From email, to e-commerce, to entertainment, the third party applications we use everyday have moved to the cloud. Cloud solutions deliver high performance and security for industry leaders everywhere, and the same technology can lead to positive outcomes for your organization. The cloud is the right platform to deliver the technology and services your users need if you find value in:
AGILITY. The ability to move fast, experiment, and easily access the solutions you need is inherent to the cloud. With anytime, anywhere access, the cloud allows you to more quickly and effectively meet the needs of your users.
ELASTICITY. The cloud allows you to grow or shrink your technology footprint as needed. Deploy the resources you need on demand, increasing availability during times of high demand and minimizing consumption (and cost) when appropriate.
SECURITY & COMPLIANCE. Cloud services are built on a foundation of security. Cloud providers have designed solutions stringent security standards. In many cases, this results in a more secure environment than legacy on-premise solutions. Regulatory compliance is also key, with cloud security configured to meet standards including CJIS, FERPA, FEDRAMP, HIPAA, PCI, and more.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY. The always-on nature of the cloud means your users will be able to access the services they need whenever and wherever they are, as long as they have an internet connection and meet your security policies. With applications and services living in the cloud, and business processes built to take advantage of that fact, this enables your organization to operate effectively whether onsite or working remotely, no matter the surrounding circumstances.
TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP. When designed effectively, a cloud computing strategy can save your institution money on the technology bottom line. As a result of the ability to provision services when and where you need them, you’ll never need to spend money on hardware refreshes designed to meet the highest possible peak demand again.
FINDING YOUR PATH TO THE CLOUD
Every organization’s cloud journey is different. Any use of the cloud should align with and support the high-level strategic goals your organization wishes to achieve.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY.
A cloud strategy needs to be designed to meet the strategic goals of your organization. Special consideration should be given to the needs of users, critical applications, and business processes designed to take full advantage of the power of cloud. This alignment with organizational goals and a desired future state will lead to more positive outcomes.
IT STRATEGY.
Use of the cloud should also align with an overall IT strategy. Leveraging the cloud to more effectively support users, ensure high availability, and align with your security strategy should be top of mind.
Organizations already leverage 5 different cloud platforms on average.
Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) will be the fastest growing segment of the market with 24% predicted growth.
83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by the end of 2020.
41% of enterprise workloads will be run on public cloud platforms by the end of 2020. Another 20% will be private-cloud-based, while 22% will rely on hybrid cloud adoption.
Source: Gartner Report “Forecast: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide, 2017-2023, 3Q19 Update.”