Hosted Desktops Minimise Disruption to Small Businesses

According to research by the Federation of Small Business (FSB), the majority of SMEs face some form of disruption caused by a factor outside of their control. However, whilst you can’t change circumstances such as the weather and traffic, you can work around them to ensure that your productivity doesn’t even suffer a minor blip.

Our hosted desktops are not only a secure, fast and efficient means of working and collaborating, they’re also helping businesses in all sectors to keep workflow at peak performance. This is achieved by hosting a company’s documents, software and user settings in GoCloud’s secure UK-based data centre, accessible to authorised users from any device, anywhere in the world. Whilst each user continues to access their familiar desktop experience, the business has the peace of mind that everything is safe, up to date and within reach at all times, removing the headaches and profit slumps caused by disruption.

What are the most common types of disruption to SMEs?

It’s amazing how many small businesses across the UK can become incapacitated due to unforeseen circumstances. One of the most common problems is weather conditions, ranging from heavy snows to flash floods, which in turn cause a variety of other obstructions to maintaining smooth operations. In the event that adverse weather descends around a business, it’s often a case that some or all its staff can’t make it to work on time or even at all. Meanwhile, the worst-case scenario is that a flood or storm causes damage to the premises and its hardware, putting the entire site out of action for days, weeks or perhaps longer.

The FSB’s study shows that 13% of respondents say that they are unprepared for severe weather conditions. Though businesses such as restaurants need customers to visit them in person, the majority of white-collar companies can remain productive even if they can’t access their office, but only if they have a system such as hosted desktops in place. In the event that employees need to work from home or an alternative site, a hosted desktop allows them to access everything they need from their any device connected to the internet, simultaneously remaining protected from malware and viruses thanks to GoCloud’s fully owned infrastructure and encrypted connection.

The same applies to more everyday yet equally serious stumbling blocks, such as traffic congestion and train cancellations, which the FSB has found to affect 15% of SMEs on a regular basis. When you add up how many hours are lost across a company due to unavoidable delays, it can sometimes amount to thousands of pounds over the course of a year. Even if staff make up for lost time, this lateness or absence can still cause meetings to be rescheduled and deadlines to be missed, often having a knock-on effect on profit margins and brand reputation. With their hosted desktop available wherever the user needs it, circumstances such as these can be worked around and minimised, helping to maintain schedules and output alike.

Cybercrime

The government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2018 shows that 43% of businesses and 19% of charities suffered a cyber breach or attack in the previous twelve months. This figure rises significantly for larger businesses, with  72% falling victim to cybercrime and the cost to the average company totalling over £9,000 a year.

The bulk of these attacks are due to insufficient security measures, including out-of-date software, a lack of effective malware protection, and few or even no IT audits, risk assessments and health checks. Even an established SME with its own IT department and dedicated team can fall short of security requirements due to time restrictions, lack of up-to-the-minute knowledge, and ignorance of the very real threats that could instantly incapacitate the company.

By adopting GoCloud hosted desktops throughout a business, all of these risks are removed thanks to our high levels of security, encryption and monitoring. Whilst our tech specialists ensure that all systems achieve 99.9% uptime and upgrade the infrastructure in line with industry developments, a business can also rest assured that all software is automatically updated. This means that the core system is always running at optimum efficiency and protected against malware, viruses and hackers, plus each user within a business is using the same version of applications to guarantee speed, consistency and security at all times.

Unauthorised access

Aside from malware and hackers, there’s another form of unauthorised access that can cause major disruption to a small business. When a member of staff leaves the company, their ability to still view, edit, share and delete any company documents and data needs revoking immediately. Without a hosted desktop provider like GoCloud, this can often be forgotten about for a while, which can pose a threat to confidentiality, GDPR compliance and privacy policies.

When using our hosted desktops, a business simply needs to say which user needs removing and it will be done immediately to prohibit further access. Similarly, in the case of an employee taking on a new role, chances are that they will need access to certain data and software adding or removing, which is also treated as a priority by us so that daily operations continue to flow smoothly.

Become a GoCloud reseller

Whatever the nature of your business, you can become a GoCloud partner and resell our first-rate hosted desktops to existing and prospective customers at a frequency that suits your workload. This could be as a small additional service to slowly increase your profit margins, or a core product that can feasibly double your monthly turnover. Either way, we provide all of our partners with expert guidance, around-the-clock support, and even a white label tool kit so that you can easily package our hosted desktops under your own brand.

From accountants and IT consultants, to marketing agencies, freelancers and sales professionals who are looking for a lucrative product that delivers premium benefits to customers each and every day, we want to hear from you. To find out more about GoCloud hosted desktops and becoming a partner, call today on 01482 751133 or register your interest online.