What are the Advantages of Cloud Based Asset Management?

What are the advantages of cloud based asset management?

First and perhaps foremost, security. That may come as a surprise to some skeptics who still believe that data storage the cloud is risky. However, when compared with IT systems housed in your office location, cloud based asset management is more secure.

Cybersecurity

Cloud providers generally have invested more resources for cybersecurity. In an article published on InfoWorld.com in October 2018, reporter David Linthicum stated that “the industry is spending as much as 75 percent of its R&D dollars on cloud-based security systems … More dollars have flowed into cloud security technology in the last five years, and that pace has accelerated in the last two years.”

As more companies and organizations begin to transition data and information to the cloud, it’s likely that this trend will continue. Linthicum mentions two other factors that make the cloud a safer environment: First, “the use of AI [artificial intelligence] with security, which is mostly driven by the cloud, has given cloud security an upper hand in finding and eliminating vulnerabilities – and getting automatically smarter while doing it.” He adds that “removing people and leveraging simulated people instead means that the complexities of security can be better dealt with as things become more complex and distributed.” While some of us might harbor fears about mistakes committed by a simulated person, the reality is that humans are an error-prone bunch. Second, security costs in general have been on the decline; “the on-demand model promoted by public cloud providers is almost always cheaper than traditional enterprise software licenses.”

Centralized Location

Cloud based asset management centralizes your data in one location, eliminating the headaches associated with searching for your assets across multiple locations.

Anytime Access

With the cloud, you have access to your data 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In contrast, traditional systems may limit your access to normal business hours. Let’s face it – work doesn’t just happen between 9 and 5 anymore. You’re going to need to access information late at night and on weekends. The cloud gives you that ability.

Reduced Loss

When your fixed asset data is stored among several locations, or you’re just not keeping up with your records, it’s incredibly easy to lose track of your assets. Cloud based asset management significantly reduces or even eliminates asset loss. Your data is housed in one location and syncs with the cloud, so the information you’re reviewing is in real time.

Scalability

Another key advantage associated with cloud based asset management is scalability. The volume of fixed asset data you have to manage is only going to increase, so you want to find a solution that can keep up as your needs expand.

Ease of Use

Cloud based asset management solutions are often easy to use, which is key, because your asset tracking and management efforts will only succeed if you’re able to score buy-in from all of your asset stakeholders.

No Guesswork

The accuracy provided by cloud based asset management eliminates the need for guesswork around such details as asset values, condition, maintenance histories, and much more.

Time Savings

When real-time fixed asset data is at your fingertips, you can focus on your other business priorities instead of spending hours on the phone searching for assets.