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Over recent years, the Cloud has gained in popularity and become a more accepted method of computing.  But how can the Cloud be used for facilities management – can it benefit your organisation or is it just smoke and mirrors?

Cloud computing may sound technical but the term simply refers to storing data and software over the internet, rather than on your own hard drive or company server.  Although this may sound like a less secure and more complicated method of accessing information, in fact the reverse can be true. We’ve put together five reasons why hosting your facilities management software in the Cloud can drive efficiency and boost profitability.

 

  • Online, all the time

Facilities management is a round-the-clock operation, continuing into the night well after the IT team has gone home. Being able to access the FM system when needed is essential, especially with the rise of mobile working.  CAFM systems like Service Works’ QFM software are optimised to work with any internet-enabled device, allowing users from any location to log maintenance requests, update work progress with information and photos, or book a meeting room or hot desk at any time of day. We have joined up with Rackspace as our hosting partner, who are the number one managed cloud company in the world and offer a 100% network uptime guarantee to give you complete peace of mind.

  • Data security

Data is an essential part of facilities management – from historical reactive and planned maintenance job logs to databases for asset management, health and safety compliance and inventories for stock control. An incorrect or lapsed backup can spell disaster for the efficient functioning of the FM service. By hosting your system online with Cloud backup, if the unexpected occurs and you lose files, your data will be rapidly restored to help you get back to business as usual with minimal delay.

  • Speedy software updates

Hosting facilities management software like QFM online will give you the most efficient service. Through our Cloud partner, Rackspace, Service Works’ engineers will be able to apply automatic software updates to ensure that your company benefits from the latest functionality as soon as it is available. This delivers a number of key benefits: no time is required from your IT department to install the update files, and any difficulty of co-ordination and timing between FM and IT teams is avoided. In addition, any configuration or customisations made to the previous version of your QFM software will be applied to the new version to enable the smoothest possible transition.

  • Cost saving

Managing your CAFM software online not only gives you peace of mind for service and security, but it can also cost your business less than using in-house resources. Service Works offers cloud hosting with a low cost-of-entry and regular monthly payments, which is fully scalable on demand to meet your business needs.  The service is able to supply increased processing power, storage space, bandwidth and memory as required, without tying up infrastructure resources at your own organisation or needing to buy and install new equipment. Data backups are also super compressed, making them more efficient and reducing storage costs by up to 20 times compared to traditional backups.

  • Spend time on FM not IT

Taking advantage of all the benefits mentioned above will mean facilities managers can focus on their core business rather than having to deal with any IT technical issues that may occur.  Hosting in the Cloud allows the FM team to take full advantage of all the features of FM software to improve work efficiency and increase ROI, without any risk of glitches or downtime.

 

To find out more about FM in the Cloud and online hosting, contact the Service Works team on 020 8877 4080 or click here to request a quote.