Are you standing still or are you moving? Seems like a simple question, but for many companies standing still seems like an obvious choice since “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That may be all well and good, but your competition isn’t standing still, and right now, if you aren’t competing fast, then you will concede faster.
Let’s put this in context for a moment. Prior to the pandemic, it’s estimated that 43% of companies had no plans to move to the cloud completely. Then the world changed, expectations changed, motivations changed, and some companies were left holding the bag. Others, however, moved swiftly with 48% fast-tracking their move to the cloud and 36% looking to digitize their process with cloud solutions.
This then sets the stage for Cloud Wars Expo. CXOs across industries and technologies will descend on the Moscone Center evaluating the landscape and determining the next steps forward, the companies that will help them get there, and the insights needed to execute.
With just a few weeks left before the event, I wanted to outline what you need from cloud capabilities to optimize your digital future.
Tomorrow’s Data Needs the Cloud
Workhorse databases from 40 and 50 years ago are still chugging along, doing what they best and no more. Of course, that was fine for that time – but, today, data needs to move at the speed of tomorrow, not yesteryear.
As a CXO, you expect more from your data than 10 years ago, 5 years ago, and even last year. But, if you are stuck on an old database ecosystem, what should your expectations be?
Elastic
The traditional setup of many databases was to plan for the current workload needs and tack on additional space, resources, etc. to accommodate future growth. After a period of time, you would reevaluate and adjust.
This typically meant paying for things that you didn’t need at the moment in hopes that you would need them in the future.
Wait, that seems like a waste. Doesn’t it? …. Yes.
Today, you need true elastic databases within the cloud with the capability to scale up and down as needed. This could be an hourly adjustment due to peak times of the day or seasonality. However, scalability requires you to have good monitoring in place or things can scale beyond the true need and drive up the cost.
Juggling Diverse Scenarios Simultaneously
Data management can quickly go haywire as there are potentially hundreds or thousands of apps across a typical enterprise. This means data uses and needs for each and every app and user of the app will have unique priorities.
And, app and data creation is not just an “IT thing” anymore. Citizen developers are harnessing their business acumen and creativity and applying it to create new apps to streamline processes. This, in turn, puts a greater burden on databases which screams, “You need the cloud!”
Lastly, as the business scales, more Citizen Devs jump in, and lines of business open up in new industries or geographies, the diverse scenarios continue to explode. And if things aren’t at peak performance, the CTO/CIO will quickly be tasked with finding an explanation.
Hello, Data? Where are you?
The “Work from Anywhere” expectation is now a norm. If you tried to drag people back to the office, you will easily find yourself looking for new talent as they will have gone somewhere else.
On top of this, employees expect access to the data they need to get their work done – on any device. People aren’t confined to laptops anymore. They found that some tasks are better completed on mobile devices.
But if your data is siloed in a retirement home or detained behind walls in the name of security – but not practical reality – then you have failed your most valuable resource – people.
Free the right data for the right people at the right time.
Final Thoughts
Your customers, partners, vendors, and employees are depending on you to reimagine the business, optimize the digital future, and accelerate critical decisions.
The road to failure is paved with complacency. Again, if you aren’t competing fast, then you will concede faster.
Want to gain more insights from Cloud Wars Expo?
Starting on July 20th, more than 40 hours of on-demand cloud education content will be available for free to Acceleration Economy Subscribers.
