Starting and running a business is a traditionally daunting and resource-intensive task, especially when you factor in the one element no company operating today can live without technology.  For many years, the costs involved with buying, owning, maintaining, using, and upgrading servers and other computer equipment was a burden. It caused many businesses to limit their quest to expand their operations and profits.

That has changed in recent years with the advent of cloud computing.  It has eliminated a massive amount of the costs that had previously gone into owning all that server hardware (not to mention paying people to maintain it).  Now that you can pay a much lighter fee to cloud platforms to do all the heavy work. So, you can spare your time and money for the business side of your business.

One of the most well-known and most-used cloud platforms today is Amazon Web Services or AWS.  AWS offers just about any level of service to any level of the user, from the hardened IT warrior on down to the entry-level business owner just starting out.  Given the popularity of their services, let's look at some of the main ways in which AWS can help your business grow. 

Provide your startup company with affordable technology.

One of the biggest hurdles any brand new business has to try and conquer is that of budget.  You're just starting out and have a minimal amount of money available to pay for everything in your operation.  Since technology is one of the most important cost centers for any business, it has the potential to eat up much more of that startup capital than you can spare.

AWS addresses the technology concerns of startup companies in two ways.  First, it eliminates the costs of buying physical hardware, paying for service contracts, and hiring techs to manage it.  AWS does all that, and it also offers services and tools specifically geared toward startups, including training labs and tutorials to help you learn the tricks of the trade.  They also make it super easy to scale your service levels upward as your business grows.

Build and manage your business website

Every business needs a functional website in 2019, and AWS provides you with all the tools you need to develop one yourself.  Even if you aren't especially web design-savvy (and don't have anyone on staff who is), AWS can help you get started picking a web address and designing a web presence that will appeal to both current and prospective customers.  It will give them an easy avenue to learn about your products and services as they make buying decisions.

Expand your business even further with mobile apps

Having a website is only a part of the technology presence your business needs in the modern-day.  With the prevalence of smartphones (and research suggesting people use them a lot more than they use their computers these days), you can't afford to neglect the mobile world. Why?  Because you can bet, your competitors won't. 

The exact kind of mobile app you might want to develop can vary depending on your industry. Some of the most popular include apps you can use for account management, customer service, building an interactive community amongst your customers, solicit their feedback or suggestions, push notifications of new products or services, and of course, process orders.

Greatly expand your storage capacity

Most business leaders tend to be surprised by how quickly the available storage on their computers and other systems fills up with documents, images, video and audio files, and other business-related data.  AWS offers very affordable options to provide you with far more storage than you could afford to keep on-site, especially for businesses that are just starting out.

Beyond that, they can also provide a much higher level of availability and security than you might otherwise have available.  Is your business prepared if a tornado takes out the building your servers are in? Can you instantly access data anytime from any device?  With AWS, the answers to both those questions are yes, thanks to their worldwide network of distributed and redundant servers.

Conclusion

These are just some of the factors that show why cloud computing has taken the business world by storm, and Amazon Web Services is at the forefront as one of the industry leaders.  With its affordable, secure, and accessible services available to businesses of any size and any level of technical proficiency (and third-party services that can help you manage it), AWS has the power to help you clear the roadblocks your business faces and take your business growth to the next level.