3 Common Cloud Services That Businesses Can Use to Optimize Hybrid Working

Leveraging solutions like Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) can help organisations execute hybrid working successfully and efficiently.

Modern businesses have many different pressures applied to them – whether it be economic hardship, market competition, or simply changing consumer expectations. Improving business agility is one way that businesses can help themselves become more adaptable to these different pressures. Hybrid working – a trend born from remote working, and which has gained significant traction in the last few years – seems to be a reliable way for businesses to become more agile. We spoke with a tech company that has been providing IT support Croydon and London businesses have relied on for over 10 years – they stated that cloud computing is the most reliable route for enabling hybrid work, and improving overall business agility.

Hybrid Working & The Cloud

The cloud enabled a lot of businesses to go remote when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It allowed organisations to deploy apps and communications to users outside of the office, and thus enable them to continue to work as they would normally. Though remote working has evolved into hybrid working for many businesses, the cloud remains an important technology. It is important for a number of reasons:

• Security & Compliance – Managing data protection in an organisation where some (or all) users are working remotely would be a minefield. The IT company we spoke with also provides IT support for Healthcare providers, and many other compliant organisations. They said that cloud computing can simplify things by ensuring that data remains centralised.

• Unified Communications – Many businesses began using unified communications solutions – like Microsoft Teams – after the pandemic. Cloud computing enables this by digitizing telephony, so that it can be included in the same platform as other digital communication channels – such as videoconferencing and direct messaging.

Cloud Services That Support Hybrid Working

So, how exactly does cloud computing support hybrid work? Typically, cloud computing resources are provided to businesses by way of services. Most organisations work with a public cloud provider (like Microsoft Azure) and pay to access their infrastructure and resources. As a provider of outsourced IT support London and Croydon businesses rely on, the company we spoke to had a lot of experience with the most common cloud services – below are three common solutions they cited as being useful for hybrid companies.

• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

First and most easiest form of cloud service to help businesses successfully work in a hybrid way is software as a service (SaaS). This means any application that is hosted and deployed from a cloud platform – in other words, it doesn’t need to be installed on a single device to work. Cloud apps can be accessed on all platforms (mobile, desktop, web) and remain in sync across all of them. This is why it is so useful for businesses who want to work remotely.

• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Not all applications are software as a service. But, there is still a way for businesses to deploy applications as if they were SaaS. This is with Platform as a Service. This type of service gives organisations access to a platform where they can host applications for remote deployment – this gives business more flexibility around the kinds of software they can provide their remote workers. Unlike SaaS, this type of service involves a bit more work and administration on the side of the business using it.

• Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS)

This type of service has the potential to streamline the way businesses onboard new employees, and provide the resources that their remote workers need. DaaS is a service that delivers a complete desktop experience from the cloud, to a user’s device. This means that the user theoretically does not have to have any company software or data installed on the device they use for work – because it is all hosted in the cloud, and they can access it remotely. Not only is this a safer option than BYOD, it also means employees can use lighter weight and cheaper devices, because the software and desktop they use does not rely on their device’s internal hardware.