Improving the efficiency of small business through the use of cloud services

DOI: 10.31673/2518-7678.2020.023444

Abstract

The article provides a definition of a small business, reveals the specifics of small business. The
article presents the task: Based on the analysis of the functional purpose, specifics and characteristics of
small businesses to determine the main directions of information support of the small business sector
based on the introduction of cloud technologies to improve the efficiency of their business in the absence
of finances.
The analysis of specifics and characteristics of small business allows to allocate a number of its
advantages and advantages before average and big business, increasing stability of small enterprises in the
internal market. Among these advantages are a number of advantages in the ability to adapt to local
specifics, namely: in matters of doing business - relative independence with the personal interest of the
small business owner in saving resources and achieving success through rapid response to market
conditions; in matters of innovation - flexibility of the structure, efficiency of management during the
introduction of new goods and services; in matters of organization - low management costs and relatively
small investments per employee. But it should be noted the shortcomings that are characteristic of small
businesses. Especially in the issues of lack of financial resources, namely: instability of the position of
small enterprises in the market due to foreign market conditions (for example, quarantine during the
Covid-19 pandemic); dependence on large and medium-sized businesses; problematic attraction of
external sources of financing. Today, one of the problems in improving the business processes of small
businesses is the problem of information support of the organizational structure, the use of outdated
methods of distribution of functional responsibilities, which is reflected in the low efficiency of business
processes. One of the important factors in improving the efficiency of a small business is to improve its
three types of small business processes, namely: management of the organization, operations and
processes to support the production of goods and ambassadors through the use of modern information
technology. In small organizations, this is usually due to a lack of funding for IT infrastructure
maintenance and support. Therefore, often the maintenance and support of IT infrastructure is performed
by unqualified in this area ordinary employees, which leads to a decrease in the efficiency of IT
infrastructure management. The lack of sufficient financial resources significantly complicates the
process of informatization of small enterprises. Hence, such partial informatization is unreliable. It is
known that in the conditions of partial informatization it is not possible to achieve significant results in
improving management efficiency. The question arises: how in the face of lack of funds can increase the
efficiency of business processes. Therefore, one of the options for solving the problem of informatization
of small businesses is the use of cloud services, which is an urgent and timely task. One of the important
factors in improving the efficiency of small businesses is to improve its management, which is provided
through the use of information technology. It is shown that the application of information technology in
the field of business management is aimed at the analysis of its business processes and their management,
forecasting and information-analytical support of management decisions. A new direction is the use of
cloud technologies, namely cloud services. Cloud services provide cost reduction for information
technology, support and maintenance of information systems, quick access to the necessary information
and resources, transparency and predictability of costs. The problem of financing small business
informatization is shown. In order to solve this problem, he offers to use cloud services for
informatization of small business. As practice shows, the use of cloud services can significantly reduce
the financial costs of informatization of small businesses. Recently, cloud services are actively developing
and have become widespread throughout the world. The article describes the existing models of cloud
services, reveals the specifics of the use of cloud technologies. Particular attention is paid to the analysis
of the benefits of using cloud services for informatization of small businesses.

Keywords: small enterprise, small business, business processes, cloud technologies, cloud services.

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