Remember upgrading from a typewriter to Microsoft® Office? It seemed nothing could be better than easy edits and documents saved to your hard drive. Then better arrived with the introduction of productivity game-changer, Google Drive. Now, those same documents, spreadsheets, and slide presentations can be created online and made available to anyone you choose to share the content with from wherever there is an internet connection. This advancement in productivity and convenience was made possible because of cloud technology.
Still wondering what exactly cloud technology is all about? It’s basically the ability to access and store data and programs over the internet, eliminating the need to download and save them to your computer’s hard drive.
You may be using the cloud without being aware of it. When you post to Facebook, share files through Dropbox, draft notes and content on Evernote or save and access photos, music and videos on iCloud, you’re utilizing cloud-based technology. It’s the convenience of being able to start a memo draft in the office, continue it from your mobile device while waiting for an appointment and then complete it from your laptop or tablet at home.
More and more software companies are turning toward the cloud not only for the benefits reaped in the development of the software, but ultimately, to provide a better product and user experience for the customers they serve. Are any of the systems you use in your dealership, especially your DMS, cloud-based? When you use a DMS that’s in the cloud, you eliminate the hardware needed for backups. You don’t need servers to run the software. And software updates are taken care of automatically by the provider, eliminating the need for early mornings, late evenings or extra weekend hours at the dealership. You don’t have to worry about loss of data caused by hardware issues, ransomware or natural disasters.
As traffic slows down, look for ways to bring the cloud to your dealership. Use this time to evaluate the various software applications used in your dealership. Chances are, there are cloud-based upgrades or replacements available that will help your dealership become more efficient, improve productivity, increase data security and create savings that can help your bottom line for the remainder of this year, and set your dealership up for greater success in 2018.