Cloud Computing: Setting the Pace of Profitability

The core role of cloud computing in mobile, social, analytics and Big Data implementations is leading to standout financial results.

According to a recent survey of 802 cloud decision makers by the IBM Center for Applied Insights, cloud computing is the driver behind the increased importance of these strategic technologies, allowing for deeper collaboration, better decision making and strategic reinvention. As a result, innovative organizations are seeing tangible financial benefits.

Among pace-setting organizations, those that have deployed cloud on a broad scale and have shown competitive advantages gained over their rivals through their use of it, cloud computing was integral to harnessing these game-changing technologies. Whether it was mobile, social, analytics or Big Data, over 50 percent of the pacesetters identified cloud as key to the use, integration and application of these technologies.

This was in marked contrast to another group of surveyed organizations, those that had not widely deployed cloud and were not showing competitive advantage from using it. Across the board, these cloud “chasers” were less likely to identify cloud as being key to their use of these technologies. For them, cloud computing was not seen as valuable as the pacesetters saw it.

While each of these technologies can be implemented without cloud support, the survey suggests that there is a strong correlation between cloud implementation and increased profit and revenue. Those organizations that have robustly committed to cloud computing are using it to fuel their use of these forward-leaning technologies, and are seeing a cascade of innovation and competitive advantage, ultimately leading to real bottom-line results.