It is business transformation rather than simple cost cutting that will drive the next wave of cloud adoption, according to Gigaom Research. That isvery positivenews for the future of cloud-based services and SaaS platform providers.
The focus for the future should be on the value that cloud-based services can create within a business rather than basic cost reduction. Reducing costs is a positive for any enterprise IT department, but in the long-termit is innovation and the impact cloud can have on the overall business that counts. As we know, you can only reduce costs so much, while innovation and new processes are limitless.
Gigaom Research and North Bridge Venture Partners’ annual survey looking at cloud adoption tells a story of a much more dynamic approach to cloud than we’ve seen in the past.Over 40% of leading-edge tech buyerssay creating new businesses and revenue streams are among their near-term strategic objectives while47% of mainstream companies are migrating necessary but non-revenue-generating IT functions to the cloud.
When enterprises begin to adopt cloud for a wider set of reasons, we will see the full spectrum of businesses benefit. It will no longer just be the start-ups or cost conscious that are adopting the cloud but progressive IT departments that want to have a positive impact on their businesses. That’s good for cloud providers, and it is also good for communications and business innovation.
When cloud-based services are in more hands in a wider variety of businesses, new applications and use cases will emerge and again expand the horizons of cloud.Smart IT execs have an opportunity to increase access to new servicesfor employees and reinvent how IT functions within an organization.
This will only accelerate innovation in cloud-based services and make this second wave of cloud adoption more exciting than the first.
