Cloud-based productivity suites can serve as an important business continuity tool when bad weather strikes.
With snow returning to the UK this week - albeit in smaller quantities than in previous months - the issue of business continuity rises back up the agenda.
When bad weather arrives in the UK, it can cause all sorts of problems for businesses - including supply chain disruptions, falling customer footfall and employee absence.
The latter has an inevitable impact on organisational output - if staff members are unable to make it into work, they cannot be productive and make their expected contribution to the firm.
However, in the cloud age, things are changing.
Where employees perform the majority of their daily tasks using a computer, the use of remote working technologies, collaboration tools and hosted services can make a major difference.
Employees can log on to their work accounts from home or any other location where they have a working internet connection, and simply carry on as normal.
Using cloud-based solutions such as Office 365, they can access software, files, documents and communication tools just as if they were in the office.
As such, it makes little difference whether snow and ice prevents them from travelling to work - they can simply get on with their employment duties regardless.
Posted by Sarah Parish
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