Cloud, Cloud computing, Cloud software, Running in the Cloud - they’re terms we hear everywhere. What is ‘Cloud software’ and more importantly if you’re running a hospitality business, how can it help you to do things better?
What are cloud systems?
Cloud computing simply means technology delivered via the internet. It’s probably easiest to describe it as a comparison to the traditional approach to computing. Before the cloud, businesses had what is now called ‘on-premise’ computing - that is,they would have their business software running on a computer owned and managed by their business.
As the internet has become faster, more reliable and more secure, it has enabled a new technology delivery model. Cloud platforms are run centrally by a provider, with businesses simply accessing them via the internet. The symbol for a network being a cloud shape, this way of accessing technology has become ‘via the cloud’ or ‘cloud technology’.
Cloud computing is a game changer for many hospitality businesses - giving them greater flexibility, lower cost, lower risk, the ability to take advantage of new functionality faster and ultimately, more time to focus on their business and their customers, as they’re not up to their necks in bits and bytes.
Cloud systems for hospitality
Let’s look at the four ways that cloud software helps hospitality business owners run their businesses better:
1. Mobility - decisions anywhere, any time
Because cloud-based systems are accessed via the internet, they are available anywhere that you have connectivity. Which, these days effectively means anywhere. If you have a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop and an internet connection, you have access to your business.
You can access reports, receive alerts, check real-time sales figures, from anywhere and everywhere. No more ‘I’ll check it when I’m back in the office”, no more working blind unless you’re at your desk. Remote access means that you always you’re your finger on the pulse of your business and that you can make instant decisions for rapid response.
We all know that in hospitality, there’s no point knowing that Tuesday was a slow day if you don’t find out until Friday. With the remote access that cloud systems give, you have all the key business information you need, literally at your fingertips wherever you are.
Cloud systems mean your business goes with you, wherever you are. They can help make work-life balance a reality, freeing you up from having to be in the back office to run your business.
2. Innovation - the ability to adapt rapidly
With on-premise systems, upgrades are a pain. They are costly in terms of money, time and resources, and it can be months before you get the new functions you need.
Cloud-based systems remove that pain. The platform provider makes new functionality instantly available, so you can take rapid advantage of innovation. Your efforts go into reaping the rewards of the new version, not on upgrading to it. Your business becomes more innovative, nimbler and more flexible in responding to market changes.
3. Scaling for growth – free up capital
With traditional on-premise systems, it’s up to you to ensure that your business has the hardware and software capacity it needs - now and into the future. As you grow, you’ll need bigger systems. Planning ahead can mean tying up precious capital in capacity that is not yet needed. Not planning ahead could mean being caught with a system that doesn’t meet your needs until you’ve done a costly upgrade.
With cloud computing, you simply pay for the system that you need now without having to predict your future size or usage. As you grow, you add capacity, smoothly, rapidly and easily. A cloud system expands with you - giving you the flexibility to focus on growing your business without worrying about growing your systems.
4. No need for in-house IT specialists
In-house IT needs in-house IT people. There’s a lot to manage - security, backup, audit, compliance, hardware maintenance, networking, software upgrades. But with a cloud-based platform, the only devices you need are your smartphone, tablet or PC. Everything else is managed by the cloud platform provider. Meaning that you can focus on staff who engage with customers, and who help to drive your core business, of providing great food, drink and service.
Reaping the rewards
Many hospitality businesses are already reaping the rewards of running cloud based systems and are seeing for themselves the flexibility that they offer: efficient operation, rapid innovation, and the ability to work from anywhere and everywhere.
Which all adds up to more focus on your core business of serving your customers.
