CIOopinion
CIO OPINION
• Centralisation. Cloud offers a hub for
managing content where versions of
documents and audits are maintained for
process order and regulatory compliance.
Think of how Box or Dropbox, for
example, are replacing lossy processes
such as sending email attachments or
adding document versions to file shares.
• Collaboration. Cloud is a perfect fit
for meetings of teams or value-chain
networks. Any cloud app is inherently
collaborative. That will become more
and more important as companies build
ecosystems of partners to co-curate and
ideate for products and services that
stand out from commoditised rivals and
can command a premium price.
• Cost. With future revenues so uncertain
for many companies, managing costs is
hugely important. Cloud services usually
have subscription-based, utility-like
model so prices rise and fall depending
on usage. This ensures value and means
there is little risk of ‘bill shock’.
• Security. Firms need to ensure that with
so many more remote workers they have
the security protections and policies
in place to defend against attackers.
Although security has traditionally been
a concern or an objection to public
cloud adoption, cloud services have
an advantage in that they tend to be
run via highly proficient data centres
with more security skills on tap than
enterprises can afford. However, firms
will still need to educate staff against
phishing and similar scams and ensure
that tools such as VPNs and encrypted
networks are available.
• Choice. Some firms will be
understandably concerned about
potentially being locked into a single
dominant provider than can then have
too much control over customer options.
However, the intense competition
and price cutting among the biggest
providers mean that companies that
build out using a multi-cloud model will
retain the openness they cherish.
• Testing. Many companies will still need
to be able to test new and reworked
processes during and after the crisis.
Cloud platforms provide the testbeds to
enable this, without high cost penalties
or risks being incurred.
• Hiring. When the economy bounces
back, hiring will again become a
critical battleground and companies
that aren’t heavy cloud users will
become less attractive to younger
candidates especially.
As I outlined at the outset, there’s no such
thing as an overnight hit in IT but look out
for cloud-related opportunities for both
short-term benefits and for future strategic
importance. Cloud is already big, but it’s
about to get bigger. •
“
CLOUD IS
ALREADY BIG, BUT
IT’S ABOUT TO
GET BIGGER.
40 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com