Research undertaken by Statista toward the end of 2019 found that 74% of respondents felt that cloud investment has the potential to deliver faster innovation.

The same research also found that increased cloud management would allow for improved collaboration between line of business and IT – and this collaboration is critical to the success of any long-term project or investment. This picture of cloud and the benefits it delivers hasn’t changed since the onset of the pandemic, but it has been supercharged.

McKinsey’s 2020 research into the value of cloud in the wake of Covid-19 again emphasises the importance of top-level coordination to ensure a seamless transition to cloud computing, and the value that the business will gain from this investment overall.

According to Donna Mostert, Huawei business unit manager at Mustek, innovative companies will take advantage of cloud and the resources it offers to reinvent themselves and become unstoppable forces in competitive markets.

“IT managers must learn how to give and take information in this shareable environment while still protecting their company’s interests,” she adds. “They have to align their investment strategies and planning with line of business to ensure that the organisation is capable of taking advantage of the cloud revolution. Otherwise, it runs the risk of becoming outdated — or out of business.”

Three value drivers

There are three primary value drivers that are pushing cloud into every business corner and crevice.

The first of these is cost value. Many companies believe that the current cost of traditional enterprise software is disproportionate to the value that it delivers. This has seen the traditional approach of paying for software licences lose ground to cloud solutions that are increasingly cost-effective and that can scale according to demand and budget. With cloud platforms providing solutions that limit vendor lock-in, provide open-source access for customisation, and that can be managed to suit the unique needs of the business, traditional software is losing ground as rapidly as it’s losing touch.

“The second part of the cost value point is, of course, the growing need for organisations to reduce the cost of acquisition and maintenance when it comes to their technology and software solutions,” adds Mostert. “The ongoing support and maintenance costs attached to traditional solutions can sometimes be as much as four times the original capital cost. Cloud mitigates this cost risk significantly, especially as it can be so easily customised and patched and maintained.”

The risk conversation is directly connected to the second value driver, namely risk reduction. Organisations don’t want risk. Understandably so. The current market is defined by uncertainty and complexity and the business wants to be as stable and capable as possible so it can navigate these choppy waters with a measure of confidence. Cloud computing is an extension of this need – it’s designed to give organisations deeper control over spend, growth and scale.

“The drive for reduced risk really does demand that organisations can predict their running costs more effectively,” says Mostert. “This is non-negotiable, especially now.”

Finally, the value of any solution is ultimately determined by the functionality it offers. Most traditional offerings come with a wealth of features and capabilities that are rarely used. They fill a gap in that they solve a particular problem, but their multiple facets often go to waste.

This is why many companies have multiple solutions wedged into multiple holes which have a high cost in terms of maintenance, licensing and users. Cloud takes a far more subtle approach, allowing the organisation to build a more holistic foundation that pulls together the most relevant threads into a solution that does what the organisation realistically needs.

Competitive edge

“The cloud model promotes availability, delivers to clearly defined delivery models, can be deployed precisely, and has a value proposition that easily outstrips that of traditional solutions,” says Mostert. “With its on-demand self-service, ubiquitous network access, location-independent resource pooling, rapid elasticity and pay-per-use capabilities, cloud is a service-orientated solution that provides the modern organisation with the competitive edge it needs today. And it can adapt to changing markets, climates and crises so the business is more able to pivot and change and stay alive in challenging times.”

Mustek’s core business as an assembler, distributor and marketer of technology solutions has made it the ideal partner for companies looking to invest into relevant cloud offerings that fit their strategic investment goals. The company’s product portfolio is designed to cater for multiple technology requirements and can address every level of the technology stack. With Mustek, organisations across any specialisation, vertical and industry can leverage the core cloud capabilities and benefit from their ongoing value.