It’s almost as if cloud computing was designed specifically for mobile devices because you don’t rely on the device itself for storage capacity. You don’t have to email documents from home computers anymore.
7. Improve security
Security is the biggest concern people have with cloud computing because users have to hand over responsibility for data security to their service providers.
Cloud computing always makes sense when it comes to guarding against physical theft, such as a break-in on your premises.
Many of these cloud platforms use strong security. For example, Xero uses encryption and bank-level security to protect your data.
8. Quickly recover from disaster
Backing up important documents on a separate hard drive is important, whether you’re using cloud computing or not. But in the case of a natural disaster that denies you access to your premises, cloud computing can be advantageous.
Because you can access your documents anywhere there’s an Internet connection, cloud computing can be a vital tool to ensure the back-office operations of your church keep running.
9. Bankability
The cost and time savings implied by using cloud computing can be promoted as an advantage. It’s not just an alternative choice to traditional IT set-ups but an evolution of IT thinking.
Studies have evaluated the lifecycle cost savings of cloud computing at up to 50% for organizations using high numbers of in-house servers. Add to that, the elimination of service interruptions caused by traditional IT issues, such as downloading updates and fixing system errors, and your church will run much smoother.