One of the most frequent questions companies exploring cloud ask is, “How can we quickly pay back our investments in migrating our data and analytics to the cloud?”
When a company commits the capital to move its on-premise infrastructure to the cloud, the ROI of that investment is always a hot topic of discussion in the C-suite, with digital transformation and competitiveness coming fast on its heels. As someone who is responsible for cloud-based business and IT decisions, you need to be able to build a strong business case for this decision.
There are plenty of case studies showing that cloud computing provides enormous benefits, such as cost savings, lightning-fast performance, reliability, flexibility, increased security, and competitive advantage, among others. It is by far the most cost-effective option for storing and processing the enormous quantities of data required to become a digital champion and the leader in your sector, as well as avoid being disrupted by both traditional and non-traditional competitors.
But the results achieved above are only the beginning of the benefits that can be obtained in the era of cloud technologies.
Focus on Your Cloud Strategy for Bigger Benefits
Even though the act of migrating your data, apps, and proprietary IT from antiquated legacy systems to the cloud creates some immediate benefits, it does not transform your business into a digital champion. The real gains come from employing a strategy that factors in Big Data and the Internet of Things and applies advanced analytics to the new data structures and types of data that can be instantaneously accessed from cloud databases.
New ways of analyzing data and creating completely different types of insights are required to drive the customer-facing and operational model that both customers and internal stakeholders are demanding. Customer data is your most important strategic asset, and advanced analytics, enabled by new flexible cloud technologies, is the key to unlocking its potential and beating the competition.
