CLOUD COMPUTING 101: Part 3 – The Why, What, How and When?
In July – August, I started off my blog series CLOUD COMPUTING 101. In part one, I covered the basics with an introduction to Cloud Computing, followed by part two, which outlined the benefits of Cloud (What Cloud Can do for You). Today, I’d like to take a more detailed look in the actual questions and steps you should take before implementing Cloud Tech to your company.
In my experience within MNCs and then starting up my own company (Alpha7), I’ve met several business leaders and owners who are often keen on implementing Cloud Tech, but are unsure of what to do next, or have concerns in terms of costs and implications. Then there are also those who just know they need it, but not why and what exactly it entails.
At our inaugural Connect Forum held on 2 October at Fairmont Hotel, we spoke about Digital Disruption, as well as the how, why, what, and when. I hope it’s helped several understand Cloud Tech and what it can do, and cut through some of the noise. For those of you who were unable to make it, here are the key takeaways from the forum.
WHY – Before you start, identify your priorities, and understand why you should do it. In general, Cloud is convenient, relatively easy to use, and allows you to make real time decisions. It is also a great tool in terms of managing scalability, especially more so if you’re looking at global markets.
WHAT – Plot what you wish to achieve. Gone are the days where you come up with a 5-year plan and simply do an annual review. To keep up with disruptive tech, you should have 60- and 100-day plans and reviews to benchmark, chart and then execute. Questions to help you on your way are:
- Constraints: Do you have any constraints, and if so, what are they? Is it budget, lack of infrastructure or maybe even skillset (to manage the Cloud) among your employees?
- Plan: What do you wish to achieve? Or what are the key areas of improvement for your company and business? Is it solely for data migration and storage so you and your staff can easily access data from anywhere, as well as have peace of mind for data recovery, should anything unforeseen happen? Or are you a start-up looking for specific software and interested in SaaS (Software as a Service), or may be even all of the above?
Asking yourself these questions will help you in your search for the right solution, at the right price. The Cloud is vast and wide, and regardless of your needs, there’s a Cloud solution out there for you. Once you’ve identified what you want to achieve, you can move on to the next step.
HOW – Take the plunge and bring your business to Cloud. Align your people, processes and tech. Implement the right tools you require. In this day and age of big data and IoT, the catchphrase of “There’s an app for that” has never rung more true, not just on a personal, individual level, but on a business level too. Move away from the traditional and imagine having a platform that brings together all 5 (main) silos of any company – Marketing, Sales, Operations, Human Resources and Finance; that’s the power of Cloud.
WHEN – Now that you have nailed down the why, what, and how, when should you implement it? My answer is always A.S.A.P. There is no time like the present; you may not need ALL the various solutions available to you in one go straight away, but you should start looking at implementing the basics, be it storage, analytics, etc., and come up with a plan in stages.
I aim to share the best practices and bring the Fortune 500 experience to the region. Many feel slightly intimidated by tech, put the word “disruptive” in front of it, and it becomes even scarier. My main 3 key pieces of advice for those of you who have not migrated to Cloud as yet are:
- Adapt. Do not underestimate the pace of Digital Transformation.
- Adopt. Understand it; it’s really not as scary as it seems. Cloud Tech is open, transparent and modulus.
- Connect. Get out of your comfort zone. Somewhere out there, someone is disrupting you (your business), you just don’t know it yet. If you simply stay within what you think you know best, you’re in for a rude wakeup call further down the road.
From the IoT to various other technologies, businesses find themselves being inundated with digital trends and the demands to keep up. One great way to help meet these demands is with adopting disruptive technology, this is a given. The real question is – are you using it or getting left behind by all your competitors?
