Why (or why not) companies are embracing the cloud

For companies across industries, the push toward the cloud has never been faster or more broad-based. An industry survey of IT professionals carried out earlier in 2015 is an illustrative example: Of the 930 IT workers who were surveyed, approximately 93 percent reported that their business was using the cloud. As companies make inroads in the cloud, they’re increasingly exploring the many options available to them. According to the survey, for example, 82 percent of organizational respondents stated that they were leveraging a multi-cloud deployment plan, and the move toward hybrid cloud deployments is more marked.

The source of the cloud’s appeal
Cloud deployments aren’t confined to one or two industrial sectors – they’re spanning every kind of business out there. From biotech and medical companies to industrial products manufacturing organizations, there’s seemingly a place in the cloud for all enterprises. The factors that contribute to widespread cloud migrations are business benefits that transcend industries. They include:

  • Boost in supply chain management: Having an optimized supply chain represents one of the best moves businesses can take in order to efficiently deliver high-quality products to customers at the lowest cost. A well-deployed cloud solution has the potential to significantly improve supply chain management by creating a more streamlined and customer-centric value chain, one that’s bolstered by the analytic capabilities the cloud offers. Companies migrating to the cloud can also benefit from supply chain applications that function across the supply chain, including apps that drive up inventory cost visibility and decrease logistics expenditures.
  • Greater business network control and flexibility: Regardless of industry, all businesses want control over their networks, and they want an IT infrastructure that is as adaptable and scalable as possible. This is what the cloud provides. As IT Business Edge has pointed out, the multiplicity of cloud types that businesses can choose leaves them with the capacity to modify their IT services based on their particular needs. This creates an IT environment that is not only more adaptable, but far more cost-effective as well.
  • Better ROI: As an investment, a well-deployed cloud delivers big returns. That’s because it costs very little money to setup, requires no hardware and can be rolled out quickly with few hiccups.

Potential challenges to cloud deployments keep some businesses out
There are huge opportunities for businesses migrating to the cloud – but to optimize virtualization, companies need to ensure that their implementation comes without risks and unforeseen costs. Here are some of the challenges companies can face when they approach a cloud move unprepared:

  • A deployment that’s too fast and drastic: A well-crafted cloud move is one that happens deliberately, and which integrates with a company’s existing network while working to push it forward. For some companies, though, the perception is that a move to the cloud is drastic, and as such should signal a complete network overhaul. This kind of move will invariably lead to confusion, significant costs and a general sense of unpreparedness among employees.
  • A lack of security and control: While security and control are two things the cloud can actually improve, such benefits are contingent upon a business choosing a suitable cloud deployment. Many companies, however, settle for a cloud solution that’s not cut out to meet their needs, and are therefore left with a platform over which they have little control or security.
  • A general feeling of, “What now?”: One mistake that companies can make when migrating is to not plan the move out in advance. By rolling out a deployment too quickly, they end up in a cloud where they are not fully realizing its long-term benefits. Effective cloud deployments must be planned out strategically, and they should to be carried out slowly.

For companies looking to plan a successful cloud move, one key step is to link up with a business partner that can help to ease and tailor the migration to your enterprise’s unique needs. By partnering with experts who can offer readiness assessments, workshops and infrastructure preparedness, businesses can take the intimidation and uncertainty out of a cloud move and focus on its benefits.

Chi Park | Key Contributor

Chi W. Park has over 9 years of experience in supply chain and operations management, focused on implementing Oracle Applications and improving manufacturing planning and scheduling processes. Expertise includes a broad range of areas including advanced planning and scheduling systems, forecasting, materials management, production operations control, finite scheduling, order management and purchasing. He has also served in the U.S. Army for 6 years as an Active Duty commissioned officer in the Armor Branch and was twice deployed to Iraq.