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Exploring Different Types of Cloud Computing Environments & Their Benefits
Cloud Computing, Cloud Migration, Digital Transformation, Hosted Virtual Desktops, Managed Cloud Services, Technology, Uncategorized, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

You read about how cloud computing revolutionizes businesses’ operations everywhere you look. As overused as the expression might be, it happens to be true. Moving to the cloud does revolutionize how you do things. It also opens your business to more and more possibilities as your cloud strategy matures.

A January 6, 2023 Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, points out that: “Last year, many CEOs changed their outlook on cloud computing, essentially going from I’ll do it because that’ what my CIO recommends’ to ‘I want to be all in.’ Companies should focus on building out strong cloud foundations that allow them to take advantage of the most important benefits that cloud provides.” 

That’s why Gartner predicts public cloud spending to reach $600 billion this year. 

But is a public cloud environment the best way to go for your company?

What is cloud computing? It’s important to remember that not all cloud computing is created equal. In this article, we will explore the different types of cloud computing environments and their benefits to help businesses determine which one best suits their needs, but first, let’s review.

 

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing delivers computing services, including servers, storage, databases, software, and other resources over the internet. Instead of owning and maintaining physical hardware and software, users can access these resources remotely through a network of servers.

One of the most significant advantages of the cloud is that it allows small businesses to leverage the latest computing technology at a much lower cost. Cloud computing enables users to access services on-demand, scale up or down as needed, and pay only for what they use without costly hardware and maintenance. Cloud computing has become an increasingly popular technology among businesses of all sizes thanks to its flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. However, not all cloud computing is created equal. There are different types of cloud environments. Exploring the different types of cloud computing and their benefits will help you determine which one is best suited to your business needs.

On-Demand Computing

The cloud is a collection of web-connected servers and software that can be accessed and used over the internet. This means that you don’t need to host or manage your own hardware and software. Furthermore, you can access these systems from anywhere with internet access. Cloud computing is all around us, from checking our Gmail inbox to watching our favorite shows on Netflix. The emails, video files, and other information we access are located on a server somewhere in the world. Still, we can access them quickly, easily, and inexpensively thanks to modern cloud computing technology.

 

Public, Private, and Hybrid Cloud

The type of cloud you should deploy for your business depends on several factors, such as the purpose of your cloud environment, regulations governing data storage and transmission, and other considerations. There are three primary deployment models for the cloud: public, private, and hybrid. All three models provide users with any time, anywhere access to files and applications that drive their businesses, but they do so in different ways.

Public Cloud

The public cloud is a service offered by third-party providers that use shared infrastructure to provide services such as storage, applications, and computing power. Public clouds are the most cost-effective and flexible option for businesses that require scalable solutions, as they are charged on a pay-per-use basis. Additionally, public clouds offer ease of use, as there is no need for maintenance or upkeep of the infrastructure, and updates are automatically applied.

Private Cloud

A private cloud is an infrastructure owned and operated by a single company or organization. Private clouds provide more control and security over data, as they are not shared with other users. Private clouds are often used by businesses that require a higher level of protection, such as financial institutions or government agencies.

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid clouds allow businesses to store sensitive data in a private cloud while taking advantage of the cost-effectiveness and scalability of public clouds for less-sensitive data. A hybrid cloud combines elements of both public and private clouds, allowing businesses to take advantage of both benefits. This model is ideal for companies that require scalability and flexibility but also need to maintain high security and control over their data.

 

Which type of Cloud is Best for Your Company?

Now that we’ve explored different cloud infrastructures and their unique features, it’s crucial to determine which type of cloud is the best fit for your business. Each business has special needs and considerations, such as budget, security, compliance requirements, and resource constraints.

Take time to evaluate your business needs and choose the type of cloud infrastructure that best aligns with your mid and long-term goals and objectives. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, selecting the correct type of cloud can save you many headaches and sleepless nights. The right cloud helps you streamline your operations, boost efficiency, and stay competitive in an ever-changing business landscape.

 

Small to Mid-Sized Businesses (SME)

A public cloud is typically the most suitable cloud computing environment for small to mid-sized businesses. Huge third-party cloud service providers operate public clouds and offer services to multiple organizations or individuals over the internet. It resembles an apartment building owner renting out rooms to individual tenants.

Public clouds are cost-effective, as they operate on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no upfront costs or long-term commitments. They are also scalable, meaning businesses can quickly expand their computing resources as their needs grow.

Public clouds also offer a range of services, including infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), allowing businesses to choose. For example, with these three different types of service, a PaaS solution provides a platform for developers to build, test, and deploy applications without having to worry about underlying infrastructure.

Whereas IaaS provides users with virtualized computing resources such as virtual desktop, storage, and networking, allowing them to build and manage their software applications and systems.

SaaS delivers ready-to-use software apps over the internet. Users don’t have to install and maintain their apps. They just log on and begin working.

Limitations of Public Cloud Computing for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses

Public cloud providers usually have a wide range of security measures to protect against cyber-attacks, which is critical for businesses that must keep their data and systems secure.

Overall, a public cloud can be attractive for small to mid-sized businesses. At least at first glance. But once you look under the hood, there may be a few things to give you pause. For one thing, there is little room for you to control your environment. There is little wiggle room for customizing any aspect of the infrastructure to meet specific needs.

For another, if you expect a speedy resolution to problems, you’ll probably be disappointed. Support and troubleshooting problems can become disruptive if they take a long time to resolve. When submitting trouble tickets to public cloud providers, the response time and support quality vary widely, making it difficult to predict how quickly they can help you resolve issues.

A third and final consideration has to do with compliance. SMEs must often comply with strict regulatory standards, particularly if they work with government contracts. Meeting HIPAA or NIST requirements can be challenging in a public cloud environment.

 

Large & Enterprise Level Companies 

The most suitable cloud computing environment for large and enterprise-level companies is typically a private or hybrid cloud. Single organizations operate private clouds. These cloud service providers host on-premises or in a data center owned and operated by a third-party provider. In the case of IronOrbit, we own and control our data centers.

Private clouds offer greater control over computing resources, allowing organizations to customize their environment to meet their needs. Private cloud providers also can provide better cybersecurity and privacy layers, keeping data within the organization’s system. Hybrid clouds combine public and private cloud environments, allowing organizations to take advantage of the best of both worlds. For example, a private cloud can keep more sensitive data. The public cloud can be the place to store less sensitive data. Hybrid clouds provide the flexibility to scale up or down as needed and offer cost savings by utilizing public cloud resources for non-sensitive data.

Large and enterprise-level companies typically have complex computing needs that require significant resources and high levels of customization. Private and hybrid clouds offer the flexibility, control, and security to meet these needs. However, it is essential to note that private and hybrid clouds require significant infrastructure, expertise, and maintenance investments. Organizations must also have robust security measures to protect against cyber attacks.

Overall, private and hybrid clouds are the most suitable cloud computing environments for large and enterprise-level companies requiring high-level customization, control, and security. 

No matter what type of cloud infrastructure a business chooses, moving to the cloud presents an opportunity to reimagine how they do business and the value they bring to their customers. Cloud technology enables firms to be more agile, flexible, and responsive to changing market demands. By leveraging the scalability and flexibility of the cloud, businesses can streamline their operations, improve their customer service, and gain a competitive advantage.

With the cloud, businesses can access new technologies and tools that were once out of reach, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics. This can help businesses better understand their customers, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. Ultimately, the cloud helps business leaders change their perspective. Some may even have a paradigm shift that dramatically impacts long-term vision and direction.

In a March 10, 2021 article for the Harvard Business Review, Bhaskar Ghosh and Karthik Narain present two clear examples of how moving to the cloud began a paradigm shift in business strategy.

They wrote that Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company, Takeda uses “edge” technology to help hemophiliacs monitor their enzymes at home. Edge
computing complements cloud computing by enabling data processing and analysis closer to the data source, dramatically reducing latency. This level of real-time mission-critical application would not be possible without cloud technology.

The article also introduces us to ENGIE, a French energy company that uses cloud technology to transform itself into a renewable and low-carbon energy provider across 70 countries. By creating a single, unified view of each customer using a PaaS tool, ENGIE can make customer insights accessible across all 24 business units. Here’s a case where a cloud computing platform enables ENGIE to quickly deliver tailor-made solutions for customers, such as its partnership with the University of Iowa to help the school become coal-free by 2025.

 

“Cloud is too important to a business’s fundamental competitiveness to be treated as an IT program. It’s about creating a platform for the efficiency, innovation, and growth that will determine the future success of your business.”
Bhaskar Ghosh and Karthik Narain,
What CEOs Need to Know About the Cloud in 2021

 

 

Conclusion

Understanding the different types of cloud and their benefits can help you determine which cloud deployment model is best suited for your business. Whether you choose public, private, or hybrid cloud, cloud computing can help your business reduce IT headaches, boost productivity, and enhance security, all while leveraging the latest computing technology at a lower cost because you’re not having to re-outfit your IT infrastructure.

But the bottom line is cloud computing, not matter which type of environment you start with, will make all the difference in the sustainability of your company. Companies should develop cloud-first strategies and look towards building cloud economic capabilities, called FinOps. The longer companies delay, the more opportunity they waste to generate value. As the HBR article mentions, “FinOps capabilities can monitor and track spend, determine the unit economics for various cloud usage scenarios, and translate the business’ consumption needs into optimal cloud offerings and pricing arrangements.”

Moving to the cloud is a gateway opportunity for businesses to continually build on technology and nurture the possibilities of creating new digital value propositions for their customers. Beyond the surface-level benefits of increases in scalability and agility, cloud computing provides free-flowing access to new technologies, tools, and resources that help companies innovate and differentiate themselves in their respective markets, which is essential for staying ahead and driving growth. In this way, cloud migration is a foundational step to digital transformation.

 

 

 

 

 

How Moving to the Cloud Provides a Gateway Opportunity to Growth
Cloud Computing, Cloud Migration, Digital Transformation, Managed Cloud Services, Technology, Uncategorized, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, Work From Home

Cloud computing allows for easy collaboration and the sharing of data and resources among team members, clients, and vendors. That’s why overall growth in cloud spending continues to be strong. But collaboration and sharing merely scratch the surface of what cloud computing offers. The cloud democratizes computing technology. Cloud computing helps organizations reduce IT headaches, boosts productivity and strengthens security. Small and mid-sized businesses can give enterprise companies a run for their money.

Moving all or part of your IT infrastructure to the cloud enables companies to benefit from new technologies in various ways. Here are examples of some of them:

Scalability: with cloud computing, companies can quickly scale their computing resources up or down as needed. Increased scalability allows you to quickly and easily take advantage of new technologies without investing in expensive hardware.

Flexibility: use cloud services to run applications and store, or process large amounts of data. Test and experiment with technologies and see how they work in your environment.

Cost-Effectiveness: cloud computing can be more cost-effective than traditional on-premises solutions because you’re not making significant upfront investments in hardware. Pay for only the resources you need.

Speed: set up, configure and start using new workstations in minutes. Speed helps companies prototype new ideas, test new technologies, and get the latest products and services to market more quickly.

Access to Leading-Edge Technologies: many cloud providers offer access to cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, machine learning, and big data analytics, as part of their services. Companies can test out technologies without building and maintaining the infrastructure themselves.

Data Security and Compliance: Companies can leverage IronOrbit’s security and compliance features to keep data secure and comply with regulations.

Company-maintained data centers require personnel and hardware. They’re expensive to set up, operate, and maintain. IronOrbit helps you reduce your physical IT footprint and eliminates the tedious, intensive work of managing servers and data centers. Moving to the cloud eliminates costly IT infrastructure. Less infrastructure means your IT staff is not spending time patching servers, updating software, or doing tedious maintenance. Instead, they can work more strategically with stakeholders on high-value business objectives.

IronOrbit’s pay-as-you-go model provides tremendous agility to your business. You can now deploy technology solutions that were once too expensive or complicated to handle. With IronOrbit, you can scale your environment based on your need without paying extra for what you don’t need. Since IronOrbit builds and maintains its environment, we can offer you a cloud solution that makes the most sense for your situation. The IronOrbit cloud provides the kind of control you’d expect from having on-premises servers. Only your environment is safer, more robust, and more resilient in our cloud environment.

For example, let’s say you operate an accounting firm. When tax season rolls around, traffic to your website surges dramatically. Suddenly, you need equipment that can handle the traffic increases. That means you’re paying extra for the power you’ll need for a fraction of the time. The resources to support the site automatically kick in to accommodate the surge if you’re on the cloud. Companies that are quick in adopting cloud computing will have the upper hand in innovation and scaling their business. Those companies that don’t move at least some of their resources to the cloud may have difficulty keeping up and staying competitive.

In Conclusion
Moving to the cloud provides companies of all sizes with a gateway opportunity for growth. Scalability, flexibility, and the speed of cloud computing mobilize companies to create new growth engines and business models. Cloud computing can also enable companies to improve their data security, comply with regulations, and collaborate more effectively with partners and customers. Accessing cutting-edge technologies and services gives companies a competitive edge in the market.

While there are some trade-offs and challenges to consider, the benefits of cloud computing greatly outweigh the costs and risks, providing a solid foundation for growth and success. So, companies should consider moving to the cloud as a part of their long-term growth strategy. Stay competitive and adapt to the ever-changing technology landscape. Contact us for a no-obligation consultation. Start your journey today.

2022 Tech Trends to Increase Business Growth & Resilience
Cloud Computing, Cloud Migration, Digital Transformation, Technology, Uncategorized

 

2022 will continue to see the digitization and virtualization of society and business. The need for sustainability, increasing data volumes, and computer network speeds will drive digital transformation as companies move from a survival strategy to one of thriving.

As promised by Moore’s Law several decades ago, technology advancements continue to accelerate, but the speed at which these accelerations are occurring far outpaced earlier projections. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report says, “Developments in previously disjointed fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, and genetics and biotechnology are all building on and amplifying one another. More than a third of the desired core skill sets of most occupations will be comprised of skills that at not yet considered crucial to the job today.”

When you think about what technologies might be game-changing for your company in 2022, you aren’t thinking about nanotechnology, quantum computing, or neural interfaces. As much as the tech giants may want to forecast a utopian future based on these technologies, what your company needs right now is technologies that will help you get more done with less, work from anywhere, and support your organizational objectives.

Let’s dive into some “right now” technologies that can be disruptive in a good way to your workflow and organization as a whole in 2022.

 

Digitization and Virtual Environments

The trend toward leveraging big data and the digitization of workflow within organizations makes virtual work environments possible. During the pandemic, everybody scrambled to set up home offices. The organizations that already had a virtual IT infrastructure had a much smoother transition. Employees just had to grab their computers from the office and take them home. Others had to work through it and make adjustments along the way. Most of those that didn’t transition went out of business.

It’s interesting to note that many business leaders are still grappling with the employee question of when (or if) they’ll be returning to an office environment. Sharyn Leaver writing for Forrester, predicts only 10% of companies will remain fully remote. Of the 60% planning to shift to some sort of hybrid model, one-third of those firms will fail in their first attempt at anywhere work.

New technologies are emerging in every area. Cloud computing continues to be at the forefront of every discussion because it is foundational to everything else. All IT services, applications, and cybersecurity protocols are delivered through the cloud.

Last October, at Gartner’s IT Symposium in Stamford, Connecticut, analysts reported that enterprises must move away from “lift and shift” migration and toward Cloud-Native Platforms (CNPs). The power of cloud computing provides scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities “as a service” to technology creators using internet technologies, delivering fast time to value and reduced costs.  For this reason, Gartner predicts CNPs will serve as the foundation for more than 85% of new digital initiatives by 2025, up from less than 40% in 2021.

 

Aamer Baig writes in an article for McKinsey, “Most companies we know are well into their cloud journeys and understand notionally that the cloud offers a big opportunity. But many are struggling to capture the full value cloud offers. As in the adoption of any new technology, of course, hiccups are inevitable. But the fundamental issue is that companies are looking at the cloud as a source of IT productivity improvements rather than as a source of transformative value—which is more than $1 trillion, by our calculations.

Improvements in productivity and efficiency gains through cloud-migration programs can generate significant cost savings, but they essentially represent better ways of doing what IT already does. CIOs have a crucial role in getting the business to focus on the far bigger prize: the new businesses, innovative practices, and new sources of revenue that cloud either enables or accelerates.

One pharma company built its GxP-compliant IT environment on the cloud and uses an ecosystem of cloud services that connect with manufacturing instruments, robotics, and other systems. It has been using a combination of scaling, instance management, storage, workload processing, and data-warehousing services to accelerate vaccine development.

A large agriculture company put into the cloud the vast amounts of data it had accumulated on improving equipment maintenance and used advanced analytics to generate insights that became the basis for a new business offering to growers.

CIOs need to master cloud economics and target business areas that can benefit from the cloud’s advantages of speed, flexibility, and scale. As importantly, they need to consider how to make the large-scale changes to IT’s operating model that are needed to build the capabilities to generate new value. Fewer than 10 percent of technology leaders, however, say they are most focused on hiring cloud talent, placing it at the bottom of hiring priorities. That’s a red flag, especially considering that almost 50 percent of CIOs plan to migrate more than three-quarters of all workloads to the cloud in the next two years.”

 

The term artificial intelligence was coined by Dartmouth math professor John McCarthy in 1955.

 

AI will continue to improve and become ubiquitous in the year 2022. Even the most rudimentary of businesses are utilizing AI devices connected to nearly everything and using AI in:

  • Voice Assistants
  • Smart TVs
  • Smart Whiteboards
  • Language Translation
  • Mobile Devices
  • Robotic Process Automation

Companies using AI devices accumulate tremendous amounts of customer data. This well of information just then needs to be categorized and analyzed for pro-growth decisions based on real-time data. 2022 will see a dramatic jump in the utilization of AI due to the higher speeds available through the widespread adoption of the 5G network.

Before rushing out to buy the latest and greatest in AI technology, it’s a good idea to do some research or delegate an IT innovation team to do some preliminary homework. Become familiar with the capabilities of the technology and ensure it aligns with the mid-range and long-term strategy of your organization.

In a Harvard Business Review (HBR) article first published in 2018, Thomas Davenport and Rajeev Ronanki wrote about the importance of understanding which technologies perform what types of tasks, and the strengths and limitations of each. They write, “we encountered several organizations that wasted time and money pursuing the wrong technology for the job at hand.”

Since many organizations, even large enterprise companies, can lack the necessary in-house expertise to evaluate new and emerging technologies, it’s necessary for business leaders to work closely with IT to identify the right consultants to advise on high-priority projects.

Davenpot and Ronanki found that nearly a majority of cognitive technology projects had to do with robotics and automation. Business leaders have two schools of thought when it comes to automation. Some see automation as a way to eliminate full-time employees while others see it as a way to automate menial tasks in order to make better use of its people.  Amazon for instance has been looking at ways for its people to devote more time to building new products. The Hands Off the Wheel program began in the retail management division to develop ways for machine learning to handle repetitive mundane work such as keeping its gigantic warehouses stocked with products to sell.

When companies make it clear that they are using AI to help people rather than replace them, they significantly outperform companies that don’t set that objective (HBR).

Alex Kantrowitz, author of ALWAYS DAY ONE: HOW THE TECH TITANS PLAN TO STAY ON TOP FOREVER (Portfolio, 2020), writes in an article for Harvard Business Review, that Amazon’s transition to Hands Off the Wheel took years to roll out and a great deal of training. “The retail-division employees were despondent at first, recognizing that their jobs were transforming. Yet in time, many saw the logic. ‘When we heard that ordering was going to be automated by algorithms, its like, ‘OK, what’s happening to my job?’”

According to Kantrowitz, Amazon didn’t implement this program to reduce headcount but rather free up personnel to invent and oversee new product development.  Kantrowitz makes an essential point: “Had Amazon eliminated those jobs, it would have made its flagship business more profitable but would have missed the next new business opportunity.

Amazon has about 350,000 mobile drive unit robots working alongside hundreds of thousands of humans employed at fulfillment centers.

 

Entrepreneurship and seizing opportunities through leverage are at the heart of Amazon’s raison d’être. At no other time in history has it been as easy, fast, and inexpensive to start a new business. Amazon’s view is that it is a facilitator of entrepreneurship, providing the investment, platform, and resources to help build new businesses.

Amazon first opened its online shelves to small businesses in 2000. In 2018, the company created an internal Small Business Empowerment team. In a press announcement, CEO Dave Clark said, “We made the decision to open our store’s virtual shelves to third-party sellers. At the time, big-box retailers had been pushing small businesses out of the retail market. We bet that bringing selling partners into our store would not only be a win for customers who want vast product selection, low prices, and fast delivery, but it would also be a win for small businesses wanting to reach more customers, increase revenue and profits, and create good jobs.”

The number of US sellers who surpassed $1 million in sales grew another 15%. Kantrowitz concludes, “If Amazon is any indication, businesses that reassign employees after automating their work will thrive.”

A recent Forrester study shows that technology leaders will focus on human-centered technology transformations. Indicating that less than 15% of firms nominated digital transformation as a priority in 2022, the report suggests leading firms will use emerging technology to unlock the creativity of their employees and drive innovation that focuses on outcomes, not just financial results.

Subscription-Based Technologies

The trend of “______ as a Service” technologies has exploded in the past few years. 2022 will see more of this trend – for several good reasons.

Subscription-based business technologies:

  • don’t force you to buy more than you are using
  • are cost-effective
  • are easily scalable up or down
  • are flexible to match market fluctuations
  • can be deployed easily and quickly

Maybe the best part about subscription-based technologies is the zero-coding needed to utilize them. You don’t have to have an in-house IT team. These technologies come pre-built and can integrate easily with other technologies in use within your business. In addition, because the technologies are virtual (in a cloud environment), your business has less exposure to cyber risk and a higher level of business continuity readiness.

Compliance Technologies

The more data that a company creates and gathers from the public, the greater their social responsibility becomes for the protection and use of that data. Whether your company needs to have transparency, governance, and accountability regarding data to protect your brand or you have legislative and industry-standard compliance mandates to adhere to, the technologies revolving around compliance are here to stay and will be growing throughout 2022. These new compliance technologies will help streamline your compliance efforts, minimizing the effort and money expended on compliance concerns.

 

Employee Wellness and Retention Technologies

The pandemic has brought a wave of resignations and shuffling of employees from one company to another. Business leaders are looking to technology to make employment at their organization more attractive to prospective – and current – employees. This desire to improve working conditions for employee retention has resulted in the utilization of many technologies. These advancements range from wearables that help employees monitor wellness for a work/life balance to new features built into ergonomic forms that reduce stress and improve employees’ workday in repetitive motion tasks.

Other considerations regarding employee wellness and retention technologies are tech that improves communication and collaboration on tasks and incorporates that “water cooler” chat function lost in the social distancing and work-from-home exodus of 2020.

By using tech to reincorporate that human connection into the virtual workplace, companies are helping to give their employees more of a sense of camaraderie and belonging – rather than isolation.

 

In Conclusion:

Your business, like many others, is reliant upon technology to maintain your competitive edge. It’s important to know what technologies other companies are leveraging – both within your industry and the broader marketplace. But knowing that other companies are having success with or planning on implementing game-changing tech within their organizations isn’t enough. Companies that take decisive action will face the fast-paced challenges of the next few years much better than those that are more cautious. Combine strategic planning with bold decision-making as you prioritize your technology objectives for the next 12 months. You must have a trusted IT partner to vet those technologies and advise you about their potential ROI within your particular business.

2022 is shaping up to be a year of both promise and uncertainty, but one thing is sure: companies that build a platform to embrace new tech within their workflow will have an advantage out of the starting gate.

 

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Why is Digital Transformation So Important to Sustained Success? (Part 2)
Digital Transformation, Uncategorized

 

 

BECOMING DIGITAL IS BUILT ON AN OPERATIONAL BACKBONE

Since the operational backbone is the foundation for everything else that will be developed, built, and offered to your customers, it’s important to get it right from the design stage. That’s why regrouping with your people and process is so fundamental to the process. DESIGNED FOR DIGITAL points out that although companies have been engaged, in one way or another, with digitization (remember: digitizing does not equal digital) transformation since the late 1990s, the majority of them did not have operational backbones to support their digital transformation.

The story of Intel’s dramatic digital transformation presents a good example of starting with the business needs in mind. Use the collective input of the organization to determine where exactly the business is headed. Talk to the people in the company. Talk to your customers. Strive to get an accurate big picture of your company based on facts, insight, and impressions from your customers.

Shesha Krishnapura’s, a chief technology officer at Intel, wrote an article THE ANATOMY OF INTEL’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, where he explains how lines of communication between Intel’s many business units helped shape the new operating business model.

“When we look at new technologies, we investigate what it will take to transition from legacy approaches to the new ones. We look at our affordability targets and determine which one gives us the highest return on investment. One area of technology that is crucial to Intel’s digital transformation is a hybrid cloud. It is the next step in a natural evolution that started with everyone having their workstation and locally stored data. Eventually, virtual clients came along, with applications and data stored centrally (but on-premises). Now hyper-scale computing, or high-performance computing, is the trend, where a lot of computational jobs can be done in a very short amount of time using a significant amount of fungible computing capacity. But on-premises capacity can reach a saturated utilization, and enterprises need burst capacity. The ability to seamlessly move workloads between private and public clouds—i.e., a hybrid cloud—is the answer.”

 

Operational Backbone
An operational backbone is a coherent set of enterprise systems, data, and processes supporting a company’s core operations.

 

Although an operational backbone is a digital building block for becoming a digital company, it is not something that is etched in stone. Far from it. Because a business changes, an operational backbone is never complete. Technology changes, and you may discover through analyzing customer data, that their needs have changed. So your operational backbone has to be designed in such a way that it continuously evolves to meet the situation as it evolves. All the components that make up your operational backbone have to be agile and flexible as well. If any aspect of it has limitations or rigid parameters, it’s going to gum up the works. Like clogging up an artery, it could cause paralysis or worse.

Invest in an Operational Backbone and a Digital Platform to Secure Efficiency & Revenue Growth

Having done the work to assemble an operational backbone, you’ll have set in motion the ways and means to create a digital platform. Properly designed, this platform will enable quick and easy access to data, configure, and reconfigure business processes, and technology components to generate and enhance digital offerings. At the base of this platform is a repository of cloud services. Depending on the specific demands and needs of your company, this might be a public, private, or hybrid cloud environment. Whatever the architecture happens to be, make sure it is flexible enough to adapt as you need the rest of the platform to adapt.

Let’s take a moment to discuss the cloud service component. Cloud services provide the foundation. It is the basis for everything else that follows. Trevor Clohessy, Thomas Acton, and Lorraine Morgan’s 2017 paper THE IMPACT OF CLOUD-BASED DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON ICT SERVICE PROVIDERS’ STRATEGIES found that cloud-based digital transformation positively impacted the realization of strategic objectives such as agility and competitive positioning.

DESIGNED FOR DIGITAL (MIT Press) describes a digital platform as 3 repositories built on a base of cloud technologies. The book states that cloud services are “fairly standard across all vendors.” While that statement is true, it’s important to know that not all cloud designs are equal just as not all strategies are equal. The best ones take in the big picture of where the company is at present and where it wants to be in 5 years….in 10 years. In the context of cloud computing, a strategy can be defined as a “set of decisions required to create and deploy a network-based, information service delivery strategy that results in both cost savings and organizational agility.

The Competitive Imperative of Digital Transformation

In a 2018 Forbes article titled “Cloud Computing Comes of Age as the Foundation for Enterprise Digital Transformation” author David Bartoletti makes the following statement:

“Cloud is no longer a place to get some cheap servers or storage. It’s not even a single place. Cloud computing is now shorthand for how companies turn amazing ideas into winning software — faster. Nearly 60% of North American enterprises now rely on public cloud platforms, five times the percentage that did just five years ago.”

It has been two years since that Forbes article was written. What’s happened since then?

COVID-19

Businesses have to utilize cloud technology to keep pace with competing organizations. Some form of digital transformation has become a “must-have” for companies worldwide. But is a public cloud the right platform for your digital transformation efforts?

Today, privacy/security concerns take center stage and have businesses large and small thinking seriously about a move to private cloud.

Private cloud architecture outpaces public cloud offerings in:

  • Migration
  • Management
  • Support
  • Cost
  • RTO/RPO
  • Contracts
  • Availability
  • Monitoring
  • Performance

So why do companies still choose public cloud services for their digital transformation efforts? Perhaps it is name recognition. Everyone knows about Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

But let’s face it. Not everyone TRUSTS Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. That’s why CEOs and CIOs lean more heavily toward private cloud companies that provide a higher level of service, customization, and privacy.

There are other considerations when looking at the quality of your cloud environment. To find the summum bonum of cloud services, take a holistic approach that involves the answering several questions. What is the quality of the connection like? How good is the security of its data centers? How responsive is its level of customer service? How much control will you have over your ICT environment, and how adaptable will it be to the shifting needs of your company? These are important questions to consider.

Once company leaders grasp the concept of digital for operational and market flexibility, they begin to envision the unlimited possibilities of digital transformation.
Leading Digital Transformation

Often lost in the digital transformation conversation is the “how” of leadership throughout the process. While this may seem rudimentary, those business leaders that choose not to see digital transformation as a completely new game are often taken by surprise as the entire effort crashes and burns like the Hindenburg.

The leadership mindset of digital transformation.

Listening to the Technology Experts – But Not Too Much

IT specialists are in the business because they love what technology can do. They see the potential within technology to help you become more competitive, efficient, and cost-effective. They will have deep, valuable insight into the “how” of the project. But sometimes, because the focus of your IT department is on IT, the process can get mired in the weeds of the technology, resulting in the people and processes being left behind. It’s the task of the leadership to ensure that the strategy embraces the input of all stakeholders and ensures that the technology solves people and process challenges – not just IT issues.

 

Holistic Approach

Many CEOs see digital transformation as “something that the CIO and the tech department does.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The IT organization within your company will play a significant role in the deployment of the strategy, but if there isn’t a comprehensive, “all-of-business” approach in the planning stages, the effort will crumble. Why? Because anything less than a holistic approach to digital transformation results in siloed data and unproductive activity. Simply dropping cloud-based applications or infrastructure into the mix without integrating everything around the digital transformation strategy is like trying to run a NASCAR without a steering rack and transmission. Sure, you’ve got lots of power, but you’re not going anywhere fast.

 

Long-Haul – Iterative Process

If your company is going to be flexible and nimble enough to stay ahead in our current global economy, you’re going to have to embrace the fact that the task of digitization and digital optimization is never complete. New technologies are coming on the market every day. Not all new technologies are good, but if you’re not careful, your competitors will leverage a technology you’ve dismissed and pull the rug out from under you. To avoid this catastrophe, it’s important to view digital transformation as an ongoing activity, just like marketing, sales, and production. As they emerge, new digital technologies will allow you to work smarter, serve your customers better, and meet market challenges head-on.

 

Communications

With the USA still feeling the “outsourcing” effects of NAFTA, there is a continuous worry in the minds of employees about losing their jobs to cheaper labor and better technology. Part of your work as a CEO has to include boosting morale by assuring your employees that the digital transformation process is about securing their jobs into the future. It’s not about replacing them or eliminating their positions.

 

Company Culture

The positive potential impact of digital transformation on company culture cannot be understated. Digitization allows for a higher level of transparency, communications, and collaboration. Digital optimization can make everyone’s workday easier.

However, organizational leadership has to communicate and model the benefits, or the new strategy will be misunderstood and may even be resented by the employees.

Digital transformations are slow because it means changing habits and culture. It takes time and a concerted effort. It should be a slow process. People need the time to adjust to new processes and adopt new technologies. The need time to learn how to think and function as a digital business. Begin the journey by creating an operational backbone. Optimize so that you’re doing the same things you’ve always done, but now only better. Then you can build a digital platform. You’ll discover along the way that you will begin to accumulate a portfolio of components. These components will feed innovation and become useful in future digital offerings.

 

Use components to create new digital value propositions.
If you want to succeed, accumulate lots of components and apply plenty of imagination in using them to create new value propositions.

As Jeanne Ross points out in her book, componentization is key to becoming a fully digital company able to offer new digital value propositions to customers.  To illustrate the point, she uses the plotline from the LEGO movie.

In the LEGO movie, a noble construction worker sets out to save the world from a tyrant who intends to glue in place all of LEGO world. Emmet, the construction worker, prevails, of course, because he teams up with bad guys who apply their combined creativity to outsmart the bad guys. The Key to their success is the ability to reconfigure LEGO components into whatever machine they need to overcome each obstacle they meet.

In the same way, digital companies build and adapt using whatever components they have. It all comes down to how creative and innovative they can be in assembling those solutions from parts that already exist. The challenge is to keep track of all the components so you can grab the one you need when you need it. That’s why you need a digital platform.

 

DIGITAL OFFERING BUILT ON A DIGITAL PLATFORM

A good example of how having a digital platform can facilitate responding to a unique situation is the Toyota Hawaii story. Toyota Motors North America responded to a particular challenge in Honolulu —a city full of condos and people but few parking spots. They came up with a digital offering called Hui—a round-trip, station-based car-sharing program that allows customers to reserve a car by the hour, or by the day, through a mobile app that also locks, unlocks, and starts the vehicle.

IN CONCLUSION

Business leaders are looking for ways to get ahead of the situation. Companies are looking at ways of improving what they already do by digitizing their processes.

The messaging around digitizing operations has to be coherent and consistent throughout all layers of the organization.

Why?

Because people don’t like change.

Digitizing, done correctly, creates a company atmosphere of constant and never-ending improvement, and that can be unsettling for some.

Securing an operational backbone this way makes sense and it should be done.

But long-term sustainable success is dependent on developing digital business capabilities where your value proposition provides a new way to solve your customer’s problem.

Make the time now to start learning how to componentize offerings, as Jeanne Ross puts it, and build a digital platform. Designing, building, and using a digital platform requires a whole new way of thinking. Even if you’re an established company, everyone must abandon old habits and, in many ways, adopt the mindset of a start-up. Companies need to get started on their digital journey now because it is going to take a while. If they wait until they have an urgent need to suddenly offer a digital solution, they won’t be able to. It will be too late.

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As businesses struggle to recovery, they need to create business strategies that are resilient and sustainable.
Harnessing the Power of the Cloud for Business Optimization
Cloud Computing, Cloud Migration, Uncategorized

Because the world is more fluid, unpredictable, and less stable than ever, the cloud represents a resilient business strategy that is sustainable. 

 

Business optimization is the process of making your operations more efficient and cost-effective. Moving to the cloud enables these improvements to happen easily and with great flexibility.

For enterprise organizations, being in the cloud provides them with the ability to scale up their infrastructure quickly, without setting up an additional in-house hardware. It’s not only fast, but it reduces the cost associated with development.

Employees can access files using Smartphones, laptops, and tablets while you reduce operational costs, boost speed, and improve accuracy.

That’s just the beginning. But still, we’re just scratching the surface of what the transformational “supernova” known as the cloud can do for your business.

Moving to the cloud is not a cure-all solution that is going to solve all your optimization and business continuity challenges. Sure, there will be great benefit in simply migrating your IT infrastructure to the cloud, but to fully benefit from this game-changing technology, leaders have to seek out the cloud solution that is optimized for their unique needs. Not all companies are created equal, and neither are clouds.

Cloud Optimization is about delivering business efficiency to your organization. Leaders need to target objectives, look towards future trends, and make predictions as best they can. These insights help IT operations make better cloud decisions and accelerate business innovations that will impact the future of your company. Remember, it’s not just a matter of surviving the years ahead. The goal is to thrive and, ideally, have the ability and wherewithal to shape your own future.

 

DID SOMEONE SAY, “BUSINESS CONTINUITY?”

It just so happens that being in the right cloud environment also ensures business continuity!

Let’s face it. There are many ways organizations can be disrupted.

There are natural disasters, service outages, security breaches, industry innovations/competition, and now, add lockdowns caused by pandemics to the list.

Without implementing a business continuity strategy as a part of an overall cybersecurity roadmap, any process optimization changes you make can be taken away from you in a second. By being in the cloud (instead of utilizing on-site servers to back up your data and host your applications), the cybersecurity and business continuity elements are already baked into your solution. This assurance of security and reliability gives you the freedom to customize and tweak your internal, IT-supported processes and innovate more effective ways to develop and deliver your products and services.

The decisions you make about your cloud infrastructure can determine the future of your company.

Imagine for a moment that you’re the CEO of one of the top three travel management companies in the USA. You’ve got more than 1,000 employees and twenty-plus locations scattered across the country.

But you’ve got a BIG problem.

The in-house infrastructure you implemented ten years ago is now out of date, operationally overloaded, and in urgent need of hardware, software, and security upgrades.

What to do?

Well, you could invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in new in-house hardware, software, and security solutions, or, you could start looking at the cloud as a potential game-changer for your growing enterprise.

That’s the choice that Darryl Hoover, CTO of Direct Travel, had to make.

He chose to use IronOrbit’s cloud infrastructure to help his organization take the next step in business optimization.

Darryl says, “Our success in the travel industry comes down to our ability to leverage technology and put it to work for our customers. IronOrbit helps us keep that competitive edge.”

 

Harnessing the Cloud for Business Optimization

5 Things You Need to Know

1. Know the Competition

It’s not a surprise that many companies are already using the cloud to house their data and infrastructure. Gartner, one of the industry’s leading think tanks, shows the numbers behind the massive move to a cloud-first infrastructure across all industries.

In an article titled Cloud Shift Impacts All IT Markets Christy Pettey of Gartner notes that “Gartner’s latest IT spending forecast shows that spending on data center systems is forecast to be $195 billion in 2019, but down to $190 billion through 2022. In contrast, spending on cloud system infrastructure services (IaaS) will grow from $39.5 billion in 2019 to $63 billion through 2021.”

What do all these big-dollar forecasts mean for you?

Your competition is either considering a move to the cloud, or they’re already there.

 

2. Know the Costs

Cost is always a factor. Doing the math and understanding what cloud infrastructure will mean for your business optimization goals, in conjunction with your budgeting, is critical. Here are some factors related to cloud infrastructure costs.

OPEX vs. CAPEX – Cloud-first business optimization strategies allow you to get away from the life cycle (and break/fix cycle) of in-house IT infrastructure and move the IT budgeting from the CAPEX side of the ledger to the OPEX side.

Scaling Cost with Requirements – Although a company with infinite resources can afford to build IT capacity that they won’t use for 3 to 5 years, your company isn’t likely in that position. Cloud infrastructure allows you to utilize economies of scale and level-up your expenses only when your business process growth requires.

Budgeted Expenditures – Predictability is valuable. The cloud simplifies IT budgeting because all maintenance, updates, security, and upgrades are done by the cloud provider within a stable, monthly fee.

Improved Performance Raises Productivity and Lowers Costs – Improved efficiency and increased productivity have to be considered when it comes to the cost/benefit analysis of cloud infrastructure for business optimization. Profitability arises when employees can easily access their work without spending time on keeping their computers functioning and secure.

3. Know the Process

The unknown is everyone’s primary source of worry. When the IronOrbit team explains the cloud migration process to a business leader, he/she then has the clarity and information needed to make a decision about utilizing a cloud environment to improve business optimization.

This is how an enterprise cloud migration/implementation process works.

Consultation – Getting together with the key stakeholders in the client company to explore their goals for the cloud migration or implementation

Exploration – Digging in and getting a firm grasp on the current IT assets of the client company and the processes that those IT assets support

Collaboration – Working with the in-house IT organization of the client company to determine a roadmap for moving data and IT-supported processes into the cloud

Presentation – Submitting completed migration roadmap to client company leadership for review and approval

Implementation – Moving data and workflow in stages into the cloud in accordance with the roadmap that has been established and working in coordination with the client organization’s IT team

Testing and Quality Assurance – Ensuring that each stage of the migration process has been completed successfully and is achieving the desired/expected results, i.e., optimization of business processes

 

4. Know the Hurdles

Some companies try to tell you that moving enterprise systems from in-house IT assets to cloud infrastructure is a breeze, but they just aren’t telling you the truth. The fact is that enterprise IT assets are complicated. Moving them into the cloud is a complex procedure. That’s why it’s critical to choose the right team to handle the tough stuff and to help you get over the operational hurdles you must face before a cloud-first strategy results in business optimization.

Hurdle #1 – Buy In

Getting key stakeholders to get on board with a cloud implementation to achieve better business optimization is one of the first hurdles you will face. People like infrastructure that they can see and touch. As a result, there is an innate bias against cloud infrastructure – even if it is better on many levels than buying and maintaining in-house IT assets.

Hurdle #2 – Bandwidth

When your entire data and workflow are securely accessed through an internet connection, it’s critical that your business has reliable bandwidth to handle the traffic and a backup IP.

Hurdle #3 – Training

Optimizing business processes through the utilization of cloud assets is a game-changer. It’s important not to leave your staff in the dark. Each step of the process needs to be communicated from the top down. Talk to the employees that are most impacted by the change. Cloud implementation needs to be framed as a positive for the employees. They need to be trained on new aspects of the process that have been impacted by the cloud implementation.

 

5. Know the Benefits
Using cloud-based data sets, servers, and desktops, your organization can work to drive real-world business advantages.  Here are just a few examples of them.

The Benefits of Moving to the Cloud during Recovery

We’ve saved the best for last!

As mentioned in an earlier IronOrbit blog, the cloud has tremendous energy. The information travels up and down. Large amounts of digital information move in every direction. You need to learn to go with the knowledge flow if you’re going to thrive. The flow of knowledge stocks on the cloud will better equip you to look ahead, predict trends, and respond in a timely manner to the ever-changing market. Being in the cloud ensures that you are interconnected globally, where ideas and knowledge are exchanged freely.

It’s not just about knowledge flows, though that’s compelling enough. It’s also about being able to take advantage of leading-edge technology as it becomes available.

Consider the March 1, 2019, Deloitte article, CLOUD-BASED SERVICES ARE MAKING IT EASIER FOR COMPANIES TO USE AI. “These streamlined ways of using AI are coming at the right time as organizations recognize the value of investing in AI to improve their competitiveness. Companies without a great deal of AI expertise can still benefit, as user-friendly cloud services continue to improve and proliferate. The message for companies that want to remain competitive is that they need to jump in – and it’s never been easier or more essential to tap into the power of AI.

 

IN CONCLUSION

Business Optimization is achieved when gaps in process and technology challenges are addressed in relation to the resources available. Today’s business optimization isn’t about a one-time restructuring, but rather an ongoing, dynamic alignment of people, processes, and technology. This kind of strategic agility can only be supported adequately in a cloud infrastructure.  The Harvard Business Review article by Nicholas Bloom and Nicola Pierri, from August, 31, 2018, makes the point clear. “Flexible access to computing resources allows firms to scale-up (or down) rapidly and to experiment with new products and features. The operational agility can be particularly valuable when facing uncertain demand or a fast-evolving competitive environment.”

Another strong case for using cloud technology to optimize business is made earlier in the same article. It reports that cloud computing is an unusual technology that “provides high-powered computing without the overhead costs associated with in-house software and hardware provisions.”

 

THE BIG PICTURE

Here’s the most important question.

If you’re not going to utilize the cloud for continuous collaboration of processes to meet market demand and stay ahead of the competition, what are you going to do – and how much money are you going to have to spend to make it happen?

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The New Normal – How 2020 Changed Business Forever
Remote Work, Services>Business, Technology, Uncategorized
As businesses venture forward they must learn to navigate the uncertain waters of the new normal.
Businesses will have to include resiliency planning as they venture forward.
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE NEW – NEW NORMAL

It surprised me. The first time that I heard a news broadcaster use the words “the new normal” in reference to the post COVID time frame made me stop and think. Here was a term first used following the financial crisis of 2008 and it’s aftermath. Until then, I was expecting everything to go back to how we had always known it.

I thought about it. I realized that the newscaster was right. COVID-19 has changed the way we do business – and life – forever. In the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic, many facets of the way we do business have shifted. Daily, we see our lives become more confined. The uncertainty of it all restricts us in many ways. It is too early to tell what all the permanent business ramifications will be. But there is change in the air. One thing is certain. This situation will expose corporate weaknesses and strengths. How the story unfolds for your business depends largely on how you navigate the waters ahead.

Look at the current impact of the virus on business operations. It’s clear that the shift toward the “new normal” has caused the adoption of certain technologies sooner and faster than ever expected. Here are 6 ways technology trends have changed for better or for worse.

What Has Coronavirus, and Our Reaction to it, Changed in Business Forever?
Online collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams enables people to connect from home, from the office, or anywhere else. Definitely part of the new normal.
Online collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams enables people to connect from home, from the office, or anywhere else.

1.      The way businesses view and handle remote workers has changed.

In this article from MarketWatch, we see some business benefits of allowing employees to work from home, such as taking advantage of a more diverse talent pool and flexibility in labor costs.

A great number of employees now working from home. They’ve been working from home for a prolonged period of time. Many companies will have to make adjustments and accept remote workers. Being able to transition to a home or remote office when problems arise will be the new normal. The bonus: the flexibility allows for a more productive and capable workforce.

Tool and technology that’s ready to go in either environment is a great way to support your team. It encourages autonomy and collaboration among teams. Get the job done, regardless of location. That’s the new normal.

·         Zoom or Microsoft Teams are cloud-hosted communications tools that allow for adhoc web meetings among different groups.

·         Trello is a great way for companies to work together on projects, allowing for integration into other subscription-based business apps like Google drive or Dropbox for sharing.

·         Slack is an attractive alternative to email, allowing single or team-based conversations that are searchable.

 

the new normal means Machine learning can be confused by weird behavior....they may be mislead because of unusual spending habits during a pandemic, but they will play a key role in mitigating the fallout from this pandemic and better prepare us for the next.
Machine learning models may be mislead because of unusual spending habits during a pandemic, but they might play a key role in mitigating the fallout from this pandemic. They’ll definitely minimize the impact of the next.

2.      The way businesses view and use artificial intelligence has changed.

Another trend that has been gaining more traction is the use of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically, machine learning. Being able to mine through the copious amounts of data we have on coronavirus is helping scientists and researchers find answers quicker than ever.

The use-case for machine learning (ML) is not limited to scientific research. Imagine being able to accurately forecast sales data. Or what if you could have a chatbot that could answer customer service inquiries 24/7 from your website?

ML has deep roots in cybersecurity. ML has the ability to analyze network traffic and detect anything seen as malicious. Many of the latest security tools incorporate AI/ML. They are able to learn the current cybersecurity posture of business systems. They can proactively combat malware threats.

The first step for a company is to vet, implement, and accept machine learning. This could be for a specific task or to provide general support to a department. Once this happens, the doors to advance technology swing open. The power of ML to benefit a company become apparent.

 

The new normal means a turning point for the way we work and learn. All because of the cloud.
Cloud technology has brought stability and flexibility to a world lacking both. Web-based platforms and services continue working without getting overwhelmed by the sudden rise of people going online to do business, work, or play.

3.      Acceptance of the public cloud infrastructure has changed.

With COVID-19 forcing businesses to rely on the cloud, company leaders that were once wary of public cloud infrastructure are now embracing it.

A recent CRN post reports cloud computing have enabled companies to scale business applications. And they’ve been able to do it reliably. Thanks to the minds behind Google, AWS, and Microsoft Azure, rapid scaling has been virtually trouble free.

Microsoft Azure alone has reported a 775% increase in usage of cloud services like Teams, PowerBI, and Windows Virtual Desktop.

Relying on a proven infrastructure is good. Doing it without managing physical server hardware is even better. It is more critical now than ever before.

Businesses that use a cloud infrastructure can scale back without incurring unneeded costs. If they are in a current downswing.

Remote work, SaaS applications, and Cloud Infrastructure are in high gear. The COVID-19 crisis will cause these trends to gain more traction and use. Companies will scale their services and solutions. Those that wing themselves from on-premises infrastructure will have the advantage. They may even elect to downsize physical office buildings. Or not. Having the choice is also an advantage.

The changes to business and technology brought on by COVID-19 are here to stay. There are significant business benefits from this course adjustment. The adoption of cloud-based technologies is one of them.

·         The ability to work from wherever is convenient and productive.

·         The capacity to deliver a solution that is always available – regardless of business demand or outside factors.

·         The freedom for a company to better align with its employees and customer needs.

4.      The competitive edge and viability of companies has changed forever.

People are forced to stay home more. They don’t want to risk exposure. They become reliant on delivery services like Door Dash, PostMate, and InstaGuard to get food and supplies. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime are bigger than ever.

Who is losing out?

Restaurants by the thousands will struggle to climb out of the COVID-19 trauma. Some won’t make it. The franchise chains will. Cinema theaters across the country are currently closed, and some of them will not reopen. This will have an impact on how movies are exhibited. It will also impact what types of feature films are developed and financed. Fewer studios will be willing to take the risk of financing blockbuster movies. This is especially true of disaster movies. These are the movies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make and market.

One night in early April, the Governor of New York summed up the problem, “The simplicity of it is so what makes it so tragic. Because we don’t have a piece of equipment somebody is going to die? How did we get to this place? In this county. We have to buy all our supplies from China? I can’t get protective equipment because China is making it? China is making the ventilators?”

But it’s not just medical supply chains that are being reconsidered. The coronavirus pandemic will also have long term effects on the tech hardware industry.

Parts needed to assemble various hardware and electronic products come from a multitude of sources. Most of them are overseas. A factory that makes television monitors doesn’t necessarily make the screens. The processing chips are made at a different factory. The power supply might be made at yet another factory. It’s all interconnected. If one factory is shut down, it impacts all the others down the line.

The entire system can grind to a halt. Having a supply chain that involves multiple nations like the United States and China will most certainly be re-evaluated. It’s better to have all the needed components of a particular name brand product to build closer to home. This will kill some tech manufacturing firms and enrich others.

The use of AI automation is going to make it more attractive for manufacturing to come back to the USA. That will shorten the length of supply chains while ensuring their security.

Apple’s already indicated that it won’t be able to make a sufficient supply of its Smartphones for the year. That’ll be true of other smartphone makers…some won’t make it. It has already begun.

The is Irony is that a virus that originated in China is ultimately helping China’s economy to bounce back. China has the capacity to manufacture much of the equipment needed in other parts of the world, including our own. Long term, many companies are going to be looking at diversifying their supply chain. They’ll avoid putting all their eggs in one basket.

 

the new normal will include remote work options
What ever shape the new normal takes, remote work will definitely remain part of the picture.

5.      Everyone in the company working in and from one building – or any company-owned building – has changed forever.

In an April 20th Fast Company article, several enterprise CEOs and influencers, including Jared Spataro (corporate vice president, Microsoft 365), agree that working from home and increased video conferencing will become the new normal.

Jared Spataro talks about the new normal for technology post pandemic
Jared Spataro is the Vice-President of Microsoft 365.

Jared Spataro is quoted as saying,“This time will go down as a turning point for the way people work and learn. We have a time machine as China navigates its return back to work—and we’re not seeing usage of Microsoft Teams dip. People are carrying what they learned and experienced from remote work back to their “new normal.” We’re learning so much about sustained remote work during this time.”

Business is not the only place where “from home” situations will continue well after COVID-19 has been conquered. Education is another sector that has changed forever. But what about all those families that don’t have basic access to the Internet at home? School shutdowns requiring students to take online courses widen the socio-education disparity in our society.

Sal Khan talks about the new normal and how it will affect business after COVID-19
Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy.

Sal Khan, founder and CEO of the educational nonprofit Khan Academy, said, “The need for online access and devices in every home is now so dire that it may finally mobilize society to treat internet connectivity as a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. We’re already seeing governments, school districts, philanthropists, and corporations step up to close the digital divide. If this continues to happen, we could get to a state of nearly universal online access at home.”

Sal Khan’s prediction is already happening in Singapore where universal Internet connectivity is nearly 100%. Universal Internet connectivity in Singapore is part of their Intelligent Nation 2015 and Smart Nation initiative. In August 2018, Ookia’s speed tests determined that Singapore’s broadband speed of 181.47 Mbit/s is the highest in the world.

6.      Our view of reliance on a single revenue stream – as a business and as individuals – has changed forever.

Will Lopez, head of accountant community at HR platform Gusto put it all into perspective when he said,

“This won’t be the end of brick-and-mortar store. Just as it won’t be the end of the digital cinema theater. These are important businesses. They help form the social fabric of our communities. But retail shops and restaurants will change the way they operate. The crisis has reminded people that they need to remain agile. It has reminded us to move with the times. Don’t be stuck with the old way of doing things.”

Where many of these shops have historically relied on foot traffic. These same shops will now develop ways to create alternative streams of revenue. For example, many restaurants will link up with delivery service platforms. They’ll expand their geographic reach. More boutiques will develop an online presence that reaches beyond their local neighborhoods.”

As we look ahead to the future to see the new normal, businesses have got to balance the weight on their shoulders.
Business leaders are too busy struggling to keep their operations going to wonder what the new normal will be like. We’ve got to get through this first.
IN CONCLUSION

The “new normal” will mean most companies will stall. Many will go out of business. The ones that do survive must continue to optimize the way they operate. They will have to rethink their business models moving forward. Supply chains have been disrupted. For many this experience has been a painful lesson. Companies will respond. They’ll have to. They will strengthen whatever back-up plans they have in place. If there are none. They will have to build them from scratch. This includes expanded work-at-home capabilities for more employees. They’ll have to consider options. Then they must position themselves to take advantage of those options.

New resiliency metrics will be rolled into valuations along with climate-related risks. The whole concept of resiliency will have the same importance as cost and efficiency. Resiliency is no longer a nice to have, but a necessity.

Individuals, communities, businesses, and governments are learning new ways to connect. Business leaders are finding faster, cheaper ways to operate. Conferences and meetings happen on online. Everybody that can has been working from home. These are positive changes. Better management. A more flexible staff.

Can we create a next new normal? One that will be better than what it replaced? Can we become agile enough to move even as the situation moves? Can we learn to address the challenges positively.  These will be a long-term questions for us all.

What innovations will there be to leverage?

What technologies will business leaders use to thrive in the “new normal?”

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Is Your Business Future Proof?
Uncategorized

 

We already wrote about putting you on the [fast track to entrepreneurism]. There are incredible numbers around entrepreneurs making their way into the country. This is especially true in The Golden State. There is another thing that is true. Whether you’re just starting your business or a leader in an established organization, you have to deal with risk.

The ability to mitigate risk in your organization’s infancy is necessary for success. Entrepreneurs juggle the requirements of trying to reduce the impact on taxes. They follow a list of mandatory regulations longer than a CVS receipt. All while trying to find new business and actually deliver what they sell.

More…

An Introduction To Microsoft’s SHAREPOINT
Uncategorized

 

We’ve all been part of a meeting or worked on a project that was more of a pain than it should have been. Far too many slides of a PowerPoint presentation. A flurry of document versions flying everywhere. Confusion about which is the most current and who made the last change. Did anyone take meeting minutes?! Some things never change.

Document management solutions exploded onto the scene as organizations struggled with data sprawl. They’ve all got on-premises and cloud flavors. They are all made with the sole purpose of helping to manage documents for your teams. All in the name of collaboration. More…

The Growing Ransomware Epidemic
Uncategorized

 

Ransomware, a malicious software designed to block access to a computer system. It encrypts the files and then spreads through your entire network infecting every device. It attacks everything including your local backup devices. The attacks happen quickly. Often spread through phishing emails. ransomware injects a kind of cyber venom. Once released, the toxin paralyzes entire IT infrastructures. More…

Ready Or Not, We Are In The Age Of Acceleration
Uncategorized

 

Advancing technologies are more than changing society and business. Accelerating technological advances are transforming the way in which we live. The world is being re-shaped as never before. We don’t have the policies and regulations to govern the use of these technologies. This is because we lack perspective. How will others exploit technology? The rules of ethical conduct and best practices are being developed. The juries still out in some cases. Think FaceBook and Cambridge Analytica. More…

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