After rapid uptake in the last decade, cloud computing has become the norm for many businesses.
Over the last few years, organisations have moved to the cloud to improve the efficiency, reliability and security of their systems. More recently, this shift has been accelerated by the pandemic.
The world as we knew it was flipped on its head, which forced a whole range of organisations to allow for and support remote work. With cloud-based systems, companies could seamlessly make the transition – sparking many businesses to see the value in the making the move to the cloud themselves.
It has been a pivotal couple of months and the cloud computing market is showing no signs of slowing down. In Australia alone, it’s tipped to grow by 12.5% to reach US$14.1bn in 2025 – that’s over $19.7 billion dollars.
Avoid the temptation to “set and forget” your cloud-based IMS
If your business has implemented cloud-based IMS – whether this was years ago or only recently – it’s best to avoid falling into the trap of “setting and forgetting”.
When systems aren’t maintained, cracks can begin to show over time as small issues or challenges develop into bigger problems. There’s a lot that goes into how effectively your cloud-based systems function and making improvements regularly puts you in the best position to get the most out of your investment.
How to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cloud-based IMS
1. Maintain your cloud-based system
As the business landscape and your needs evolve, adjusting and maintaining your cloud-based IMS as required is really important.
Over time new habits may need to be created. As this happens, people need to be clear about any changes to their responsibilities and duties in regard to the IMS.
When navigating these changes, a good first step for an organisation is to set up dashboards to give employees real-time metrics on the health of the systems.
Another practical approach that keeps your business accountable is investing in an annual digital healthcheck audit. This usually includes a thorough internal audit of your current systems and a gap analysis, which are used to provide actionable recommendations to guide your business towards greater compliance.
Many businesses also find it beneficial to prioritise different parts of their systems in terms of risk and importance to the organisation and ensure they are frequently updated. For instance incidents, issues management, meetings, inspections and audits.
Improvements are constantly being made to cloud technology and it’s important to stay up-to-date with any changes. At Integrated Compliance Solutions our team uses Monday.com, which is a platform that improves on a weekly basis.
As cloud systems evolve new, better and more leveraged ways of achieving the same goals often emerge as well. By keeping track of these changes, you can make sure your business doesn’t get left behind.
2. Periodically review whether cloud-based IMS reflects current business needs
Cloud-based systems are agile and flexible. As your business grows or downsizes, your systems can be easily scaled up or down to match your requirements.
To improve your implementation of cloud-based IMS it’s important to periodically check-in with where your business is at and whether your cloud-based IMS still reflects your changing needs.
This helps you better optimise your use of cloud-based systems because you only pay for what you’re using at a given point in time.
3. Make regular security updates to your cloud-based IMS
Cloud storage statistics show that 85% of enterprises keep all of their sensitive data on the cloud.
Keeping confidential information secure is a key priority for businesses, but new security threats are always emerging as cybercriminals become more advanced.
Cloud-based IMS is often praised for its security benefits. Reasons for this include that company files are encrypted, servers are located in secure locations offsite, and that there are built in firewalls.
While cloud data breaches can still happen 83% of cloud-based security breaches derive from access to vulnerabilities and 65% of cloud network security breaches occur as a result of user errors.
Over time your cloud systems need to be pre-emptively reviewed, updated and strengthened to patch any new security vulnerabilities. Employees also need to receive necessary cloud security training to help prevent user errors.
4. Don’t forget to leverage data from cloud-based IMS
48% of business leaders say that moving to a cloud model helps them leverage deeper insights from data and enable faster innovation.
Making use of the real-time data and reporting available with the cloud gives you the information you need to make more meaningful, informed decisions that lead to overall improvements in how your business implements cloud-based IMS.
Ask our team about cloud-based IMS
Get in touch with our team of ISO consultants to find out more about effectively implementing cloud-based systems.
We have expertise in a wide range of industries developing lean, low burden systems that comply with ISO standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001.