Being able to generate ideas and being able to execute those ideas effectively are two different things. With the unpredictability of doing business combined with unprecedented speeds in technical innovation, organisations have to move faster than ever before. This has left traditional approaches to executing ideas no longer fit for purpose.
In the face of digital competitors, companies must innovate to safeguard their businesses and grow. But why do we struggle to execute? Look at Xerox, Kodak, Nokia – big names that had “the next big thing” before anyone else yet failed to deliver and found themselves ceding to others. Why?
Underpinning it all is technology – the digital foundation on which everything is built: the infrastructure, apps, services and devices which allow forward looking businesses to beat their competitors to experiment, to scale, to be nimbler at speeds with lower risk. The role of cloud computing in this cannot be underestimated.
There are five core ways that cloud enables organisations to execute.
- It delivers. It is ‘sign up and go’ simple. Need additional licenses, servers, functionality, features, applications? If it’s delivered by cloud and set up time is minute compared to classic IT.
- It empowers users to be innovative with access to cloud-native applications and delivers a heightened, intuitive experience. It means the technology is in the background, IT ceases to be an inertial barrier, and users get on with the task at hand.
- Cloud delivers financial freedom. Traditional IT required an upfront investment to be hedged against expected requirements. Cloud changes that dynamic – with most services being subscription-based, cash can now flow in the form that best meets the needs of the work being done.
- Cloud delivers scale. It allows organizations to scale up and down all of their resources as business demands it, quickly and without a high cost of change.
- Cloud offers access to shortcuts. That might be prebuilt platforms or X-as-a-service solutions – whatever it is, and whatever you need, it’s likely that a version of it already exists. This is what allows digital native companies to scale rapidly.
By being able to change and deliver results rapidly, rather than long term planning, we can turn the established business model into an innovative one. Innovation is king, but a failure to execute is the death knell for any organization. Cloud can help provide the digital foundation to unlock rapid results.
