A 2016 survey by B2B research firm Clutch shows that nearly half of IT professionals (47 per cent) at medium or large enterprises surveyed cited 'increased efficiency' as the top benefit from using the cloud, followed by security (45 per cent) and data storage (41 per cent). In the IDG study, lowering total cost of ownership (TCO) was the top driver of cloud investments.
Greater efficiency, scalable storage, better data protection, and an enhanced development environment all are indisputably beneficial to an enterprise.
However, they’re simply a means to an end. Yes, CIOs need a digital framework for reduced operational costs, improved risk management and a more strategic deployment of IT resources; but there comes a time when this newfound power and agility must be put to the test to change the course of business.
* Using IT to automate existing business process has achieved steady results in growing revenue, profits, and customer loyalty. Today we are on the launching pad of a different kind of business advancement – the kind that comes from business process transformation and new ways of engaging customers.
The objective is no longer to improve the speed of the transaction, but to reshape how business is conducted.
* The shift is pervasive. Industries will be disrupted and business process will be redefined. Anyone clinging to the applications and infrastructure that run the business process of yesterday will be fighting against inevitable obsolescence –regardless of how advanced the applications and infrastructure.
The new approach begins with a foundation for collecting, storing, and analysing data.
The job of that foundation is to extract knowledge from analyzing data so that it can be put into action – in a fully automated way – to alter business processes and improve customer experiences through new applications.
* Cloud computing is at the center of it all, but not all cloud deployments do a digital transformation make. Enterprise leaders are just beginning to make digital transformation a top priority.
* In today’s hypercompetitive business environment, customers have greater demands, more options, and less loyalty than ever. Meeting these demands requires enterprises to deploy emerging technologies that can generate, collect, store, and analyse unprecedented volumes of digital data.
Enterprises are looking to private and hybrid cloud for the kind of benefits that do more than just improve IT.
Achieving digital transformation also requires the ability of these modern technologies to leverage legacy IT services, such as CRM and ERP software, a major investment for many large enterprises. New business process and new applications may still rely heavily on legacy IT services.
* The future will not be defined by making the business process of today faster, more convenient or cost less. The competitive imperatives of digital transformation compel an enterprise cloud strategy that extends beyond reducing IT costs. The drivers of digital transformation will be new business processes that change the very nature of business and how effectively and efficiently IT can support them.
Large enterprises that haven’t begun their cloud journey, as well as those that need assistance to make further progress, should look for a cloud partner with the strategic vision, knowledge, tools, and expertise to build and deploy managed cloud services that enable them to achieve real business growth and to succeed in the digital economy.
Courtesy: www.cio.com
