How Businesses Can Benefit From Cloud Document Storage in the Remote-Work Era

Gartner found that 80 per cent of company leaders plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part-time after COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been eradicated, and 47 per cent will enable employees to work from home full-time.

The geo-dispersed workforce is here to stay, but it has complicated document processes for businesses that weren’t using the cloud. Any business caught off its guard in 2020 that was still on paper-based filing and storage systems has had to reckon with what to do next. And that’s where cloud document management and storage comes in.

Businesses in any industry and vertical – although particularly ones in highly regulated industries – will need cloud technology to streamline their document processes. Remote work requires a different approach to document management, and cloud solutions are the answer to error-prone, inefficient, paper-based operations.

1. How the Cloud Addresses the Needs of the Remote Workforce

While cloud document management was growing in popularity before the pandemic, it has emerged as a boon for all businesses as they resorted to remote work over the last year. The concerns for document management and storage in a remote workforce include:

• Making sure the right employees have access to the proper documents.
• Retrieving any lost data.
• Being able to collaborate on single files easily.
• Controlling revisions and versions.
• The security of all documents.

But the cloud provides solutions to all of these issues.

2. How Cloud Document Management Eases Remote Workforce Organization

a. Access

Cloud document storage enables employees – no matter their location – to access documents from any device and from anywhere in the world. Vital information and files remain readily accessible, and cloud storage allows for rule-setting, so only the right employees see the correct files.

b. Disaster Recovery

In the event of a natural disaster, accidental outage, or artificial cyber breach, cloud document management ensures that your files are stored in a retrievable, safe location, so your business suffers no loss in data.

c. Collaboration

Undoubtedly one of the biggest concerns of the remote-work era is keeping employees connected and collaborating worldwide. Cloud document management and storage make this easy with real-time access to all documents from any device or location.

d. Version Control

With multiple employees collaborating on any given file, a business will still need visibility into changes and revisions. Cloud document management provides the ability to track changes by any party, restore earlier versions, undo changes, and generally streamline workflow management.

e. Security

Cloud document storage providers take on security responsibility for documents within the solution, which can be a concern for businesses worried about handing over their intellectual property.

But cloud providers have heavily invested in baking insecurity that is far superior to on-premise or paper-based document management and specifically keeps remote access safe.

3. Which Businesses Should Consider Cloud Storage?

While businesses of any size and industry can see value from cloud document management and storage, there are a few that find specific benefits:

a. Financial Companies

Financial institutions retain massive amounts of confidential data on their customers – making secure storage a priority. Cloud storage can not only assure financial organizations and their customers that their data is safe, but it will also provide backup and restoration should a breach occur.

Cloud document management can also enable financial companies to quickly retrieve data in the event of an audit and demonstrate compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.

b. Healthcare Organizations

Cloud storage provides unique benefits to healthcare groups. The data security aspects that apply to finance organizations benefit healthcare and the bonus of easy access to electronic medical records.

Fast, seamless retrieval of crucial medical information is at the core of a healthcare provider’s ability to provide superior care. Records, patient history, images, diagnostics, and test results are securely stored in the cloud and easily accessible by the right parties.

c. Small Businesses

Contrary to popular thought, enterprises aren’t the only businesses that can leverage cloud document management benefits. Small companies can address unique issues with cloud storage. One of the significant struggles of a small business is finding and retaining talent as the company grows. The advent of remote work has made this task easier and opened up the talent pool by leaps and bounds for small businesses.

Cloud document management enables remote teams to stay connected across the world – sharing files and processing them through workflows in real-time. With the cloud, small businesses can onboard talent from anywhere and seamlessly connect them to growing operations.

As you can see, cloud document storage offers various benefits, even from a remote-work standpoint. If you’re looking for a reliable solution for your business, contact DocXellent today to get started.