Cloud for SMEs – How to make the best choice?

When we hear Cloud for SMBs, we quickly think of storage space for company documents. Admittedly, this use represents an important part of Cloud computing, but it’s still reductive.

Above all, the Cloud means new ways of working for SMEs:

• Access your business software simply, anywhere, at any time and on any device. Otherwise known as ATAWAD for Any Time, Any Where, Any Device.
• Work more easily as part of a team with collaborative documents and spreadsheets, visios, instant messaging, email, and high-performance storage spaces.
• Build customized business tools based on your company’s know-how in no-code (without a single line of code)

These solutions also have the advantage of being very inexpensive and more secure than on-site installation and maintenance of file storage servers.

Cloud storage for SMEs

Why you shouldn’t set up physical servers or tailor-made storage solutions

It’s common for companies to store files, software and data on servers located on site, or on “in-house” cloud solutions made in-house or by service providers.

We might think that our tools are safer in our own premises, surrounded by our own defenses, but the opposite is true. If these defenses are compromised, or if a virus is accidentally introduced (by cybercrime or via a USB stick), your entire IT system will be compromised.

On the contrary, using a cloud for SMBs means reinforcing the authentication of each user, rather than just reinforcing the network. So, if a user is attacked, the Cloud will isolate the attack and your IT system won’t be affected.

In addition to considerably improving security with the Cloud, this technology is much less expensive than local servers (up to 10 times less). Indeed, a server can easily cost 10,000 euros, not counting maintenance and management costs: a salary if carried out in-house, or several thousand euros each year if outsourced.

A Cloud for SMEs is accessible via a monthly subscription for a few euros. And maintenance is handled by the software publishers. So you don’t need to have in-house expertise.

On the other hand, Clouds for SMBs offer many other features and benefits for the same price.

Why do we need to go beyond our concerns about the Cloud?

It can be difficult to trust something as intangible as a Cloud. Indeed, when it comes to Cloud Computing for SMEs, some people may wonder about security and localization. Yet, in reality, Cloud Computing is far from the immateriality of a “cloud”.

The term “cloud” derives simply from a usage of visual representation on diagrams. In fact, the Cloud corresponds to a physical IT infrastructure, located in data centers, made up of a multitude of servers, applications and data, maintained by hundreds of the world’s most qualified engineers.

This infrastructure is accessible to users via a secure Internet connection. What’s more, you generally have the option of choosing where your data is stored, or at least knowing where it is.

What’s more, the best-known SMB clouds draw on a user base of hundreds of millions, and are managed for the world’s top developers.

The benefits of the Cloud for SMEs

Google Drive, Microsoft Onedrive and others

There are many cloud solutions for small and medium-sized businesses: Dropbox, iCloud, Box… However (and this isn’t necessarily good news) none of them comes close to matching Google and Microsoft.

This difference has been made over the decades, through innovation and user numbers. These two platforms, in addition to having the means to hire top talent and huge budgets, have succeeded in building a powerful, multi-functional collaborative suite.

The good news is that the choice isn’t all that daunting. Switching from one service to another is relatively simple, thanks to mass data export services.

Google Drive – online storage from Google Workspace

By subscribing to the free or paid versions of Google Workspace, each user, in addition to storage space ranging from 15 GB to 2 TB, gains access to :

• A professional e-mail address, a diary and a video tool.
• A collaborative office solution (document with Docs, spreadsheet with Sheets, presentation with Slides)
• No-code custom design tools (sites and intranets with Google Sites, forms with Google Forms, business applications with AppSheet, Business Intelligence with Data Studio)
• Access to AI with Gemini

Google guarantees the highest level of security with :

• Strong, multi-factor user authentication
• A system for monitoring suspicious connections
• User, role and access monitoring
• The ability to restore older versions of documents
• Sharing and transfer via secure, configurable links.

Because of their history, Google tools are better integrated with modern web usages and more easily connectable to other systems via API. As a result, it will be a little easier to automate tasks such as automatically saving and renaming supplier invoices in Google Drive emails.

Microsoft OneDrive – Microsoft’s cloud storage solution

Microsoft 365 for Business also has a free solution with limited functionality. Paid plans provide access to:

• Between 5 GB and 2 TB of storage space
• Sharepoint and Teams space
• A professional e-mail address, a diary
• Collaborative office tools (heavy client or thin client depending on subscription) Word for documents, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for slides
• No-code design tools such as Forms, Lists and Sway.
• Access to AI with Copilote

In addition to these solutions that are included in the Microsoft Office 365 package, if you need them, you can subscribe to additional packages to access a BI, an operation planner, a CRM….

Microsoft Office 365 offers broadly the same levels of security as Google. Interconnection and administration between systems is a little more complex. This often requires specialized in-house or outsourced resources, unlike Google.

Between Google and Microsoft, which cloud for SMBs should you choose?

Cloud automation examples for SMEs

---

Now you know all about the cloud for SMEs. Now it’s your turn! See you soon for more content!