Working from home has changed the face of the workforce for many, whether employees or contractors. However, it presents challenges around data sharing and storage, too. If you’re still holding out for physical storage or haven’t fully taken advantage of the cloud solutions at your disposal, you’ll think twice after finishing this guide.
1. Share Data Easily
Some people who work from home do not work closely with others, but that’s not always the case. If you need to share your work with colleagues or clients, using the cloud just makes sense. You can send a link to the recipient without requiring them to download the files–and often the software needed to open it–or copying to external storage.
2. Collaborate More Effectively
The same shareability also enables you to collaborate on projects, whether that means editing text documents, creating website graphics, or sharing presentations over video conferencing software. You can even choose a cloud storage provider because it works well with your preferred software if you’d like.
3. Access Your Information Anywhere
While you might work primarily from home, you may find yourself having to access your files and data while away from home and your computer, whether on vacation or even shopping for groceries. If you use cloud services, you can easily access those files on the smartphone that, if you’re like most people, is never far from reach. Say “Goodbye” to missed deadlines because of last-minute changes.
4. Switch Devices Seamlessly
We all periodically upgrade our computers to more capable devices. While this can be a finicky process if you move individual files between computers, it becomes much easier when your data is saved to the cloud. All you need to do is log in. You can even back up settings to use with your software this way, which lets you spend your time doing your work rather than setting up your device.
5. Never Lose Your Data
Even if you never rely on the cloud to access your data from a mobile device or while away from home, it can serve as a backup for your information. No cracked screen, stolen phone, house fire, or dead hard failure will prevent you from accessing your information again if you back it up to the cloud. Many solutions can even automatically replace older versions of files after you work on them. And if you always have a backup of your files, you won’t need to pay someone to retrieve them because of a hard drive failure.
6. Save Money
Many people only need an Internet connection and a laptop to work from home. But for those who require more powerful machines or more storage, the costs can quickly add up. Fortunately, cloud services can reduce your need for the fastest machine with the biggest hard drive, allowing you to save money. Because cloud hosting services integrate security, you won’t be responsible for choosing, paying for, and installing top-of-the-line security software for your computer at home.
When working from home, you should consider using cloud services as it will make you more productive and keep you on track with data storage.