Lean Cloud Computing®: Exploit the Cloud Not Just to Lower Costs but also Increase the Pace of Innovation
In recent years, the popularity of cloud computing has grown in leaps and bounds. It is, today, one of the most widely used technologies among amateur techies, big businesses, and everything in between. Why?
A recent study suggests that working in the cloud offers a twofold benefit: not only does it lower costs, it also provides more freedom for experimentation, leading to an increase in innovation.
This study, done at the London School of Economics and Political Science, was done by interviewing over 35 service3 providers and by taking a survey of more than 1,000 IT executives and businesses. What researchers found was that with cloud services, solutions to company needs can be so customized that employees who where once closed in by tedious, old-fashioned, and expensive processes now found themselves in an open box, so to speak, and more free to form creative and innovative ideas.
Certainly, cost plays a huge role. Where experimentation was once an expensive exercise, cloud services make them affordable and low risk. Naturally, companies are now more inclined to experiment. And since cloud services allow processes to move more quickly, innovation proceeds at a faster pace. Where rigid infrastructure and fund limitations once forced companies to hold on to outdated technology, the flexibility and cost-efficiency of the cloud frees companies to go for something better.
Of course, the transition to the cloud itself will necessitate an investment of money and time. Companies don’t move to the cloud overnight. The organization has to be prepared for the move.
It is well to remember, though, that this shift is not as earth-shaking as some businesses fear it might be. After all, a lot of us have been using the cloud for a long time without us even knowing it. Gmail and Hotmail are both cloud-based, after all. Remember the time when you could only access your email from one machine? That’s life without the cloud.
NOTE: "Lean Cloud Computing" is a registered trademark of Talreja Enterprises, Inc.
A recent study suggests that working in the cloud offers a twofold benefit: not only does it lower costs, it also provides more freedom for experimentation, leading to an increase in innovation.
This study, done at the London School of Economics and Political Science, was done by interviewing over 35 service3 providers and by taking a survey of more than 1,000 IT executives and businesses. What researchers found was that with cloud services, solutions to company needs can be so customized that employees who where once closed in by tedious, old-fashioned, and expensive processes now found themselves in an open box, so to speak, and more free to form creative and innovative ideas.
Certainly, cost plays a huge role. Where experimentation was once an expensive exercise, cloud services make them affordable and low risk. Naturally, companies are now more inclined to experiment. And since cloud services allow processes to move more quickly, innovation proceeds at a faster pace. Where rigid infrastructure and fund limitations once forced companies to hold on to outdated technology, the flexibility and cost-efficiency of the cloud frees companies to go for something better.
Of course, the transition to the cloud itself will necessitate an investment of money and time. Companies don’t move to the cloud overnight. The organization has to be prepared for the move.
It is well to remember, though, that this shift is not as earth-shaking as some businesses fear it might be. After all, a lot of us have been using the cloud for a long time without us even knowing it. Gmail and Hotmail are both cloud-based, after all. Remember the time when you could only access your email from one machine? That’s life without the cloud.
NOTE: "Lean Cloud Computing" is a registered trademark of Talreja Enterprises, Inc.
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