Next journey of the cloud

In response to recent disruption, organizations have rapidly embraced cloud and digital transformation, which has enhanced their resilience. However, they now need to move beyond these siloed solutions and create a more integrated approach under a cohesive cloud strategy to unlock the delayed value and reduce costs.

Evolving with full cloud value
Despite a significant increase in cloud initiatives since 2020, with more than 86% of companies reporting adoption, only 42% report achieving the expected outcomes. Cost savings, particularly in times of economic uncertainty, remain the most challenging outcome to realize.

Organizations find themselves in a precarious position, balancing the promise of large-scale cloud transformation with the complexities of realizing it. Addressing these complexities, which include rethinking operating models, talent, and more, has become crucial for organizations to fully realize the value of cloud. The most successful organizations view cloud as an evolving journey rather than a destination and adopt it heavily.

As organizations continue on their cloud journey, the challenges they face become more complex. To fully realize the value of cloud, organizations must understand these challenges and implement five practices that will help them move beyond them.

Extracting value via cloud
During uncertain times, businesses that are agile tend to survive and thrive. One common factor among these businesses is high interoperability. Interoperability refers to the ability of enterprise applications to seamlessly interact and exchange data, connecting technology, people and processes to improve collaboration and decision-making.

Recent research has shown that companies with high interoperability grew revenue six times faster than peers with low interoperability, and were able to unlock an additional five percentage points in annual revenue growth.

Moving to the cloud and replatforming can help organizations achieve unprecedented interoperability. By modernizing operations on a common platform, businesses can experiment, innovate and run operations with greater speed and agility, resulting in cost savings, optimized spending and improved resilience. Find out more about how to increase interoperability with cloud for long-term value.

Build your core
Amid the current economic climate, businesses are redefining their priorities to focus on cost efficiency, growth, and agility. However, many are being hindered by outdated legacy technology, which limits their ability to innovate and respond to change.

To overcome this challenge, companies must build a strong digital core based on cloud, AI, and the metaverse. These technologies not only help organizations to continuously reinvent themselves to remain resilient, but they also provide opportunities for breakthrough innovation to capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Cloud security amid uncertainty
As the cloud becomes a crucial part of a strong digital foundation, ensuring a secure journey is essential. It is important to understand that cloud is a collection of technologies and capabilities, each with its unique exposure profiles. Therefore, a comprehensive and broad-reaching approach to security is necessary, including adopting a "zero-trust" mentality across your network.

This report provides insights on what a zero-trust mindset means and highlights common blind spots, emphasizing the significance of security as your guiding force throughout your cloud journey.