Are you a business owner? Do you have the desire to improve your business? You are not alone. The good news is that thanks to many useful technological advancements, business owners worldwide now have the ability to improve and grow their businesses by way of effective and inexpensive implementation of simple tools.

All around the world business owners just like you are working diligently to enrich, protect and expand their operations by investing in the most useful technologies for their business. Any idea what the majority of these technologies have in common? If you did not guess it, the answer is that they are all cloud-based technologies.

There is absolutely no doubt that cloud computing is changing the business world – for the better. It is an enormous, all-embracing, type of technology that has given businesses the means to make connectivity effortless. Nowadays, when we speak of efficiency, productivity and useful storage platforms, the first thing that comes to mind is cloud-based technology. The development of such a technology has been making it possible for companies large and small throughout the world to thrive. To help yours do the same, here is a list of 5 cloud-based technology tools that your small business needs to help it grow.

1: Google (News - Alert) Docs (Online Office Docs Management)

There are two major advantages to using Google Docs – “Google’s free office software”. First and foremost, they are free. Second, they are cloud-based. It is obvious why being free matters, but perhaps not so obvious as to why being cloud-based matters. The fact that the Google software is cloud-based, means improved accessibility for your team via their smartphones or other internet capable devices. That means no matter where they are, or what device they are using, they can access and edit files as they find it necessary.

2: Basecamp (Project Management Tool)

The key to getting every member of your team on the same page in the most effective and efficient manner possible is the cloud. Basecamp is a cloud-based tool that allows access via the web and app. It offers a wide array of project management functions that help to break down projects into individual tasks, connect team members by way of relevant discussion threads, share files and track important deadlines/dates.

3: Salesforce (CRM System)

Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM tool that provides an in-depth vision into useful customer data. It has earned a reputation for itself as being the most robust management tool available for maintaining and growing customer relationships. This clean and clear, intuitive user interface allows its users to categorize, amend and filter contact databases with critical data that can be converted into customizable reports used in both planning and reviewing scenarios. Additionally, Salesforce gives your team access to internal employee tools, which effectively track the lead-and-sales equation.

4: Switch.co (Business Phone (News - Alert) System)

Moving your business phones to the cloud is an essential part of business growth. Switch.co is a cloud based phone system that can benefit your business in following ways:

• Boost employee productivity
• Decrease IT costs
• Improve the customer service experience

These are just some of the benefits that Switch.co can offer your operation. Imagine a phone system that would easily allow you to connect multiple stores or locations; change your business’s outgoing message within mere minutes; and also enable your field agents to use their business lines in the field, by way of their smart phones.

This business phone is designed to improve and simplify the way that we work today. It keeps your employees connected, regardless of location or the device being used. Additionally, it provides for much advanced voicemail with email notifications, text messaging and core phone system abilities such as on-hold messages, auto-attendant, department & employee extensions and call auto-recording. Not only that, but this cloud-based system is easy to set up and manage by way of your mobile device or other web capable device.

5: Hootsuite (Social Media Management)

Social media and the management thereof, play a significant role in business growth today. Hootsuite might be considered by some, to be the Swiss Army Knife of social media management. It is a tool that combines multiple social networks and profiles to one single dashboard. This is useful because it allows for management and planning to be consolidated into one path, which ultimately saves you both time and effort. Hootsuite simplifies the process of posting updates by allowing you to do so from one general location. Additionally, it allows the user to schedule posts, as well as provides a single-screen overview of streams from multiple platforms.

We know today, that social media channels play a vital role in understanding and capturing prospective clients, as well as engaging and retaining existing ones. The Hootsuite tool will allow you and your team to benefit productively by gaining the ability to collaborate across multiple channels via one board, which allows for the simplified capability of delivering topical content in an efficient and effective fashion.

These five tools are all similar in one way – they all take advantage of the cloud. It is no coincidence that the most successful businesses of today have moved to the cloud and further utilize cloud-based tools – they all see the value in such useful apparatuses. By utilizing cloud-based tools and applications, you can provide your business with the benefit of information availability and access; coordination capabilities; improved connectivity and communication efforts; and ultimately provide an environment for growth and success.

Cloud collaboration is an essential part of any aggressive businesses strategy today that has a desire to propel itself into a trend of significant growth. By utilizing these 5 tools, you might just find that the cloud is the first step in a very lucrative direction for your business. Do yourself, your team and your operation a favor and take advantage of technological advancements in the cloud. Utilize these tools and watch yourself and your company grows.

If you know of other essential cloud-based tools that SMBs should be taking advantage of to leverage growth and success, please share. We would love to hear from you! 

Paul Gossett is an digital strategist and a freelance writer having true passion for online media which has made him a learner of various workplace cultures and latest technologies. He loves sharing his knowledge to help entrepreneurs in disrupting the old ways of doing business