The benefits of cloud adoption for enterprises
Ron Budden
Product Manager SD WAN/SASE
Coud adoption is on the rise across the board as a critical component for business growth and innovation strategies. Surveying 650 technology leaders, the Expereo commissioned IDC InfoBrief, Enterprise Horizons 2024: Technology Leaders’ Priorities on their Digital Business Journey showed that 35% of respondents are prioritizing cloud strategies and 75% said cloud connectivity would be very to extremely important in helping their organization achieve its goals (IDC Resource Map Document (RMD) for Expereo Doc. #EUR252049924, (April, 2024)). Clearly, many see the benefits of cloud adoption for enterprise.
But what are the benefits of the cloud for your business? How can you leverage cloud technologies strategically? And how can you ensure your network is prepared to support your cloud plans? We’ll tackle all of these questions and more in this article.
What are the main drivers of cloud service adoption?
There are many benefits of the cloud that are currently driving its adoption among enterprises. Here, we’ll briefly outline the top three drivers of cloud adoption for enterprise:
Cloud enables adaptability and agility
We currently operate in a fiercely competitive market. Businesses need to quickly adapt to changing conditions and customer demands, and cloud services are designed to provide that flexibility. Cloud services allow you to scale resources up or down as needed. Effectively this means you can respond rapidly to changes in the market or opportunities that arise.
Cloud enables cost optimizations
Traditional IT infrastructure requires a lot of upfront investments and ongoing maintenance costs. Comparatively, cloud services tend to have flexible payment models. This eliminates the need for expensive on-premise equipment and reduces operational costs.
Cloud is crucial for AI and data analytics
For companies leveraging AI and data analytics to gain competitive advantage, cloud platforms are a great way to access the right capabilities for data processing, storage, and analysis.
Cloud and AI – together - empower enterprises to harness the power of big data for informed decision-making and innovation. Predictive analytics is a great example of the impactful application of AI in the cloud. For example, you can take vast amounts of historical data from the cloud and apply machine learning algorithms to predict trends and customer behaviors.
What are the main benefits of the cloud for enterprise?
In short, the benefits of cloud computing for enterprises are extensive. I would categorize these benefits into four key areas:
- Scalable resourcing: Cloud services allow businesses to easily scale their IT resources according to demand. That means they can efficiently resource for peaks in project requirements without over-provisioning during quieter periods.
- Remote working: If you have a remote or hybrid workforce, you need applications that employees can access from anywhere. More and more users are collaborating virtually, and the typical employee uses up to 36 cloud applications or services per day.
- Security and compliance: The good thing about the cloud is that cloud providers invest heavily in robust security measures and compliance certifications.
- Innovation: The cloud allows you to access cutting-edge technologies and services like AI, machine learning, and analytics tools. You can gain a competitive edge quickly by using these technologies to develop new products and services, optimize operations, and improve customer experiences.
But before you commit to any cloud applications and services, you should consider whether your organization is ready for it.
How do you know if your company is ready for cloud computing?
You need to evaluate your IT infrastructure, business objectives, and identify any potential challenges before you proceed with a cloud or multi-cloud strategy. Therefore, I’ve outlined an assessment framework to develop a clear migration strategy and prioritize which workloads to move first.
I would advise you start by:
- Conducting a thorough assessment of your existing IT environment including your network.
- Identifying which applications and workloads are suitable for migration to the cloud.
- Considering factors such as data sensitivity, performance requirements, and integration needs.
Next, align your cloud adoption strategy with your business objectives by determining how cloud services can support your goals. Whether it’s improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer experiences, or driving innovation, having a clear vision of what you want to achieve with the cloud will ensure you pick the right cloud strategy for your business.
Three ways to ensure your network is ready to support your cloud plans
I mentioned assessing your network in the section above, but I can’t stress enough how important this element of your cloud-readiness process is. In the IDC InfoBrief, Enterprise Horizons 2024: Technology Leaders’ Priorities on their Digital Business Journey, only 10% of respondents felt their networks were truly ready to support their cloud needs, and the other 90% acknowledged there were still gaps or upgrades they needed to address within their networks before cloud was fully supporting their organizational success.
There are a few elements of your network you’ll need to address before you can fully realize the benefits of the cloud. Your network will have to handle the increased demand and complexity cloud applications require, especially if they’re enabling AI!
3 Steps to a cloud-ready network:
Here are three key steps to ensure your network is ready for cloud adoption:
- Upgrade your network infrastructure: Invest in Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) to enhance network agility and performance. SD-WAN optimizes the use of multiple connections and ensures reliable, high-speed access to cloud services.
- Implement Quality of Service (QoS) policies: If you’ve implemented SD-WAN, you should implement QoS policies to prioritize network traffic based on application requirements. This will ensure your critical applications receive the necessary bandwidth and low latency.
- Enhance your network security: As you move to the cloud, you need robust security measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption. Additionally, consider using secure access solutions like Zero Trust Security models to safeguard your data and applications. Fortunately, SD-WAN easily integrates with cloud-based security solutions as you move to a zero trust approach.
By taking these steps, you can ensure that your network is capable of supporting your cloud plans. Ultimately, this will allow you to fully leverage the benefits of cloud adoption and drive your business forward.
But creating a network that’s able to handle your cloud strategy can be challenging alone. Work with a Managed Service Provider with a forward-thinking, digital-first mindset to ensure you get a network able to meet your needs now, and in the future. Whether that means transitioning from MPLS to Internet by adopting SD-WAN or creating a future-ready network to improve end-to-end experience from user to application, an MSP can tailor a connectivity strategy designed to meet your unique networking requirements.
Ready to reach your digital future faster?
Expereo can help you get your network cloud-ready so you can reap the full benefits of the cloud. Get in touch today to discuss your enterprise cloud computing strategy and connectivity needs.