On Monday, Sept. 15, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley announced the creation of the Alabama Small Business Commission, a new effort to foster entrepreneurship, innovation and growth among the state’s small businesses.

According to the Birmingham Business Journal, a release from Bentley’s office stated that Executive Order 47 led to the creation of the Small Business Commission, which seeks to “serve in an advisory capacity to help with policies, spurring innovation and creating a dialogue to support economic development.”

Alabama is currently home to approximately 400,000 small businesses, the Birmingham Business Journal reports, and small businesses account for three out of four jobs across the state.

One of the main ways small businesses could improve the efficiency and efficacy of their operations is to move their data hosting to the cloud.

In recent years, cloud computing services have become a cost-efficient and space-efficient means of storing company data remotely. The cloud gives businesses a larger range of options for data storage, boasting lower upfront costs and more secure servers.

The Birmingham Business Journal reports that the Commission will consist of Alabama’s leaders in the small business sector, each of whom will serve a two-year term.

“Alabama’s continued economic progress depends on the prosperity of our small businesses,” Bentley concluded. “The creation of the Alabama Small Business Commission will encourage innovation, discuss issues critical to economic growth of small business and promote policies to assist new business start-ups and expansion of existing businesses.”