When 2020 rolled around, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone outside Wuhan who would have predicted such a unified, global shift in work cultures everywhere.

The pandemic has changed the world, in some ways for the worse, but in others fundamentally for the better.

One of those ways has seen the way we work (and even perceive workplace culture as a whole) drastically revolutionised. It seems like just yesterday that morning traffic and using Waze to navigate the quickest route to the office was as common as eating and breathing. Today? We navigate a series of challenges relevant to a new, dynamic, and often remote-centric workspace (or just find the quickest way to our laptop before our 8am meeting).

A fundamental aspect of this transition has, without a shadow of doubt, been Cloud Computing – it’s changed the world, yet we still find that many people neither know what it is nor understand the myriad of ways it affects businesses, personal spaces, and homes. There’s still so much mistrust around the concept (in spite of literally everyone using it to some extent), so we’ll attempt to talk Cloud and unpack how Nimbus (more on that later) is shaping up to be a bona-fide gamechanger.

But first, let’s refresh on all things Cloud…

In its simplest form, Cloud Computing allows a user to compute through the delivery of services, information, and resources through using the Internet as its primary medium. Back in the day, you needed hardware such as server rooms to retrieve, store or access files, today you need only one device to share resources and Databases – with multiple users benefitting from an interconnected network. This is useful, as you’re able to store all your files and Data through remote resources rather than limit yourself to local hard drives or storage devices. This can be translated to entire swaths of Data, up to and including complex programmes, software, and information.

To simplify it even more, the term Cloud isn’t so much a fluffy white ball as it is a metaphor for the Internet. So, when people say, “it’s in The Cloud”, it’s not really floating in midair – your Data is instead being stored, managed, or accessed online as opposed to a local server or PC. It’s become more popular than TikTok (and is hopefully longer lasting) purely because it’s as useful for businesses as it is to individuals.

But why all the fuss? Glad you asked…

There are a wealth of reasons (other than sounding Tech Savvy to your blind date) that it’s become a buzzword and is gaining increased importance. In fact, its adoption into mainstream society has been faster than most other technology (barring, of course, Fibre). Reason being? Well, Cloud Computing allows users to solve several problems at once and, in an age of technological convenience, ease, and of course remote digital working, that in itself is priceless.

Think of all the ways you and I use Cloud on a daily basis. Google Drive? Check. Apple iCloud? We feel like the name gives that one away. Gmail? Waze? The images on your phone? Each of these services allows for remote access to documents, contracts, pictures, memories, and a whole lot more. It doesn’t matter if you’re an at home mom using her iPad or a Fortune 500 CEO hiding the secret designs to the latest Iron Man armour – if your Data is stored in the Cloud, you can access it on any device, any time.

This significance is multiplied tenfold when you consider that most of our IM and Social Media platforms depend entirely on a successful, secure Cloud Server. Teams, Instagram, WhatsApp, Netflix, and the like are all testament to the dexterity and hosting/Data accessing capabilities which the Cloud presents. The fact that many of these are free to use serves only to highlight their low maintenance costs and overheads, as a conglomerate utilising a massive hard server room would run bankrupt within an hour if they operated the way WhatsApp does.

Meanwhile, over in the business space, the worldwide boom in E-commerce is the biggest indicator of how reliable Cloud services are to businesses. During and post pandemic, more and more users have benefitted from click-and-buy service providers – in turn enjoying the speed, convenience, and importance an online server can offer.

The best part? It’s 2022, and today there’s more focus than ever on ‘going green’ and doing your part for the environment. For an organisation a) looking to save on costs while b) being more environmentally conscious, Cloud Computing is the next step forward and the natural progression on the way we operate remotely. Not only is hosting in the Cloud greener, it results in a smaller carbon footprint while eliminating unnecessary hardware and reducing your carbon footprint.

But what does this really mean, and why should we care about it?

Well, we’re not saying the Cloud will save lives, but it may save the world we live in AND your business. Sounds like a win-win? It really, really is. This is where we come in at Nimbus. We not only understand the Cloud well enough to expel any doubts from your old school boss who fears his Data will get lost in the wind, but we’ve mastered the craft so well that transitioning can be simple, painless, and minimally invasive to your business.

It is our firm belief that failure to adapt to the times will result in becoming obsolete – just ask Nokia and Blackberry. In the age of remote work, accessing anywhere and being able to recover or view your Data no matter where you are, Cloud Computing is simply the next natural step forward. Chat to us to see how we can help your business or, if you still have any lingering doubts (we get that a lot), let one of our experts put your mind at ease so we can get your head (and your business) in the Clouds.