Recognizing the Value of Cloud Technology

Businesses are investing in cloud solutions, overcoming the initial hesitation as they gingerly place a little cold data on a cloud storage server or implement a cloud version of their sales pipeline management system. As management witnesses the reduction in costs and maintenance as well as performance enhancement, they’re beginning to embrace the cloud and look for more ways to apply its benefits to their companies.

A new phase: disruption. The adoption of cloud technology is reaching a new phase, in which information is flowing quickly between developers and the organizations using the solutions. Data collection and analysis means the enterprise can anticipate the needs of their customers, but the cloud service provider can also anticipate the needs of the enterprise.

This new phase offers the kinds of disruption that cloud developers have been promising all along: enterprises have begun shaping business processes and cloud providers are designing applications in ways that drive new innovation, increase performance and productivity, and improve the customer experience.

IT moves into a strategic seat. Things have already been moving in this direction, but the move is becoming more pronounced. Rather than serving as the department that just keeps the lights on, IT is moving to a prominent place in the board room, providing insight and guidance into how the organization moves forward and how it prioritizes various aspects of digital transformation. Collaboration between IT and line-of-business managers as well as finance helps achieve business objectives and drive down costs.

The collaborative effort isn’t limited to the enterprise. As cloud providers better understand the needs of the enterprise, their ability to offer the best possible product improves as well. They’ll even be looking at the end user to see how their products can be better designed. The flow of data and the inclusion of artificial intelligence and machine learning will make it easier to know why and how the customer engages in particular activities.

It’s not just about cost. While lower costs have often been the primary driver of cloud adoption, this priority is beginning to shift. The price tag is certainly motivating, but business managers are seeing the potential for innovation and performance enhancement as dwarfing any outright cost savings. They see bigger objectives, such as going from being a follower in their market to outpacing their competitors.

The changes reflect a fundamental shift in the position of cloud technology. It has gone from being a tool pushed by IT to reduce costs and maintenance and provide some efficiencies in business processes, to one embraced by executives as the primary answer to many of their most important business objectives.

If you would like more information about the ways that cloud solutions can disrupt and transform your own organization, contact us at One Connect.