With the rapid rise in entrepreneurship comes more opportunities for burgeoning businesses to leverage the cloud as they scale. According to the Census Bureau, 5.4 million new business applications were filed in 2021, surpassing the record set in 2020 of 4.4 million
As all of those startup businesses take shape and expand, more and more are leveraging the cloud as they seek to grow their operations but maintain flexibility and reduce costs at the same time. Cloud services are attractive to early-stage businesses because of how easily they can scale applications up or down based on always shifting and often unpredictable requirements.
There are many reasons startups leverage the cloud.
Using cloud technology means lower hardware and space requirements for early-stage businesses, which translates to lower infrastructure costs in both the short and long terms. The cloud offers maximum flexibility for growth in capacity and resources, so scalability is never an issue. As the business grows, entrepreneurs can access more resources on-demand and pay for them only when needed, saving money in the process.
The cloud also allows startups to streamline upfront capital expenses, freeing up funds for other expenses.
Software company Dataflix is an example of one of those startups that recognized the advantages of a cloud-based existence from the start.
“Dataflix was born in the cloud, and we are a cloud-first company,” says Dheeraj Nallagatla, founder and CEO of Dataflix. “All applications and platforms we use to manage and run our business are cloud-based.”
According to Nallagatla, the top three reasons that led to Dataflix’s cloud existence were:
- The ability to launch applications quickly, making them available to teams with minimal effort.
- Being able to scale applications with the business while paying only for what it used.
- Better control over security and operational cost.
“At Dataflix, every single digital interaction happens in the cloud. From productivity to collaboration to enterprise resource planning to product development to day-to-day operations, it starts and ends in the cloud. We leverage cloud applications across sales, customer service, and employee productivity to effectively run our business,” Nallagatla continued.
Dataflix uses multiple cloud solutions for its day-to-day work, and there are specific parameters that drive its decisions in picking the right cloud solution for its business, Nallagatla explained. When it comes to making decisions about the right cloud solution for Dataflix’s business, security tops the list, as it does for most cloud-based startups.
“It’s critical that the solutions we use tightly integrate with our Identify & Access Management (IAM) system and meet our information security standard and compliance requirements, including where and how data is stored & managed,” Nallagatla said.
Pricing models and ease of use are also key factors. “We prefer a transparent pricing model that will help us predict our future costs as the business scales,” Nallagatla said. “Adoption is key to our ROI (return on investment), so ease of using the solution plays a vital role in adoption. We consider these important factors when picking the right cloud solution.”
Adopting cloud for product development has also reduced design and build costs and accelerated time-to-market, making the company more competitive, Nallagatla said.
“One of the core advantages we bring to our customers is product-based delivery—our products and accelerators enable us to deliver solutions faster, driving faster ROI to our customers,” he said.
Nallagatla said cloud adoption has accelerated Dataflix’s software and digital initiatives, driving business efficiencies, cost benefits, and competitive advantages. He cited improved collaboration as one of the strongest benefits of leveraging the cloud.
“We work across continents from multiple locations, so collaboration is our top priority,” he said. “Adopting cloud-based solutions makes collaboration simple and productive. Employees are connected and engaged, and they can view and share information easily and securely through multiple apps and devices, improving overall productivity.”
That collaboration extends to the larger cloud community, which also is an important part of Dataflix’s cloud identity.
“The Google Cloud community, specifically C2C Global, is bringing customers, partners and developers together across the globe,” Nallagatla said. “This gives us an opportunity to learn how Google Cloud is being leveraged by companies of all sizes and verticals.”
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