More companies are relying on cloud technology than ever before. They are discovering the benefits of using the cloud to utilize data and facilitate communications between employees, customers, contractors and other stakeholders.
One of the underappreciated benefits of cloud technology is that it makes it easier to work with virtual assistants. Savvy executives and small business owners realize that virtual assistants can perform many important tasks a lot more efficiently. Cloud technology has helped VAs perform their jobs more easily and effortlessly exchange documents with their employers.
John Keogh has been a virtual assistant for 20 years. He told us that cloud technology has become very important in his profession.
“The cloud was barely a thing back in the early 2000’s. However, it has become even more important in recent years. Clients depend heavily on cloud technology to foster better communications, keep track of data and monitor trends. Many of them lack the technological competencies to handle these tasks on their own, so they rely on their virtual assistants. In a sense, cloud technology has made virtual assistants more valuable than ever. It has been a huge boon for our career,” Keogh said.
As a result, the market for virtual assistants is exploding. It was worth only $5 billion in 2020 and is expected to be worth over $50 billion by 2028.
Cloud Technology Increases Demand for Virtual Assistants
When used effectively, technology can make our lives better and make our work easier. Business leaders usually have tight schedules, which may lead to them forgetting to perform certain tasks. Fortunately, there is a modern solution to this problem, which is the use of a virtual assistant.
Virtual assistants are independent contractors that can perform a wide range of tasks, including clerical and administrative assignments, with various levels of difficulty. Having a virtual assistant is proving to be a great way to avoid wasting time on repetitive tasks and instead focus on more productive tasks.
We previously mentioned that VAs use data analytics to help their customers save money. However, the cloud is arguably even more important for the average virtual assistant.
Cloud technology is changing the state of the virtual assistant profession. Some apps handle many of the tasks traditionally performed by virtual assistants. However, more virtual assistants are using cloud resources to bolster productivity.
VAs usually work for a set number of hours in a week or a month or can be hired for the entirety of a project. The precise format depends on the needs of the employer.
What Tasks Can Be Assigned to a Virtual Assistant?
Cloud technology has enabled VAs to work remotely. They can use cloud-based services like Skype and Drobox to communicate with employers and share documents.
Since this job is performed remotely, the tasks that can be assigned to such personnel is something that can be properly done without physical interaction. The following are the most common areas where tasks are given to virtual assistants.
- Data entry
- Real estate
- Bookkeeping
- Business intelligence
- Social media management
- Administrative duties
- E-commerce
- Customer support
Almost all of these services can be performed over the cloud, which has helped the profession. Even back in 2013, Constant Contact published an article on the benefits the cloud provides to VAs. Author Vanessa Jones said that the biggest benefit of the cloud for virtual assistants was that it made accessing information easier than ever.
Cloud technology has become even more important for this profession in recent years.
What Cloud-Based Businesses Gain From Hiring Virtual Assistants
Cloud-based companies can discover a lot of benefits of hiring virtual assistants. Some fo the biggest benefits are listed below.
- Boosts Productivity
Cloud technology has been valuable for boosting business productivity. These productivity gains can be even higher when the cloud is leveraged with virtual assistants.
The business landscape is constantly changing and there are numerous strategies and tools being developed to ensure efficiency. It would help if one can delegate less critical tasks to a virtual assistant to free up more time to focus on things that can help their business stay relevant.
- Helps them Save Money
Having an assistant that provides services over the cloud means that there would be money saved on overhead costs like the rent of an office space, office supplies, refreshments and other everyday expenses that on-site workers demand daily.
- Flexible
A good virtual assistant would be available to work for you on the fly, giving you liberty to engage them outside the usual working hours. This directly translates to you getting tasks done at times of the day when a staff working physically would otherwise be unavailable.
- It Saves Time and Facilitates Business Growth
One of the key benefits of outsourcing customer service to a manager is the freedom to expand your business since there will be more time to allocate to pursuing clients and brainstorming ideas.
They can also assist by streamlining your operations, monitoring your markets, generating new business leads, collecting feedback from customers, and observing the behavior of your competitors. The more time they spend working with you, the more helpful they can be to your operations.
- Reduces the Need to Multitask
Employing a reliable virtual assistant and having them work on some of your urgent tasks takes away the need for you to try to get two tasks done at the same time. When you multitask, it is difficult to complete both tasks to the best of your ability.
Virtual Assistants Offer Tremendous Value to Cloud-Based Commpanies
Cloud technology has offered a lot of benefits to companies relying heavily on the cloud. The use of virtual assistants is recommended since it has numerous advantages. Outsourcing your extra and less complicated work to a smart person in another country helps reduce your operating cost and saves you time in the long run.