I am always on the hunt for people who do things efficiently and are making headway in property industry. Donna Kerwick at Gnomen is certainly no exception. This blog explains the huge benefits of storing your data on the cloud. This is so useful for Property Managers, Investors and Entrepreneurs, because it means access to your info from anywhere.
Guest Blog Written by Donna Kerwick of Gnomen – donna@gnomen.co.uk
Follow Donna on Twitter – @donna_gnomen
What is the Cloud
You may have heard people talking about ‘the cloud’ and why businesses should be using this type of technology to improve their processes.
The cloud may seem like something that is solely the domain of techies, but the concept behind it is extremely simple. It allows you to store and access data and programs via the internet instead of on a hard drive.
Industry estimates dictate that less than 10% of the world’s data is stored in the cloud, which is perhaps a little surprising.
Tech analysis firm Gartner predicts, however, that by the end of 2016, more than 50% of Global 1000 companies will have stored public-sensitive data in the cloud.
This shows that many of the world’s high profile business thinkers and thought leaders are seeing the potential in the cloud and adopting it accordingly.
Benefits of the Cloud
So what are the benefits of the cloud for estate and letting agents?
Well, there really are quite a few. Due to allowing people to work online, rather than in a stationary location, the cloud provides flexibility and the opportunity to log in at any time of the day – two things which are becoming an important requirement for the modern workforce.
As consumers’ habits continue to change and more people carry out their house hunts and research in the evenings and during weekends, it’s beneficial for agents to be able to access the cloud and therefore work effectively and efficiently from any location at any time of the day.
Security
One concern that is often raised about the cloud centres on security. Some may feel uncomfortable handing their data over to others and, let’s face it, the word cloud does evoke some ‘fluffy’ and ‘wispy’ feelings.
However, many people would now argue that using the cloud is in fact more secure. Here at Gnomen, for example, our cloud-based property software incorporates three levels of access security, allows restriction of specific IP addresses and carries out weekly off-site backups.
Accounting
The cloud also allows businesses to take their accounting online. This means no more frustratingly slow programs taking up space on the hard drive.
Speed
In a general sense, the cloud speeds up operations and cut costs. Essentially outsourcing some of your services to specialist technology firms. This is something which is certainly likely to be a positive step in the development of your business.
*You can read more of Donna Kerwick’s PropTech articles on the Gnomen website.
Are you intrigued by the cloud? Has Donna swayed you to move over to this kind of service? Let me know in the comments section below. Just as a tip NC Real Estate uses Google Drive, but others use ICloud and Office 365. Also if you have any questions for Donna directly I have included his contact details with the blog.
NC
