Cloud Computing - Why Should we Care?

In a recent article I read from McKinsey, "Three actions CEOs can take to get value from cloud computing", they talk about 4 benefits of moving to the cloud. These are faster time-to-market, simplified innovation, easier scalability, and reduced risk. In this article I will explore each one of these benefits in more detail and see how each one can help a business in the short and long run.

Faster Time-to-Market

?Cloud offers a much faster time to market because it cuts out the time it takes to build out and stabilize the infrastructure required for new technology features. And not only does it take less time, the environment overall is more stable because it is built exactly for that - scaling up and out. For a cloud provider to be in business means they can scale their environment for multiple companies at a time, keeping the right partitions in place as needed and removing partitions where they are not helpful. For a company moving to the cloud, there are 2 main benefits:

• Dial up services and infrastructure for a new product or service
• Essentially zero time to build out infrastructure for new or expanded services

Simplified Innovation

Innovation in itself is not easy, so enabling and simplifying innovation provides real benefits to companies. What does cloud offer in the way of simplified innovation? This area is in its infancy in terms of what can be offered, but even today there are features of cloud environments to enable and simplify innovation. Some of the benefits are:

• more startups will survive because of the benefits of Cloud. Companies pay less in time and money to deliver their products when Cloud computing is available. They can purchase what they need and turn it on immediately, building on top and expanding as more compute power is needed. Some of the benefits are:
• At the macro level, startups and small companies will spend less on the basic computing environment. They need less IT people to build and support their infrastructure, and can spend that money and time on business value.
• Basic analytics collection is already in place and can be leveraged on day 1
• Clickstream data, monitoring and logging are available
• AI and Machine learning environments are available to tap into application data for further analysis and discovery
• If architected correctly, Services will be built and then leveraged as needed. Silos can be avoided so services can be leveraged completely via the cloud environment

Easier Scalability

This has been mentioned above. Basically, Cloud computing is built to expand and contract for their clients as the needs change. You can think of Cloud computing as a utility just like electricity or internet services - when you need more you simply call for more - it is built into the utility to provide as needed. The obvious benefits are:

• Ramp up, ramp down infrastructure as needed (E.g., holiday in retail, key industry dates)
• Scale existing services for new products and services as they come online.

Reduced Risk

One of the really important aspects of the technology infrastructure today is managing risk. Because of the increased number of attacks, companies must maintain their infrastructure very well to guard against these attacks. Activities such as keeping the Operating Systems of the all the servers running the latest software and keeping the security packs up to date is a full time job for an IT department if all the machines are on the company premises (in their data centers). Cloud computing enables you to depend on the Cloud provider to do all that work. Their livelihood depends on keeping their systems up to date and do all they can to keep the bad guys out of their environment. And they can do this for all their clients, spreading the cost of maintaining the environment across all clients. Some of the benefits are:

• Security built into the environment and supported across all applications
• Security upgrades built into the price of service

Obviously, Cloud computing comes with cost and some loss of control of the environment. However, Cloud computing providers are constantly building more flexible environments because that is what their customers are demanding. And, there is a cost of doing business no matter whether you build your business solutions on the cloud or on your own infrastructure. Certainly a worthwhile effort for IT leaders to consider how cloud can help them as they evolve their technology environments.

References

1. https://www.eukhost.com/blog/webhosting/10-benefits-of-cloud-computing-for-businesses/
2. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/three-actions-ceos-can-take-to-get-value-from-cloud-computing