5 Tips for Selling the Value of the Cloud to Business Owners

When your customers are looking for scalable solutions that can reduce hardware costs, Cloud solutions will give them broader capabilities to do so.

5 Tips for Selling the Value of the Cloud to Business Owners

As professionals in the security and surveillance industry, we are constantly looking for ways to differentiate our company, our products and ourselves from the competition.

An element of importance when you drive to rise above the competition and making any sale is how you can effectively communicate product value. It can be as simple as creating a solution that provides both superior service as well as a support structure from which they gain productivity, scalability and see the profitable gains by using the solutions we are delivering.

Cloud service has emerged as a technology trend among many business verticals, and we as an industry must be able to evolve in this environment to show business owners the value of Cloud security and how it can be a better choice for the new times in which we find ourselves.

We interact with the Cloud personally and professionally on a daily basis; it starts first thing in the morning as you check your phone for new emails even before you get out of bed. Cloud is there when you use your phone’s map app to check traffic conditions on the way to work and there again when you’re at home looking for the latest binge-worthy entertainment.

It’s any service made available to users on-demand via the Internet from a Cloud-computing provider’s servers as opposed to being provided from a company’s own on-premises servers.

When it comes to security, Cloud solutions are a great way to minimize hardware costs, improve scalability, simplify maintenance, maintain visibility to vital analytics and centralize control. Using the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model quickly offers businesses higher functionality with a predictable monthly payment and no initial sticker shock.

Now more than ever, Cloud technology offers viable solutions to many of today’s security challenges, but how will you communicate the value of the Cloud to those customers who are still hesitant to make the transition? The five tips below can help you to articulate the value of the Cloud to your customers.

1. Cloud solutions can reduce hardware costs.

When your customers are looking for scalable solutions that can reduce hardware costs, Cloud solutions will give them broader capabilities to do so. As Cloud solutions store data offsite, they offer the benefit of relying less on expensive local storage and reducing the need for large floor space in which many have become accustomed to.

This gives customers the ability to work with some existing infrastructure to reduce the all-in costs via a Cloud platform as opposed to hardware that must be changed as versions are updated by the manufacturers bringing the attached costs per occurrence. Most manufacturing companies now are leaning in and adding a Cloud feature to their product lines to keep up with the times and ensure the customer experience is less complex to grow the retention of each system present.

2. Cloud technology provides flexibility and scalability.

The ability to scale a hardware system over time is not as flexible as many would think and it requires more resources when compared to a Cloud alternative. Moving your customer’s system to the Cloud allows for storage scalability as well as customization of certain solutions (without having to remove the hardware they’re currently using).

Additionally, your customers can leverage Cloud technology to reduce the hassle of lost or forgotten credentials for each of the systems by issuing mobile credentials alongside cards and fobs as it applies. Cloud gives your customers the ability to remotely assign and revoke credentials from virtually anywhere, helping them to protect high-security areas with authentication. This can also create cost savings and allow for better inventory control.

3. The Cloud can simplify maintenance.

A key benefit of transitioning to a Cloud solution is having the ability to simplify hardware/software maintenance, as customers would no longer have to concern themselves with annual maintenance fees, multiple return trips for easy updates, software patches or additional IT help. Many of these would become remote services or could be automated in the Cloud.

Cloud solutions offer the ability to remotely troubleshoot your customers’ issues, allowing for corrective measures to be performed in near real-time. The value of Cloud service is even clearer when considering on-premises technology that requires you to roll physical trucks every time your customer has a service issue. This can add to the cost savings and allow your customers to redirect funds typically spent on maintenance fees toward enhancing their system.

4. Leveraging the Cloud can deliver greater business insights.

 Operating on a Cloud-based system gives customers the ability to use and leverage advanced analytics. This helps customers make sense of the various streams of data coming from their security systems and can deliver greater business insights that help to inform operational decisions.

This can help customers quickly respond to incidents and uncover opportunities for improvement and safety enhancement. Some examples of advanced analytics include people counting and line crossing, which can offer business intelligence that allows customers to implement safety measures and address recurring issues.

5. The Cloud allows for control to be centralized.

Cloud technology is the next evolution in security management, as it simply uses a Cloud-capable system that provides customers the power to remotely manage each system through mobile and web browser viewing, provides the ability to add 100% Cloud recording, and ensures that it’s backed up without worrying about hardware space.

Cloud services provide a much-needed centralized information platform that can show multiple locations’ data collected into one interface where customers can easily download, interact and receive notifications from each event. This can allow for greater efficiencies and help your customers more easily manage their security systems.

From centralized control and cost savings to scalability and more, Cloud security solutions offer a number of benefits for your customers. The key is just being able to effectively communicate them.

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About the Author

Contact:

Jose Hernandez is Regional Sales Manager for Stanley Security.

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