Analytics and the Cloud — the Future is Here

Analytics and the Cloud — the Future is Here

I recently purchased an iPhone 5, and I needed to transfer the data that I have from my iPhone 4 to the new phone. In order to do that I have two options, and one of the option is the store my current data to the cloud and transfer them to the new phone from the cloud anytime and anywhere. We did not have this kind of option a few years ago, and I was amazed by that because I did not have to have the computer equipment with me. Imagine how the cloud computing can be helpful to the business world. So, no wonder that I have heard so many adverting about cloud computing nowadays.

Having the cloud in my mind, I found this article that give me an answer to my question on how cloud computing can help businesses. “Analytics and the Cloud — the Future is Here” by Jane Griffin and Forrest Danson gives us an idea on what the cloud can be used for. Basically, the article explains that cloud computing has been around for a long time (Jane Griffin and Forrest Danson, p.97), and today technological advances helped the cloud to become more efficient and more affordable. Therefore, it is available to anyone who is looking for a remote storage and access of their data. Today, global business requires mobility, and the cloud helps businesses to access the information anywhere in the world without any heavy and cumbersome equipments. Therefore, the cloud will help to reduce computing equipment cost and help to access data very fast globally. Having easy access to data will improve businesses’ decision making in many sectors such financial, customer services, and supply chains. Due to the real time access to data, cloud computing will rapidly “improve productivity” (Jane Griffin and Forrest Danson, p.98). It seems like the cloud is the future for businesses, but the authors warn that the new technologies “can be truly disruptive to business as usual” (Jane Griffin and Forrest Danson, p.97). Indeed, new technologies can be hard to learn for the older generation, but if managers can find a way to incorporate them to their companies without affecting considerably the normal business flow, there will extremely beneficial to their companies. The cloud computing will be a great tool for any managers in need to fast remote access to data for daily business applications.

According to the authors, cloud computing is certainly improving businesses by providing fast information and remote capability for business applications. As a practicing manager, he will need to start to get ready to implement those new technologies, because sooner or later the cloud computing will catch on every aspect of businesses. Cloud computing is becoming more and more efficient and cheap. Therefore, managers should start training the old generation to be familiar with it, and help that generation to embrace the new technologies, so one day their implementation will not affect the normal business flow of the company due to a lack of knowledge for the older generation.  Also, practicing managers should start looking on how to implement the cloud computing in their companies, and they need to start departing from the old point of view of data storage and access. They need to be open minded about new technologies in order to be competitive in today global business environment.

References

Jane Griffin, and Forrest Danson. Analytics and the Cloud — the Future is Here. Financial Executive. November 2012.