[Resized] The First Sun by Saad Faruque | CC BY 2.0
Writing for Forbes, Louis Columbus collated a handful of the study’s notable points including a list of statistics illustrating a major shift in how companies perceive the Cloud. The outlook is overwhelmingly positive with concerns about data security taking a back seat to optimism regarding the usefulness of cloud computing and a general enthusiasm about fully adopting the technology.
Here are three takeaways that support a bright future for cloud-based enterprise mobility:
The Cloud Is Going to Make Things Better for Literally Everyone
Columbus begins the article with five impressive statistics:
- 55% of enterprises predict Cloud computing will enable new business models in three years.
- 69% of enterprises expect to make moderate-to-heavy cloud investments over the next three years as they migrate core business functions to the cloud.
- 44% of enterprises are relying on cloud computing to launch new business models today, predicting this will increase to 55% in three years.
- 32% are using cloud computing to streamline their supply chains today. Senior executives predict this figure will increase to 56% in three years, a 24% increase.
- 59% say they use cloud-based applications and platforms to better manage and analyze data today, reflecting the increasing importance of analytics and big data enterprise-wide.
What’s heartening about these figures is how they speak to the fact that using the Cloud benefits different parts of a company. The numbers themselves are striking. It’s staggering to consider that a single piece of technology has such far-reaching potential. Of course, maximizing the Cloud’s power requires thoughtful implementation and an understanding of the benefits. As we’ve explored in previous posts, companies need to educate their employees in order to leverage the full potential of cloud-based enterprise mobility.
The Cloud Encourages Experimentation
According to the study, companies across the board are using the Cloud to facilitate business growth. Cloud computing allows companies to more seamlessly develop new products and services, open new lines of business and enter new markets. Of the companies surveyed, 35% said that these strategies were their primary methods for growing their businesses. Furthermore, the Cloud is becoming the primary medium for R&D and innovation. 74% of the businesses surveyed say that research and development is primarily cloud-based. Cloud technology enables companies to keep up with the rapid pace of business ostensibly due to better automation and the ease of access that cloud services offer.
People Are Becoming Less Panicky and More Realistic About Cloud Security
In year’s past, security was a primary factor holding companies back from adopting cloud services. Now that the technology has been on the market for a while, businesses have a clearer understanding of the technology’s vulnerabilities. It isn’t as if those concerns don’t still exist, but companies in general have a better grasp on the tools required to ensure the safe storage and transmission of data. The most drastic shift relates to concerns regarding the security of corporate data. In 2012, 73% of the companies surveyed ranked the security of corporate data as their number one concern. In 2014 that percentage dropped to 18%, and while other safety related concerns saw marginal increases, there was a general hedging of the rankings, indicating that companies are developing a better understanding of how to combat specific security issues.
As people develop a better understanding of the Cloud and how they can use it to grow their business, the technology will become increasingly commonplace. The prominence of consumer-facing services such as Google Drive or Dropbox combined with the inherent usefulness of cloud-based enterprise mobility indicates a landscape that tends inevitably toward cloud integration.
The key to successfully transitioning to the Cloud is choosing the right service for your business.
What benefits has transitioning to the Cloud brought your company?
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