Posted by Paul Anderson
The FOUR Unparalleled Benefits of Cloud Computing
2020: Cloud Computing Market is expected to reach $241 billion.
This begs the question – How did it happen? With the history of cloud computing not that old, it’s amazing to see how fast and quick things have turned into its favor. While we all know that cloud computing has been primarily conceptualized to improve business operations through the internet – its benefits are much beyond that.
p>Joe McKendrick a regular Forbes Contributor has stated four advantages of cloud computing that are not much talked about. According to his opinion, these characteristics are the unexpected benefits that emerge as cloud projects roll along:
So without any further ado, let’s take a quick run through, over these four benefits of cloud computing.
1. Quicker Innovation
Decades back:
Time and Money would essentially hold back the business entrepreneurs to execute new ideas. With lack of both these essential elements – it was not feasible for them to design and test a new product line frequently.
Fast Forward to Today:
The availability of on-demand cloud resources has paved the way for businesses to try out new ideas without excessive investments. Cloud computing technology has even made new configurations up and running within minutes.
So at a lesser time and a fraction of the cost – practically every fast growing small and medium-sized business is opting for constant experimentation to foster innovation in their process.
In short – the whole option of ‘trying out new ideas even if we fail’ is now applicable to the SMBs too. Large enterprises alone do not enjoy this privilege.
2. Well-Tested & Proven Business Processes
Initially, Cloud Services were criticized because it leveled the playing field for all the businesses. So if company A & B were using a cloud service from the same vendor and then company C joined the service – the thinking was – ‘’Oh My God, these processes are homogenized. All the three companies do not have a competitive differentiator of their own.’’
However, experts like Joe McKendrick have stated a contrasting opinion. In their words – the fact that cloud services have leveled the playing field for all the businesses is a blessing in disguise. It has given the option to business entrepreneurs to adopt successful business processes that others have hashed out.
So in the above case, when company C chooses the cloud service – what it receives is a process that has already been used and improved by the existing customers (Company A & Company B). It gets immediately exposed to processes, formulas and interfaces that are well-tested and proven to deliver the best business results.
3. Uninterrupted Focus on Business Development
- On an average, companies spend 18 days per month managing on-premise business applications.
- 80% of IT budgets are tied up in routine application maintenance.
Surprised to see the statistics?
Well, this has exactly been the scenario of most of the businesses. However, Cloud Computing has put an end to this situation. Using cloud based applications; businesses are free from the hassles of upgrading or maintenance. Cloud based software companies’ do the server maintenance – including security updates. Consequently – businesses get adequate amount of time to focus on other crucial tasks.
In the present hyper-competitive environment, this benefit gives businesses a competitive edge to others. CIOs and CTOs who are otherwise tied up overseeing maintenance of in-house IT systems, redirect their focus to higher-priority activities.
4. Smoother Mergers and Acquisitions
Admit it: Mergers and acquisitions have always been a headache for big and small businesses. Ideally, it has taken months and even years for two different organizations to combine and synchronize their processes together. The whole concept of bringing data and records from one system to another has given cold feet to most of the IT heads.
However, with systems in the cloud, the transitions have been as smooth as silk. Even many government agencies have acknowledged the fact that having a virtualized setup has enabled them to effortlessly consolidate departments. Unlike the previous occasions, where agencies had to employ workers to manually code information from one system to another – today, end-users in the conjoined organizations have been able to readily and rapidly access cloud-based systems.
