MCPc Blog

Cloud Computing Benefits

The rate of cloud adoption continues to increase, but why are companies making the transition, and what benefits are they achieving?  

According to a recent AMD survey, 64% of small companies (1-499 employees) and 57% of large companies (500 or more employees) "are already seeing the business value" of cloud computing. Top benefits cited include:  

• Hardware cost savings — 52%

• Flexibility — 51%

• Increased efficiency — 48%

• Space saving — 43%

• Better access to up-to-date technology — 40%

In this post, we’ll provide an overview of these benefits and more to demonstrate how cloud computing can positively impact your IT environment.  

Note: When evaluating cloud solutions, it’s important to keep in mind that no two cloud strategies are exactly the same, and results will vary from organization to organization. Therefore, it’s best to weigh benefits against your unique business goals, infrastructure, security requirements, corporate culture, user base and more.

Flexibility

Since cloud solutions can be deployed quickly and may not require onsite hardware, they grant organizations more agility, allowing them to respond more quickly to market demands, test new strategies and adapt. In addition, many of the other benefits we discuss in this post lend themselves to increased flexibility. For example: 

• New budgets may become available through restructured costs and revenue streams, providing an opportunity to make new investments.

• Employees will appreciate the flexibility they receive from increased mobility and newfound efficiencies.

• The ability to increase your speed to market, rapidly adjust server capacity and access new technologies enhance overall business agility.

Reduced/Restructured Costs

Cloud services are typically purchased based on usage and can scale to meet demand. This ensures that you only pay for the level of services you need. In addition, the cloud decreases the need to purchase and maintain expensive onsite hardware and software.  

According to a 2010 Enterprise Management Associates survey, 61% of respondents already running on the cloud report lower IT capital costs (hardware, facilities, licenses, etc.). In addition, a “quarter of all respondents reported that they had reduced both capital expenditure and operational expenditures, such as staff, power, rent and maintenance costs.”  

Increased Mobility

Since all data is stored online, employees can easily access information stored in the cloud from remote devices such as tablets, smart phones and home PCs.

Consequently, employees enjoy increased mobility, higher job satisfaction, and improvements in efficiency and productivity. Learn more on the benefits of mobility.  

Efficiency

By outsourcing non-critical IT tasks to an experienced vendor, in-house staff can focus efforts on strategic initiatives, instead of on maintenance issues.  

Additionally, with increased mobility, end users can access data and programs anywhere there is an Internet connection. This connectivity improves business processes by guaranteeing everyone has the information they need­—when they need it—and encourages collaboration among users. And, as an added bonus: cloud computing can make your processes more energy efficient as well.  

Speed to Market

Companies can quickly deploy hosted cloud solutions when they need them, instead of launching large-scale development initiatives. As a result, technologies are up-and-running much faster and with less internal support. This enables organizations to more readily capitalize on growth opportunities and react to a changing market.  

In a world where the early bird often gets the worm, fast (yet high quality) deployment can be a key competitive differentiator.  

Technology Access

Organizations, especially smaller ones, now have easy access to technologies and services that they may not have been able to afford or build otherwise. Consequently, smart companies are able to compete and differentiate themselves in new and exciting ways through the effective use of cloud solutions.  

Revenue Generation

Finally, cloud computing opens the door for new business models and innovative approaches that can actually drive additional revenue for organizations that can align it with their core business strategies. For example, Netflix was able to expand sales by offering their video and rental services online through the cloud.

Your Thoughts

What benefits have you experienced from the cloud? What benefits are you hoping to achieve?

Darin Haines is Group President of MCPc's Advanced Technology Group, focusing on solution delivery, and has over 16 years of experience in leading the technology function in mid-sized and enterprise-level organizations. Connect with Darin on LinkedIn.

 

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