The cloud is no longer an “if” and “should” topic but more a “when” and “how” topic of conversation.
Most enterprises havestarted shifting workloads to the cloud or are in the process of doing so. As enterprises look to take advantage of the inherent value of cloud computing, it is imperative to look beyond the traditional scale, security, and public versus private approaches.
Although these approaches are important aspects of understanding the ‘how’ part of the cloud, the paradigm has to shift to business value, newer business models and opportunistic revenue streams that are created and enabled by the cloud. It is critical for enterprises to bring the business dimension to cloud strategy and integrate business units askey stakeholders in the conversation.
Imagine a large retailer commoditizing their mature transportation heuristics and optimization in the cloud, or a distribution company integrating a supplier and partner ecosystem in the cloud to create a marketplace to barter and trade, or an oil and gas company enabling new upstream exploration operations more quickly than previously possible.
Ford Motors is integrating cloud technologies with the transportation experience as part of its connected transportation vision that was showcased in the recently concluded Mobile World Congress, which is discussed in a video clip titled ‘Ford goes hi-tech with new vehicles’.
Pitney-Bowes uses a cloud-enabled business service to better meet the needs of small businesses by providing pbSmartPostage, a cloud-based service for printing stamps and shipping labels.
Boeing takes to the cloud with an innovative marketing solution that drives the user experience across multiple form factors in a web presentation titled ‘Boeing’s New Airplane – Explained’.
General Mills uses the cloud to create a new business channel for offering gluten-free products and information directly to the consumer on its new Gluten Freely website. These new capabilities are some of the new-found realities of what the cloud offers with its scale, elasticity and agility to enable business opportunities.