Monday, August 28, 2017

Businesses of All Sizes Learning to Leverage the Human Cloud

The vast blue sky and clouds abstract background

A growing number of B2B and B2C businesses are turning to the “human cloud” to hone their competitive edge—especially those that had less than $100 million in annual revenue last year. That’s according to the latest update to The Gig Economy and Human Cloud Landscape, a report from Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA).

SIA’s report looks specifically at the human cloud, which they define as a segment of the gig economy that specifically includes “firms that match workers to work through an online/digital platform,” such as Upwork Enterprise.

It’s a new way of getting things done that businesses of all sizes are learning to use to their advantage. Through their survey, SIA identified eight benefits that are driving adoption:

  • Greater talent access (63 percent)
  • Reduce costs (50 percent)
  • Expand skills coverage (46 percent)
  • Ease of use (38 percent)
  • Centralize management/control (33 percent)
  • Decrease legal risk (25 percent)
  • Reduce time to deploy workers (25 percent)
  • Track spend better (17 percent)

The human cloud within the B2B segment along grew approximately 20 percent year-over-year between 2015 and 2016.

“Companies can cut their learning curves significantly by tapping into the many strategies and best practices established by early adopters.”
Sarah Rickerd, Writer
Are You Ready? SIA Insights Predict Robust Human Cloud Growth in Future Years

The human cloud does come with challenges, however. Effective vetting, protecting company assets and intellectual property (IP), and compliance are among the issues that can be sensitive to navigate. But there are solutions available to help. And when you get past these initial considerations, the payoff for your business can be significant.

Read more about the SIA report >>

The post Businesses of All Sizes Learning to Leverage the Human Cloud appeared first on Upwork Blog.



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