Finding Stability in The Cloud During Uncertain Times

Businesses in Singapore have for many years enjoyed a significant degree of stability compared to those in other countries, be it political stability or the fortunate absence of natural disasters. As such, discussions around flexible working arrangements - allowing people to work from home or whilst they’re on-the-go - have primarily been around achieving a better work-life balance for employees. Addressing the possibility of major, unplanned business disruption has always been a distant second priority and objective in these conversations.

The COVID-19 outbreak has completely changed this, signalling to Singapore business leaders the need to ensure business stability and continuity. The government has advised businesses to “plan and implement business continuity plans to minimise disruption to their operations and ensure that business remains viable during the virus outbreak”, part of which is considering “flexible work arrangements for the high-risk employees, as well as employees who need to stay at home due to other reasons relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19), e.g. to take care of family members who have travelled to known affected countries or regions”.

The good news is that flexible working arrangements have become significantly more feasible over the last decade or so due to cloud technology. The availability and use of collaboration tools like Google Docs has proliferated, whilst software and services have become significantly more integrated; for example, some cloud accounting platforms can retrieve real-time data from finance and through integrations, extract insights from other business functions such as HR and supply chain. Aside from the productivity and cost benefits, the move to a strong digital-first foundation where most, if not all, business systems are on the cloud is also empowering employees to be able to work anytime, anywhere, and even on any device.

The Case for Cloud in Business Continuity Plans
Never having to work on outdated data: One of the biggest benefits of cloud tools is the access to real-time data and updates. For example, should an accountant or bookkeeper utilise a cloud-based accounting platform to add an entry to a client’s books, business owners would have access to the update immediately, on any advice. This allows business owners who are on-the-go or working from home to ensure a good oversight of their business, allowing them to make key decisions without having to rely on outdated information.

Another facet to this is in how software has also become significantly more integrated. Cloud accounting platforms may now incorporate direct bank feed from corporate bank accounts, further ensuring that business owners and their advisors have access to real-time financial data to support accurate and timely decision making.

Tools that scale with the business: Most cloud tools offer flexibility in their feature sets and costs through a subscription model, meaning the businesses only have to pay based on their exact business needs. This can then be scaled upwards or downwards to match the evolution of both the business and the wider industry, resulting in cost savings that are all-important during uncertain times.

The integrated nature of cloud software is also becoming a key part of how businesses operate and scale. As organisations grow, they will naturally need an ever-increasing plethora of business apps to manage key business functions - having all these functions integrated into a single platform helps eliminate silos that impair business visibility.

Providing industry-standard cybersecurity: Early industry fears about the security of public cloud solutions compared to private cloud solutions are no longer quite as relevant - cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) use industry-standard cybersecurity protocols to protect client data. Physical methods of storing and transferring data, such as the use of physical books or on USB drives, can mean that data can be easily stolen or tampered with. With cloud solutions, business and IT leaders can also manage user access and track when and by whom data was accessed, ensuring organisational transparency.

Keeping up with workforce expectations: Modern talent attraction and retention strategies are no longer limited to monetary remuneration. Employees are now seeking non-tangible benefits such flexible hours and working arrangements, a good standard of organisational culture and welfare, as well as career growth opportunities. The utilisation of cloud solutions and tools, which are quickly becoming the standard for organisations globally, is now something that job applicants actively look out for. And in uncertain times, such as the current coronavirus outbreak, employees now expect employers to allow them to work from home using cloud technology to safeguard their wellbeing.