Five benefits of cloud computing

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Edwin Schouten, cloud services leader for IBM Global Technology Services, has produced a list of five key reasons companies should look to use cloud computing. He points out that one of the major benefits for implementing the technology is increased efficiency, but there is much more to it than that.Here is the summary. The complete story is available here
  • The first area he highlights is ‘business agility’. This is where a firm can deliver faster results in a cheaper manner to give them an edge on their competition.“I have seen a data analytics project being reduced from four months to just three weeks, reducing the projects time-to-market and overall cost significantly,” Schouten said.

  • The second advantage of the cloud he points out is the fact that it allows firms to try out new business models, Mr Schouten says that utilising its flexible structure can result in new and innovative business structures being created and this can result in new areas of revenue becoming available to the company. “There are even companies that are building entirely new business models and value propositions solely using cloud services. I see this last category especially in small and medium enterprises, but also think of Spotify, and BitCasa,” he pointed out.
  • Next up is reduced operational issues. This is an area where business continuity is improved and less time is spent trying to sort out problems.
  • Benefit number four is a better use of resources. Because the cloud gives more “business agility” this means that staff members can now spend more of their time focusing on areas which offer greater value to the firm.Mr Schouten said: “This benefit is different for every organisation and harder to quantify, but people are an organizations biggest asset and this allows you to better utilise this asset.”
  • Lastly, and most importantly to many companies, is reduce capital expense. Because data is held remotely, firms can reduce their storage costs but they can also save money on staff and maintainance.