Cloud computing has the potential to be one of the most significant forces of change impacting business in the next decade. But how do we prepare for it, use it to grow our company or mitigate any risks?
It’s significance is broader still when considering the likely economic impacts to be created as more and more businesses adopt this new technology. KPMG has estimated that companies Information Communication Technology (ICT) spend will reduce considerably in the long term, yet output is likely to increase, resulting in an increase in gross domestic profit (GDP) as a result of productivity gain.
More mature markets such as the USA suggest the adoption of cloud platforms is likely to be between 50 and 75 percent of relevant ICT requirements. At 75 percent adoption, and based on current Australian GDP, this would result in opex and capex savings of 25 percent and 50 percent respectively.
The transformative impact of cloud
Cloud is transformative in that it is creating new business opportunities as companies harness its power to efficiently facilitate new revenue, services and businesses. It is breaking down barriers in the supply chain and creating more effective and timely interaction between clients and suppliers. Cloud delivers speed, agility and cost reduction to IT and other functional areas within an enterprise. Its transformative impact can be readily seen in areas such as human resource management, customer relationship management and IT infrastructure.
Addressing the risk equation
Any change requires an evaluation of the inherent risks and a strategy to mitigate them. The cloud is no different. In addition to a company review of service delivery models and policies, you should consider the storage of sensitive data, regulatory compliance issues, new data security and data controls and disaster recovery scenarios. Technical implications and data access laws should also be considered.
 Key participants in the cloud
As we first approach the cloud, our tendency is to perceive the work as primarily IT-focused. But in reality the cloud is being driven by an ecosystem of participants. It is therefore vital to think of the evolution of cloud environments in terms of three broad sets of people and principals; service providers, business users and IT users. Any cloud implementation requires cooperation, agreement and compromise from all of these parties.
Essentially, cloud calls for executives to challenge their thinking, to look at old problems in a new light and to create new opportunities. Consider your assurance across five key areas of the cloud – security, availability, privacy, integrity and monitoring. Establishing good governance with your service provider is key as is customer confidence in the sturdiness of your cloud services.
