Go Cloud: 6 Reasons Why

In the recent past, I’ve come across a number of companies that are contemplating or are in the process of transitioning their on-premises workloads to the cloud.

The move to the cloud is very popular among enterprises right now. Going cloud has become somewhat of a buzzword these days and many may have jumped on this bandwagon purely because it’s the trendy thing out in the tech world. It is, however, important to take a step backward and probe why it’s essential for your business to make the move to the cloud.

To go cloud, as many have commented, is inevitable in most instances and generally it is also good for your business. However, as articulated in a recent study from Accenture (Behind every cloud, There’s a Reason), it is important to identify and prioritize the reason(s) why the migration to the cloud is good for your business.  This will clarify your goals and also ensure the long term success of your cloud migration program.

To get you started on this journey to the cloud Accenture has identified the six most common reasons why businesses are making the move to the cloud. These reasons for going to the cloud are commonly referred to as drivers and they should provide insight into what you hope to accomplish by making the move.

These six drivers fall under 2 main categories: business drivers (business growth, efficiency and experience) and technology drivers (agility, cost and assurance).

Business Drivers

1. Business growth: What are you doing to make your company more successful from the perspective of expansion? This can take a number of different forms (for example, driving sales, enlarging wallet share, or increasing productivity), so it’s important to clearly define how you intend to achieve this growth.
2. Efficiency: Efficiency includes streamlining processes to get work done faster or with less resources. This can turn around and fuel growth (for example, by allowing you take on more work) or reduce costs (for example, by reducing the amount of resources required).
3. Experience: Whether it’s external or internal, the customer experience is of utmost importance in today’s world. A good experience can increase brand loyalty among customers and retention among employees. In general, a positive customer experience is strongly tied to brand value.

Technology Drivers

1. Agility: Agility is the most common cloud driver today, especially when IT is leading the charge. Being agile helps IT change and scale fast enough to keep up with business needs. Azure Cloud Services
2. Cost: The difference between the technology driver cost and the business driver efficiency is often misunderstood. Although efficiency can lead to cost savings, the cost driver focuses on reducing the cost of IT licenses or operations and/or redefining the cost model for technology solutions.
3. Assurance: Finally, assurance encompasses the achievement of mission-critical technology outcomes, such as protecting against datacenter crashes or security breaches and maximizing disaster recovery effectiveness. Going to the cloud for assurance frees IT to be more strategic and passes these responsibilities to a provider that is typically better at handling them than your business is.

As you begin your move to the cloud, it’s important to identify which of these factors is driving your journey. Properly identifying, defining and balancing these drivers can help your business successfully execute its cloud strategy and move towards a true transformation.

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Join me next week as we look at ways in which you can begin to prepare your organization to adopt the cloud.