How the Cloud Drives Economic Growth for Your Business?

Cloud computing made its debut about two decades ago with mainframe computing. Over the years, this technological innovation has evolved into a foundational tool for enterprises of all sizes. Before the advent of cloud computing technology, businesses had to use on-premise systems and data centers for managing their resources, software, networking and people. Such conventional infrastructure options not only lacked scalability, but also costs enterprises huge amounts of time and money. Cloud computing technology emerged as a new paradigm in the technological landscape by offering remarkable benefits to businesses that extended beyond convenient data storage, networking and web applications. Enterprises regardless of their size or niche are devoting more of their budgets to cloud adoption and moving their data and operations onto either public cloud, private cloud or hybrid cloud. Gartner survey predicts cloud computing as a $300 billion business and is estimated to account for nearly a quarter of all IT budgets by 2021.

Enormous growth in cloud computing adoption is being driven by enterprises pursuing digital transformation. However, public cloud engagement and adoption is not only the key enabler of a digital transformation story, but also becomes a catalyst for economic growth. Below listed are the key benefits businesses are experiencing with cloud adoption.

Increased team productivity

Cloud computing offers advanced data and information sharing tools to enterprises, thus helping them create collaborative environment. Businesses that need the flexibility of a remote workspace can greatly benefit from cloud computing platforms. Since the data and resources are hosted through a cloud service provider, employees can access the shared data anytime and from anywhere. Moreover, all employees can communicate and collaborate on team projects seamlessly in real-time. Cloud-based file management systems enable remote access, co-authoring of documents and file synchronization thereby streamlining the entire process. Not only it eliminates time-consuming and cumbersome administrative tasks but also allows the employees to focus their time and energy in strategic initiatives. Cloud computing helps increase the productivity by establishing transparency and ensuring faster response rates.

Reduced time to market

Following a time-based strategy is crucial for gaining a competitive edge on the fast-changing market. When it is about launching new products or services to market quickly, enterprises need to evolve faster than ever and understand the customer needs precisely. When your enterprise resources are hosted on a cloud, it would be easier to integrate new applications and technologies. Keeping up with the most recent technology trends and modern development methods would increase the operational efficiency and thus resulting in faster results. Creating well-defined workflows and automating the development process with highly scalable cloud computing platforms enable shorter time to market. Following a cloud-based approach allows developers to concentrate fully on functionality and programming. Moreover, developing a cloud solution would help in making a fast turnaround when something goes wrong and needs to be resolved.

Better security and compliance

As the trust in public cloud seems to be growing, enterprises are entrusting the cloud infrastructure with their sensitive data and operations. Rising number of high-profile hacking cases, security breaches and technological attacks have made cybersecurity a paramount factor. When it comes to Amazon cloud services and Microsoft Azure cloud platform, both the cloud providers ensure exceptional security on their cloud infrastructure by offering role-based access control (RBAC). Azure’s RBAC is called Active Directory, whereas AWS’s RAC is termed as Identity and Access Management (IAM). In addition to the security features, cloud computing platforms also offer multiple compliance features and threat mitigation practices to ensure the highest standard services to enterprises.

Improved customer engagement and experience

In this aggressively competitive market, customer service can be considered as a key differentiator to gain an edge. Offering a superior level of customer experience not only drives business forward, but also helps in driving customer acquisition and retention. Findings from a research indicates that poor customer service costs $62 billion each year in the U.S alone. Modern-day customers expect high-quality service that is fast, personalized and proactive. Introducing cloud solutions help business organizations to reach customers in a more individualized fashion. With the higher scalability and flexibility of cloud resources, enterprises can respond immediately to dynamic spikes in demand without increased capital expenses. This would allow customers to make quick, seamless transactions without any downtime. Businesses can also take advantage of machine learning functionality, cognitive services, data processing capabilities and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities to understand customer behaviour and deliver a more relevant experience based on real-time interactions.

Lower costs

Cloud computing platforms offer a great deal of financial benefits for business organizations. Before cloud, enterprises need to spend big money on hardware, software or licensing and renewal fees, which amounted to major payroll overhead. Switching to cloud environment can save substantial capital and operating costs through reduction in infrastructure expenses and labor costs. Typically, cloud solutions are available in a pay-as-you-go pricing model plan that allows enterprises to manage their budgets efficiently by only paying for the services they have used in each billing cycle. With the customer applications and internal apps launched in cloud, it cuts down the IT administration costs by head-turning percentages.

Cloud computing is without doubt one of the most influential IT trends of the decade. Scalable infrastructure and flexible payment options of cloud computing services makes it easy for businesses to innovate and move forward. Businesses across the verticals that adopt cloud computing platforms can gain considerable economic benefits through increased productivity, better security, reduced time to market, improved customer experiences and decreased costs.