What is the Cloud?

A common question we hear is “What is the cloud?”.

Cloud computing means your information lives on the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive. This means you can access your data anywhere, anytime, regardless of what computer you’re on. When your data or software lives in the cloud, it’s everywhere you need it, in real time.

The cloud can save you money. Stop maintaining expensive local servers; leave the heavy lifting to the datafarms around the world. Cloud computing is green – because computing power is concentrated and shared – far less energy is used overall.

Whether your email or phone system is in the cloud, you will see how amazing the cloud can be for you.

Learn more about some of the other cloud computing solutions we provide:

Accounting & Payroll

There are several cloud based accounting systems a business can use to manage their books. We’ve worked with many of the systems out there, including QuickBooks OnlineWorking PointFreshbooks and Xero. Check out our blog post to help you understand some of the basic concerns we’ve heard from our clients.

Cloud-based accounting systems are not right for everyone and a locally hosted version may be your best option. Either way, Orbit happy to help you make an educated decision.

We’ve always used a cloud based system for our payroll at Orbit. Intuit Online Payroll is our current platform. Its is an easy and inexpensive system for small business payroll management.  It also can easily integrate with QuickBooks Online, resulting in less administrative time when payroll time arrives.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) can be the most important tool for any business. A CRM is a centralized database for your contacts/clients and specifically tracks activities related to them.

We’ve vetted several cloud CRM systems over the last few years, and they all have their own nuances. The system we use in our business and promote to our clients is Solve360.  Orbit is also a Solve360 Solution Partner. Some key aspects to consider include: Does the system integrate with your email & calendars? Is there a quality mobile app? Can it function with most of your existing processes? If you’re using Google Apps – Solve360 could be the perfect CRM for you.

Contact us for a free consultation on how to get your business in the cloud.