Over the past decade, education has been making a slow but inevitable transition toward the cloud. Technology has changed the way teachers teach, students learn and schools function. The last few months have made this transition come to a rapid fruition. Suddenly, students of all ages are using distance learning full-time, and the reality has revealed the potential and the need for continued growth.

Understanding the Cloud for Educational Purposes

The cloud has become an important part of how society operates. Businesses rely heavily on the cloud to give employees ample access to virtual work spaces without breaking the budget. Individuals use the cloud for their own personal storage and access needs as well. Many schools have been much slower to embrace it.

This is to the detriment of universities, schools, teachers and students. Secure cloud infrastructure offers real advantages. It is the future of education. If you are ready to use cloud computing services to improve education standards, then now is the time to make that transition.

The Benefits of a Secure Cloud Infrastructure in Education

Since cloud security solutions leverage the internet to provide access, educational services can be reached anywhere and at any time. All parties in the educational system are brought together in a single, unified space. Since schools can invest in multi-cloud solutions, there is little need for onsite servers.

Instead, with secure cloud solutions, schools can invest their resources in more useful ways. In fact, when you look at the depth and range of benefits, you will quickly see why cloud security products are the best way for education to move forward.

Give Students a Boost of Productivity

Schools and educational institutions aren’t the only ones who benefit from secure cloud infrastructure. Students are given access to more flexible resources, are more motivated to read and buy their course content (textbooks and readings) and therefore are more engaged in their learning. The learning platform has a huge impact on student engagement, so it’s important to ensure this platform is as informative, flexible and engaging as possible. With students becoming ever-more digital savvy learners, student motivation is likely to improve considerably by offering a platform for learning which new students are comfortable with.

Save Money on Overhead Costs

Cloud security products minimise hardware for education facilities, resulting in lower management and infrastructure costs. Instead of expensive books, information is more readily available in the cloud. On a management level, time and money is saved in enrollment, assignment tracking and more. As cloud computing is pay as you go, this solution is also more cost effective in that you aren’t investing outright in hardware.

More Security Options Than Ever

Many schools improve their online infrastructure when they switch to a more secure cloud platform. Institutions need to invest heavily on IT security solutions to ensure data protection. Data protection is considerably more complex and sophisticated when managed by an external provider and service. These types of data protection options are more secure and do not rely solely on internal staff. Given education facilities house so much student data and informational data, the security of this asset is essential. The risks involved in a breach of data security for education facilities can mean the release of a lot of personal data for students and employees. Ensuring you have a complex security system for your data is essential.

Scale the Cloud to Your Needs

University and school enrollment is not a constant variable, and is not always something that can be predicted. Therefore, schools need to be flexible enough to respond to a variable student population from year to year.

Scalability also refers to student usage. The cloud is able to handle traffic spikes more effectively than in-house servers. During large events like registration or assignment submission, there is less risk of outages or throttling. By contrast, during slower periods, output is scaled back to reduce and manage waste more appropriately. The best part is that schools do not have to worry about these changes. Such scalability is inherent to the cloud.

Meet the Needs of Modern Students with Accessibility and Mobility

In so many ways, the traditional educational approach is unrealistic and outdated. In all other parts of life, students are already using technology in dynamic ways. The fact that their schools do not offer such options often seems limiting.

Students can easily access content, applications and data from any device, anywhere. Effectively, they can learn remotely, travelling or on campus. Enrollment is made easy and participating in group activities becomes seamless with no barriers in place to ensure deadlines are met.

This mobility is also beneficial for schools. With more accessibility in the cloud, teachers have more freedom and school enrollment can grow.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, the cloud is the future of education. Cloud security services make learning more accessible for students, more dynamic for teachers and more profitable for schools. It is time for schools to be ready and willing to make this transition for the good of the system overall.

It is a new age and cloud computing is here to stay. With the rise of technology, there are business issues that arise that require addressing. By addressing these problems with cloud computing solutions, you can solve issues quicker than ever. We have compiled five top ways to use cloud computing services in your business for continued success in your industry. 

1. Utilization of Cloud Storage

Possibly one of the best uses of cloud computing is cloud storage. In the past, businesses used dated and costly infrastructure to store their data which was at risk of data loss and vulnerable to theft.  Cloud storage removes physical servers and transfers all your information into one simple to navigate web-based interface that can be maintained, managed, backed up remotely and available to users over a wireless network at any time. Private cloud solutions and storage provides the ability to organise your data in multiple databases for an optimised computing environment. Data can easily be stored and made accessible by multiple users at one time. Additionally, all databases can be easily searched and archived from any device on the network. Businesses that take advantage of cloud storage solutions see tremendous savings in the short and long term. 

2. Financial Management

At the centre of all strategies regarding cloud computing is the combination of saving and managing money, which has seen significant benefits for SMBs and small home offices. Instead of using bulky servers and paying high maintenance expenses like operational costs, managed IT staff and regular software upgrades, cloud computing has far less variability to your business by eliminating physical hardware. When using external cloud vendors, IT projects become more manageable with less technical IT support keeping staff costs to a minimum. Cloud providers offer remote software upgrades, providing businesses the very latest software without the inconvenience of an onsite technician. 

Flexibility is also a key advantage. You don’t need to spend lots of money on developing new financial management methods or buying new equipment to go with those methods. Many software companies give you access to all future upgrades and changes if you purchase a subscription. Licensing fees are another way to save. 

3. Take Your Business Mobile

The mobile revolution is upon us. Smart phones have become wildly popular and it seems like everyone has internet access and their own window into the world. This increase in popularity is forcing businesses to adapt quickly to keep up with their competition during this mobile revolution. The rise in popularity of remote workers has businesses frantically trying to switch over and become compatible. Cloud computing allows employees to connect anywhere in the world 24/7 using their own devices. By using their own devices, businesses have the opportunity to decrease in infrastructure costs whilst giving their staff the flexibility to manage work and everyday life. Studies have shown an increase in productivity and wellbeing within the workforce when more businesses take into consideration their employee’s needs. 

4. Outsource IT Services

Managed IT support services are required now more than ever. Many businesses have internal IT teams that manage all of their onsite data and servers. Outsourcing these services allows IT teams to focus their attention on applications and cloud workflows. By allowing cloud service providers to look after your cloud management functions, they can tailor their services to your needs as your business grows or shrinks. With cyber-attacks becoming more sophisticated and difficult to defend against, it can be a time consuming and slow process for internal IT departments to keep on top of new malware and software. Outsourced service providers regularly upgrade your software to guard against the latest IT security threats. If you’re in the market for an outsourced cloud management service, consider your business needs to determine whether you require a comprehensive set of management capabilities or a more specific management option. 

5. Information Sharing

We live in an age of instant gratification. Collaboration in the cloud gives your business the ability to be flexible with your communication methods and share information in a secure and reliable manner. In a cloud environment, employees are able to share, edit and co-author documents from different locations, whether they are working on team projects or independently. The days of the office memo that gets passed around to hundreds of employees are over and cloud computing has your business covered. Cloud collaboration in the workplace is a common tool that is seeing more and more organisations better adapt into their IT strategies. Users find the cloud a simple and easy to use platform that provides the opportunity to still work remotely and have access to work files with an internet connection.

Cloud computing is an invaluable tool for any business. These above strategies can assist you in understanding the cloud and creating your own innovative cloud computing services to solve any business problems that might be thrown your way. Cloud computing may seem intimidating at first, but if it is used properly it can be the most valuable tool for your business. Cloud computing is a cost-effective and secure solution to your storage needs that allows a business to move into the modern era and be open to new opportunities.

When it comes to cloud computing, you save money and time, simplify all of your processes and use space in your buildings more efficiently than if you ran your own servers. Game, set, and match awarded to cloud computing!