As Covid continues to disrupt work, more and more businesses are depending on cloud-based services like Dropbox, Google Suite and Flexyforce to add extra layers of security and enable staff to efficiently work from anywhere.  



In the Covid-19 context, the ‘cloud’ is the place to be. And though it’s not exactly a new tech phenomenon, it is only now that it has gained increased currency, with the number of companies adapting to cloud-based services seeing an upward trend.  



CEO and Founder of Flexyforce,&nbsp;Annette Muller, speaks of how she has seen it soar to new levels. &nbsp;



“Practically, we originated from looking at these future business models, which is very much on-demand workforces and automating the underlying administration to allow the business to scale within their capacity. And philosophically, the bigger mission is, of course, to bring flexibility to the workplace,” Muller says. &nbsp;



Flexyforce is South Africa’s first female-founded cloud-based supplier management software and it has seen growth during the pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We signed on a number of new exciting businesses, specifically businesses who realized that with this remote work they&#8217;re going to have to take off their business operations into the cloud,” Muller says.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Cloud computing, according to Managing Executive of Cloud, Hosting, and Security at Vodacom Business, Kabelo Makwane, is bringing together a pool of shared IT resources. This is done through computing, storage, and networks which allows for the shared resources to be shared anywhere and at any time on a pay-as-you-go metered service. &nbsp;



“As opposed to the traditional distributed computed model where everyone, whether you are a large enterprise or working from home, is building their own IT shops, the benefits of cloud computing come from the aggregation and consuming it as a utility in the same way we consume power today,” Makwane said at the Future of Work digital summit hosted by CNBC Africa on August 20. &nbsp;



This notion is seconded by Muller who says that cloud computing is a lot more cost-efficient as you have to downscale on some of the costs you were previously using, but this is provided you are using the correct service provider. In addition to that, the cloud can be accessed from anywhere. &nbsp;



“So a big benefit is that you can access work from any device anywhere in the world. And I think that is what pushed so much attention to cloud services. Now, specifically with Covid-19, because of the forced remote working that we saw taking place across the whole world. And that just means that you&#8217;re less dependent on an office environment or specific devices at the office to be able to work,” Muller says. &nbsp;



Using a cloud-based service is also a good equalizer for entrepreneurs who may be starting a business or small-to-medium-sized businesses as there are no incurred IT costs to worry about, specifically now during Covid-19, this would be the best time for those businesses to start using cloud-based service providers if they have not already. &nbsp;



“The fixed upfront costs are lower because you’re essentially just doing a pay-as-you-go model and this could really assist the small-to-medium-sized business,” Alison Collier, Managing Director of Endeavor South Africa, said at the Future of Work summit. &nbsp;



“I think it&#8217;s absolutely fundamental to small-to-medium businesses and they will not survive this day and age if they do not put those basic systems and processes into place from the word go,” Muller adds. &nbsp;



There are still companies who fear having to use cloud-computing as there is a security risk perception, Muller explains. However, most service providers have gone to great lengths to protect companies’ data by using tools like authenticators.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Furthermore, Muller adds that if Covid-19 has taught companies anything, it is that businesses have to change and adapt to the new world of working. &nbsp;



“There&#8217;s an interesting analogy that the office of the future isn&#8217;t getting the printer and the secretary and the desk and the chair. It&#8217;s not; it&#8217;s opening up your Web browser and having those first seven services that you log into every day,” Muller says.

Woman using a laptop with cloud icon on working at home.

Nimble In The Cloud – The Office Of The Future

Dropbox has filed confidentially to go public, setting in motion what could be one of the most closely-watched tech IPOs of the year.
The company valued by private investors at $10 billion has tapped Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to lead the listing process, a source with knowledge of the company has confirmed to Forbes. Dropbox declined to comment on the news, which was first reported by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-11/dropbox-is-said-to-file-confidentially-for-initial-offering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>.
According to that report, Dropbox reportedly aims to list within the first half of 2018. That timeline is disputed by Forbes&#8216; source, who declined to provide an alternative target date.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment-guide/2017/09/13/tech-can-close-gap-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How Tech Can Close The Gap In Africa</a>
One of tech&#8217;s youngest billionaires at 34-years-old, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston announced in January 2017 that the company had passed $1 billion in annual revenue run rate, meaning that its quarterly revenue at that time, if extrapolated across a one-year interval, would produce revenue of $1 billion. At the time, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2017/01/30/dropbox-hits-1-billion-revenue-run-rate/#43eafb6db6bb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the company said</a> it was the fastest software-as-a-service company to reach that milestone. Dropbox had about 500 million users and 200,000 paying business customers on its books a year ago.
In June 2016, Houston, who cofounded Dropbox with Arash Ferdowsi in 2007, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/14/dropbox-says-it-is-cash-flow-positive-in-no-rush-to-ipo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> a tech conference in San Francisco that the company was cash flow positive. In April 2017, the company <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-10/dropbox-has-whipped-itself-into-shape-but-going-public-won-t-be-easy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it was profitable on an EBITDA basis, which would include its stock-based compensation.
In what may prove to have been anticipation of the IPO process, Dropbox announced in September 2017 that it was appointing Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman to its board of directors. Then in December, the company beefed up the board&#8217;s financial makeup by adding former Nike CFO Don Blair.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/11/22/billionaire-meg-whitman-will-step-ceo-hpe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Billionaire Meg Whitman Will Step Down As CEO Of HPE</a>
How Dropbox fares on the public markets will provide a prominent beacon for tech &#8220;unicorns&#8221; valued at $1 billion or more who have watched Blue Apron and Snap struggle with their public debuts in recent months and remained on the sidelines. Other high-profile companies that could follow Dropbox in upcoming months include Airbnb, WeWork and Uber, as well as companies without quite the same buzz but with the financials to go public, such as Qualtrics.
While Dropbox has faced concerns about its ability to grow new products and the struggles that have beset some of its closest peers, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-10/dropbox-has-whipped-itself-into-shape-but-going-public-won-t-be-easy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sources told Bloomberg</a> in August that the company was growing its revenue at a healthy clip of about 30%. For comparison, Salesforce reported 32% annual growth for its fiscal 2015 on revenue of $5.37 billion.
In July 2017, Dropbox featured as No. 2 on the Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/cloud100/#467fd7615f94" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cloud 100</a> list of top private cloud companies. Should it go public, its exit would dwarf cloud&#8217;s most recent biggest, AppDynamics&#8217; acquisition <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/24/why-the-3-7-billion-appdynamics-acquisition-happened-right-before-ipo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for $3.7 billion</a> in January 2017. A successful IPO would mean a windfall for early venture capital investors Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures as well as a slew of firms with smaller stakes in the longtime Silicon Valley favorite. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Alex Konrad</a>, FORBES STAFF

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Nimble In The Cloud – The Office Of The Future

Dropbox Just Confidentially Filed To Go Public, Setting Up A Bellwether IPO