How can cloud give YOU the competitive advantage?

Companies who have deployed cloud are said to be gaining competitive advantage over their rivals, according to a new study conducted by IBM. The study of 800 cloud decision-makers looked at the business outcomes of organisations using cloud and how their results are being achieved. The results indicated that those who have deployed cloud are re-inventing customer relationships, utilising analytics for insights from big data, growing revenue faster and much more. How is cloud giving these companies the competitive edge?  

Cloud + Deployment = Change

  Cloud can be likened to many other technologies, in that its value doesn’t lie within the technology but in the changes it facilitates. A report by market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC) titled ‘Using Cloud Capabilities for Competitive Advantage’ highlighted some staggering key benefits for small and midsize businesses, including:   41% Reduced IT costs 40% Increased revenue / decreased costs 40% Increased productivity   “The biggest impact of the cloud is the ability to accelerate the rate of innovation for the business,” says Frank Gens, senior vice president and chief analyst at International Data Corporation. “The cloud is enabling a tripling in the number of new developers and innovators who can create business value through IT. Together, they are going to create about a tenfold increase in new killer applications.”

“An unparalleled level of flexibility comes with cloud platforms as they enable employees to access systems and data from pretty much anywhere”

Top key benefits

The right cloud strategy will unlock an extensive amount of key benefits. For example, Cloud by SCC gives you choice, which includes: Sentinel by SCC: Keeping public sector data secure to IL2 & 3 security standards Cloud+: The most flexible enterprise solution on a pay-as-you-go model Partner Cloud: Access to web-enabled tools providing everyday applications from anywhere on any device Hybrid Cloud: Leveraging resources and having a single way to provide services to your customers and business   By deploying cloud as part of your business strategy, you could feel some of the below major benefits:  

✓ Prepare for launch

  Cloud computing allows for the launch of new applications and services at speed. It cuts the time needed by businesses to go from an initial idea to a service or application. This is especially valuable for new or growing businesses that want to provide innovative services faster.  

✓ Free your IT

  Cloud computing is a time-saver for your IT staff. Traditionally, the work involved in testing, patching and upgrading hardware and software would take hours upon hours of time of your IT staff every month.   But with cloud, the providers will take care of all the hardware maintenance, as well as updates and security patches to the software. This means IT staff can concentrate on other valuable tasks.  

✓ Cash in

  Without the need of new equipment and the need to operate a data centre, there is an opportunity to save a significant amount of money. Conventionally, companies spend into the millions before seeing any value from its investment. Savings on power are also viable as you only use what you need.  

✓ Bend and flex

  An unparalleled level of flexibility comes with cloud platforms as they enable employees to access systems and data from pretty much anywhere. This is ideal if your organisation has a lot of employees who work from home or outside of normal working hours.   It also increases teamwork through the ability to instantly share documents between employees and organisations and their client.   Capacity needed by businesses can fluctuate rapidly, but with cloud this can be easily and quickly added during busier periods, avoiding server crashes and lost sales. Plus, it can be reduced again, just as quickly as it was added.  

Don’t leave your head in the clouds…

  Forward-thinking organisations have already realised the potential of cloud and applied it to their business plan. Don’t get left behind, start planning today.   SCC’s Cloud Services could work for you, see more here