By Samit Banerjee
The shift from hardware to cloud computing was long in the works, but the COVID-19 outbreak accelerated the pace of this transformation. By offering greater flexibility, cost efficiency and a reliable infrastructure that ensures business continuity, cloud-based services are allowing companies to accelerate growth. Also, the ease of doing business in the cloud has propelled organizations of all sizes to make the switch.
While enterprises are now heavily investing in cloud technologies, most lack the clear vision of what they want. To address this, you need to take a step back and evaluate what is the business objective? Only then organizations will be able to identify the right approach towards adopting cloud computing and invest accordingly.
The overarching question is not whether you should adopt a cloud strategy, rather when and how. Given that there is no one-cloud-fits-all-problems approach, strategy and planning are imperative for any organization to reap the maximum benefit from cloud. This can be achieved by understanding your business goals and accurately choosing the appropriate resource.
It’s Not Just a Numbers Game
Cloud migrations are inherently complex. To perceive the true picture of the value cloud adoption brings to a business, you need to consider its benefits. Designed to scale, cloud computing allows companies to increase or decrease computing requirements according to workload needs. You can also explore ways to seamlessly integrate your processes with innovative analytics platforms (public, private, hybrid and community), which will allow the systems to be more adaptive and agile. For instance, with cloud analytics, multiple team members can review and edit documents in real-time.
Having said that, migration is only the beginning. Cloud-native software and delivery models (Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service) have set the bar high for customer experience and expectations. And so, to truly generate a significant, sustainable competitive advantage, businesses need to leverage intelligence and innovation. It is important to bear in mind that survival in this rapidly changing digital world hinges, to a large extent, on software delivery capabilities, which drive customer satisfaction and enable agility. They also determine the ability of a business to stand out in a fiercely competitive landscape.
What Are Cloud Intelligent Companies Doing Right?
The rapid growth of cloud computing is pushing companies to upend traditional ways of working and rethink their approach towards the enterprise and how they run it. These businesses have, in the process, evolved and now function differently from legacy organizations.
- Improved data security. A legitimate concern among businesses that are using flexible IT solutions is data security. By investing in cloud protection services, like encryption, data loss prevention, and perimeter security, companies are insulating themselves from data theft/data loss, viruses, and malicious attacks.
- Driving innovation. This is especially true of smaller enterprises that are looking to ramp up their scale and their strategy by adopting cloud-based tools that reduce both costs and risks.
- More informed decisions. Wrong budgeting decisions and financial missteps can cripple growth. By adopting cloud solutions, companies are gaining valuable insights into data to avoid monetary pitfalls and retake control of their spending.
- Increased productivity. There is a reason why some of the best companies today have made cloud collaboration technology the pillar of their operations. With the collapse of physical boundaries in the pandemic, enterprises have begun to see the value in cloud-enabled remote workplace solutions, which I believe are here to stay.
- People first. Last but certainly not the least, investing in upskilling the workforce in digital technologies is always a priority for these companies. In our zeal to leverage technology, we often forget to invest in the very people that power these processes.
Numerous benefits of cloud architecture can create a robust foundation for the organization’s agility and resiliency in the long run. Cloud service providers must now look at the broader implications of Return on Investment and not be blinkered by the monetary return. Businesses, on their part, must evolve and innovate to stay ahead – or risk losing out at the hands of fierce competition and digital disruption.
(The author is Division President, Amdocs Cloud Operations Services. Views expressed are personal.)
