Do you remember the first time you used cloud software and the feeling of relief? You no longer had to send files back and forth! No more, “Could you send me the latest version?”. When you email a document, the moment you click send it is outdated. There is always somebody making changes. It is frustrating. In the cloud, you can collaborate in one document, in real-time. All you have to do: Share a link to that document. This is just one example of the beauty of cloud, how it can make life easier and better.
As I’m writing this, cloud is taking over. It is the biggest thing since the Internet and it changes the way businesses and individuals use software applications. Personally, I see the cloud as a massive enabler. Cloud is a gateway to modernization, it enables growth, innovation, and productivity. This blog shall be about how to unlock the full value of cloud computing. I want to strip away technical jargon and make cloud understandable for a broader audience, not only the CIO. And I want to see people make the most out of it.
Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Today we all use cloud software. Smartphones have become our Swiss Army knives, our go-to-device for anything. Smartphones are equipped with an abundance of apps. Most apps are in the cloud; Google Docs, Office 365, Netflix, Spotify, Twitter are just a few that come to mind. Using these cloud apps is natural to us. But how’s the situation when we go to work on Monday?
Companies are still struggling to move to the cloud, because they are stuck in their outdated IT infrastructure. They use highly-customized on-premise software that makes them inflexible. Traditional software vendors don’t mind, because it’s a great way to lock-in customers. With cloud, customers have more opportunities. But there is a lack of understanding cloud and what these opportunities are. People want to know, “What value does it provide?”
With this in view, I am happy to announce a couple a blog posts to demonstrate the value of cloud.