The title to this post almost sounds obvious, but the truth is that cloud computing is not yet being used to its full potential. Many businesses currently rely on the cloud solely to save money or add simple mobility, but these organizations are hardly scratching the surface of the cloud’s true capabilities. Cloud computing offers countless opportunities to drive business innovation, and it’s time for the business world to take advantage of this.
Gain Insight
Cloud computing is now offering the ability to gain amazing insight into an individual business, thanks to advanced analytic capabilities. Not only are these capabilities possible, but businesses of any size can now access the computing power necessary to take advantage of this information. Cloud helps businesses manage their own, growing data, while also accessing new sources of data. A great example is the popular online marketplace, Etsy. This business relies heavily on analytics to build customer relationships, improve the user experience and provide the most efficient service. By using cloud-based analytics, Etsy analyzes millions of page views to determine which recommendations to make for visitors and maintain an effective business ecosystem.
IT and Operations
Cloud computing is often only seen as an IT solution. It’s true that the technology is currently a mainstream IT trend, but this should not be the case. Cloud computing can become a company-wide solution. It can break down the walls between IT development and operations and offer the ability to quickly implement infrastructure and test new ideas. By moving to the cloud, organizations can also easily handle swells of capacity, something that was not so simple before. With traditional IT and operations, it was risky to test ideas, due to high costs and lack of resources. Now, organizations can move quickly through the experimental phase, getting the necessary resources on an as-needed basis.
Product Innovation
According to IBM, leading companies are 73% more likely to rapidly innovate products and services via the cloud. Through improved communication and collaboration, cloud computing easily leads businesses to faster development of innovative products or services. In a lot of cases, the cloud becomes a fundamental part of the new product. With agility and cost efficiency in hand, organizations can truly improve their services at lightning speed, reducing delivery time from months to just weeks.
Customer Relations
Thanks to the huge surge in data, and the ability to have constant access to the world’s information, businesses can truly listen to their customers and take advantage of the insights to meet customer needs and drive business growth. With so much data in hand, it’s easy to learn customer preferences, deliver relevant offers and news, and develop the best products and services for your consumers. With today’s mobile and social trends, it’s also easier than ever to engage in two-way conversation with customers. This point is very important, as it shifts the cloud focus from internal improvements to external improvements, which are arguably equally important. With cloud computing driving innovation, you can take your business to the next level. The technology will not only help you reshape your existing operations, but also enter new lines of business, innovate within your own industry and better serve your customers. Working with the cloud and a cloud provider allows your organization to focus its attention on strategic business decisions and innovation, while we take care of the stressful tasks and high costs.
