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Seven mission-critical factors for realising the cloud’s potential
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1
Establish clear objectives for value creation
Establish clear objectives for value creation
Avoid the temptation to see the cloud only as a cost-saving IT project—view it as a catalyst for business value creation.
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2
Reimagine your challenges with a cloud-centred mindset
Reimagine your challenges with a cloud-centred mindset
Seeing business challenges through a “pre-cloud” lens can blind a company to potential business opportunities in cloud-based platforms.
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3
Let your people lead the cloud journey
Let your people lead the cloud journey
Rather than pushing employees to embrace what the cloud offers, make them part of the broader strategic change.
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4
Seize the opportunity to solve your IT and data challenges
Seize the opportunity to solve your IT and data challenges
One key to success lies in resolving underlying data and IT issues before the company invests heavily in cloud technologies.
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5
Prioritise cybersecurity and compliance needs
Prioritise cybersecurity and compliance needs
Despite knowing the cloud makes security more complex, compliance more expensive and data more vulnerable, many companies underinvest in cloud security services.
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6
Reframe problems as opportunities for bold innovation
Reframe problems as opportunities for bold innovation
Adept cloud operators feed innovation by experimenting, measuring results in real time and shifting to other areas without regret.
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7
Celebrate your wins, but don’t declare victory too early
Celebrate your wins, but don’t declare victory too early
The cloud requires continuous updating and refining, and it rewards revisiting agreed-upon paths to determine if better options are available.
The pandemic proved emphatically to boards and C-suites just how vital the cloud is to survival and the pursuit of new opportunities. Businesses quickly discovered that they needed the cloud’s web-based computing services to enable employees to work remotely, to shore up fractured supply chains and to provide new digital services to consumers who couldn’t leave their homes. Contrary to its marketing buzz, the cloud is not a single technology or one-stop money-saving solution. But it is an ideal test bed for experimenting with and deploying new technology solutions, incorporating advanced analytics, automation, blockchain, quantum computing, augmented and virtual reality and 3D printing. This makes it all the more imperative for leaders to embrace the cloud as a powerful strategic tool—not just a tactic. Taken together, the seven actions outlined above offer a path forward.
See a detailed action plan for turning the cloud into a strategic asset
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