Small and Large Businesses Utilizing the Cloud in New Ways

Yabba dabba do…..Visions of Fred Flintstone punching a time clock with a pre-historic piece of slate, at the quarry where he worked as a crane operator, come to mind when we think of the proverbial ‘punching the clock.’

We know the time clock has grown leaps and bounds since Flintstone’s Stone Age era, and today, it is so cutting edge that some companies are using biometrics to track an employee’s hours and other state-of-the-art technologies.

Utilizing cloud computing systems, for example, the work time clock software company Minutehound just released a biometrically secured time clock and attendance system. As companies continue to try to obtain greater efficiency, this new tool by Minutehound is proving to be an effective method of securing employee data and even streamlining administrative tasks for both small and large companies.

The software technology is also using cloud-based software so all the data is accessible from anywhere – making it readily accessible, precluding the important data from being lost or damaged.

Minutehound’s clock-in data is acquired by using biometric employee identification, and it’s one way the technology is making cost-conscious businesses more efficient, as the software requires all employees to be ‘physically’ present when beginning work and before leaving work – no fudging hours or ‘buddy punching – certainly a far cry from Fred Flintstone’s antiquated time clock.

MinuteHound's latest release contains many other helpful features that save business owners time and money. A key managerial feature is the automated alerts system, which notifies managers when an employee clocks in or out during unscheduled times.

MinuteHound's cloud based attendance system is easy to use, and no advanced training is needed to operate it.

While products like Minutehound’s new technology weaves in cloud computing to secure the data, other companies are also implementing cloud computing to boost employee productivity and contentment. According to cloudtweaks.com, cloud computing is resulting in more remote access and collaboration capabilities that lend more flexibility to employees, who in turn are happier at work.

In a recent article on SAP (News - Alert), Lindsey Nelson contended there are many ways to use cloud computing for collaboration, like:

• Web and video conferencing
•  Project, team and client workspaces that are shared and accessible
• Discussion forums
• File sharing and storage, especially large files
• Task management

With these developments in cloud computing, it’s becoming clearer that the cloud isn’t just being used to store data in a virtual space; as Minutehound underscores, you can use it for running applications and software remotely. UK publication The Guardian says for small businesses, outsourcing IT to the cloud lowers the need for specialist skills and frees managers to concentrate on the core business.

It may cost slightly more than in-house IT, but this is often outweighed, as it can sometimes enable a small company to take a "big company" approach to problems by increasing efficiency.