It is likely the case that while we remain tethered to our smartphones, laptops, tablets and other fancy modern technology that our parents remind us of a time when none of these gadgets were available and people actually had to rely on the library or one another for stimulation, entertainment and education.
But, more and more, the idea of a world without these sophisticated IT tools central to many of our daily interactions becomes a foreign concept. In fact, IT has become such a fundamental expectation in our everyday lives that some experts have argued that its pervasiveness in our culture makes it a commodity much like electricity that everyone has access to. In other words, because IT resources are widely available to virtually anyone, some put forth that it cannot be used to facilitate competitive advantage.
However, in a recent article for Forbes Magazine, guest author Joe Weinman – an expert on the business value of emerging technologies such as cloud computing – lists a series of uses that suggest the cloud can be used in a way that is not only beneficial, but strategic.
One way this can be done is through operational excellence. By constantly staying in tune to what is unfolding in the field, the cloud allows business users to use big data analytics to optimize core processes and leverage better decisions, all the while maintaining the flexibility to meet specific business needs at any particular point.
Weinman also argues that the cloud can generate customer intimacy, as it has with organizations like Netflix and Amazon that use sophisticated cloud algorithms to learn subtle cues about a user and deploy them for optimal product/service recommendations.
Companies interested in designing a cloud program to drive business model innovation can do so by turning to a national IT service that can provide tailored cloud computing solutions.
Companies interested in designing a cloud program to drive business model innovation can do so by turning to a national IT service that can provide tailored cloud computing solutions.
