Cloud-based software can help you scale your business quickly without compromising on the quality of service. If you want to develop custom software that fulfills diverse business functions, suppose you are in the retail industry in Dallas looking for a custom software development company in Dallas to take it online; what is the first thing that rings a bell? Usually, scalability ranks on the top.
Keeping scalability in mind, a cloud-based database will become paramount for your business as you will scale further. It is at this point that legacy systems need a rapid transition to a cloud-based space.
This brings us to the fundamental question, are there any cloud-based tools that can help in online businesses? Yes, many! Here, we are going to discuss some cloud-based tools for enhancing your online business. But, before we do that, let’s get a brief understanding of how cloud-based tools benefit your business.
What is a cloud-based tool?
Most IT executives are struggling to cope with the pressure of reducing tool acquisitions and maintenance costs adhered to legacy systems. Other problems like vendor lock-ins, the complexity of projects, and standardization issues are pushing them towards new approaches. A cloud-based tool helps remove such problems starting with the simplification of license management. It simplifies access control, and managers get complete visibility over operations.
A cloud-based tool is hard to categorize into one service because it draws many different aspects from SaaS(Software as a Service) and IaaS(Infrastructure as a Service) model. Most cloud tools help businesses enable vital operational capabilities without the burden of setting up extensive infrastructure when they scale. Some of these even allow users to provision and run the tools without software installations or licensing.
Now that we have some idea about cloud-based tools let’s explore the five best ones for your projects.
#1 Salesforce(Cloud-Based CRM)
CRM or Customer Relationship Management is the first touchpoint between a business and customers. So, enhancing your CRM should be at the top of the checklist. Salesforce CRM can be perfect for your business because it is not just a cloud-based software but a complete CRM platform.
According to a report by Gartner, Salesforce is one of the most used cloud-based CRM, among others. But, if you are thinking about why to choose Salesforce for your business? Here is an example to understand it extensively.
Take an example of the messaging app working on an iOS platform. Similarly, your CRM will work on a Salesforce platform. Sales Cloud is one such CRM built by Salesforce, which you can use to your advantage. More than that, you can use the Salesforce platform to develop custom CRM software for your business.
#2 Amazon Relational Database(Cloud-Based Database)
A database is like the brain of a business that allows you to store and retrieve data. A relational database goes a step further by enabling you to store and retrieve data as per relativity. For example, you can store data for clothing products in an eCommerce store in a table and electronics products in another. Any time you want to access the data reduces the number of files you need to scrap before reaching the actual database.
Amazon Relational Database allows you to store and manage relational data on the cloud without physical servers. The best thing about Amazon RDS is that you can leverage any software development company for customized products without worrying about infrastructure. It allows you to integrate Amazon’s NoSQL database tool, SimpleDB, MySQL, Oracle, and even Microsoft SQL.
#3 Flock(Collaborative Software)
From CRM to database management, cloud-based tools make businesses more efficient. But, the most lasting impact of cloud-based tools is on remote collaborations. As the pandemic engulfed our world, many software development companies started to build or look for free online business tools for remote work.
Flock is one such cloud-based software that helps effective collaborations. It offers features like screen-sharing, real-time chat, and video conferencing. One of the most exciting features that make it unique is guest access to your projects without hassle. Other parts of Flock is,
- One-click video calling
- Ease of Google Drive sharing options
- Advanced search functions
- Team broadcasting options
- Ease of company directory management
#4 Wix(Cloud-Based CMS)
A CMS or content management system is quintessential for your business, especially for better website traffic. Wix is one of the best cloud-based CMS services globally, with more than 3.8 live websites. It offers a simple drag and drop type website builder with excellent CMS tools.
Wix offers free access to its services for a lifetime with a freemium model. You can have hosting, SEO, and other benefits with premium upgrades that start from $13 per month.
#5 InfusionSoft(Marketing Automation Software)
Marketing is quintessential to your sales. Many organizations spend huge amounts of money developing custom software for marketing automation. InfusionSoft is a fantastic cloud-based marketing automation software. It is specifically fruitful for small businesses as it mends the boundaries between sales and marketing efforts.
InfusionSoft offers a cloud-based tool called Pipeline that helps manage all the marketing automation from a centralized dashboard. Managers can keep track of all the customer’s data and set parameters for generating lead scores. It also allows marketing automation for different channels like emails, social media, and others, based on the lead scores.
Conclusion:
From better customer relationships to effective marketing and even managing the data, how businesses can use cloud-based tools are limitless. Cloud-based technologies are breaking the barriers of infrastructure needs for scalability. But, it becomes paramount for organizations to understand which cloud providers or agencies may fit their requirements.
For example, a custom software development company can choose AWS or Amazon Web Services in Dallas, Texas. Still, the same does not work well in the European Union, where there is a restriction to use US-based cloud providers.