Be it information technology (IT), healthcare sector, education industry, the military, or the automotive sector – the one common thread among all these verticals is the “cloud.” An amazing technological innovation, the cloud no doubt has simplified data maintenance, security protocols, and overall work efficiency of organizations. Amit Sharma, in-house expert on ICT and related industry at Technavio, maintains that for any technology provider to be successful, it is essential that they make cloud computing an integral part of their work process and business strategy.
From transformationals to late adopters, the cloud has all kinds of customers
Every organization has its own set of goals which it plans to achieve through the adoption of cloud computing platforms. Usually, the early adopters of the cloud infrastructure are known as the transformationals – as their main focus is to bring a pivotal change in the business process through improved performance and scalability.
Then there are the safety-conscious and the price-conscious groups. Each as the name implies eagerly willing to adopt cloud services, yet held back due to safety and pricing concerns. Our research shows that both these categories of customers eventually adopt the cloud software, and in fact hold a major share in the global cloud computing software market.
Then come the late adopters – this is one category which is time and often been misjudged as they are very slow in including cloud services in their work environment. According to Sharma, it is in fact the late adopters who eventually emerge as the major backers of cloud technology. One of the best examples to prove this point is the case study conducted on Boeing. Way back in 2012, the company had no interest in even considering cloud hosting as a major component in their business plan. But, within two years, they had an on-premise PaaS in place. Today, five years down the line, Boeing is confidently moving some of its core applications like the aviation analytics to the public cloud.
How is the cloud expanding?
Cloud technologies, which was in demand just among the transformational companies, has now found immense acceptance even among the late adopters as well. This has not only broadened the base of cloud technologies, but also opened opportunities for technology providers to rethink and rebuild their operating models according to people, processes, and business environments.
The two vital aspects which have transformed the image of cloud services is the inculcation of transparency and accountability in the software. Now, it has even become easier to pull out financial reporting for individual business units.
The new entrants in cloud computing have innovated on models with greater speed, better management structures, and efficient processes which cater to the changing needs of the buyers. The future, ignore the pun, is most definitely cloudy!
