Do you value your Estate Agency’s data? 3 reasons to use Cloud storage.

A lot of small businesses continue to work with the good old paper and pen. That’s all well and good, but paper doesn’t last too well against theft, natural disasters or innocent accidents like a tea spill. (We’ve all done that!)

As estate agents you go through a lot of important files, so between those contracts, inventory sheets and high quality property photos, you want to make sure that data is kept safe. That’s where cloud storage comes in.

You don’t have to be a geek!

First off, don’t let the geeky jargon throw you off. “Cloud storage” is a fancy way of saying your data is stored on a secure server in someone else’s data centre, rather than on your own computer’s hard drive.

You can pick from a multitude of providers that make using the cloud easy — some you’ve almost certainly heard of — like Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive. Each of these has free & paid options, and it’s just a matter of picking the platform you’re most comfortable with. (e.g. If you use Microsoft Office a lot, OneDrive may be ideal. Use Google Docs instead? Drive will be your best bet.)

With all that said, let’s get into the 3 main reasons you should be using cloud storage.

1. Safety first

One main problem with storing files on your agency’s computers or even external hard drives is that, if anything was to happen to your store or your equipment gets stolen, all of your data is long gone.

The beauty of cloud storage is that it’s safely stored remotely — away from your agency.

Your equipment may get damaged or stolen, but your data will still be accessible by logging into the platform you use. And if by chance your computer or drive has been stolen, you can typically ‘revoke’ usage for that particular device.

2. Convenience: Access anywhere

On a personal note, I value convenience as one the main benefits from using cloud storage. Because you can access your files from anywhere, using almost any device with an internet connection, you can be productive away from your desk too.

Need to share photos of a property quickly? The Google Drive app for example allows you to instantly take and upload a photo into a specific folder. That automatically removes the boring admin tasks of getting back, plugging in your phone, transferring files into your computer and then organising them.

And of course if you’re running errands outside of the office but need access to that one crucial document, you don’t need to bother colleagues for it. Just grab it yourself using the apps.

It’s a whole new level of efficiency.

3. A paperless office

When I started working with Chirag Solanki, Director of Devonshire Estate Agents in Ealing, he was really keen on creating a paperless office environment.

Granted, it’s a small space, but he wanted to create a cleaner and more modern environment. After all, seeing folders and paperwork everywhere isn’t exactly appealing!

We introduced Google Drive so that they could minimise the need for paperwork and centrally store all of their data. Even the bulky printer that looked like it was from the 90’s had to go, so we replaced it with a more compact alternative that could fit onto a table-top instead.

This combination meant that they saved office space, it looked cleaner and made the team work more efficiently since all their data was easily accessible.

Final thoughts

Whether you use cloud storage purely as a backup or your core location for managing files, it’s incredibly important to have something in place to protect your data.

It’s always best to be safe than sorry!

Author: Fabio Virgi is a freelance marketer working with small London businesses. See more of his work over at LetsTalk-Tech.com.

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

UK monthly property transactions for May 2025

Headline statistics from the latest transactions data include: the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 81,470, 12% lower than May 2024 and 25% higher than April 2025 the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 80,530, 13% lower than May 2024 and…
Read More
Breaking News

Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) shows the Government has a plan

The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) held its first board meeting today (26 June 2025), where it set out a roadmap for recruiting 100,000 more construction workers a year by the end of Parliament. Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) is a recognition…
Read More
Paint Stripper Tools
Estate Agent Talk

5 Strategies to Optimise Your Warehouse for Real Estate

The term fixer-upper can mean many things, from ‘slap some paint on the walls and it looks brand new’ to ‘will this building collapse if we open the front door?’ Indeed, in the dicey world of commercial property acquisition, each warehouse you buy will probably fall into both camps. Thinking about the viability of warehouses…
Read More
Breaking News

HMOs sell for up to 50% above market average

New research from Excellion Capital, the boutique debt advisory and investment firm, reveals that HMOs sell for as much as 50% above the average house price, further increasing their investment potential after it was revealed that HMOs also create rental yields of up to 12.5%. After previous research from Excellion Capital recently showed that the…
Read More
Breaking News

UK buyers struggle while 50,000 homes sit empty

As the UK housing crisis deepens, new analysis by Open Property Group exposes a worrying surge in so-called “zombie homes”- properties that sit unoccupied and deteriorating while millions struggle to access affordable housing. Key insights: 50,000+ long-term vacant homes in England alone 23,000+ of these have been empty for more than two years Estimated £13.6…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 26/06/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   The UK is Europe’s second most distressed market despite headline GDP growth Retail and Consumers Goods has emerged as the most distressed sector in Europe, with distress levels now the highest since the global financial crisis, according to the latest Weil European Distress Index (WEDI). The…
Read More