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Profound Implications of Cloud and Industry Specialization for Organizational Success

Dhiraj Shah
CEO-Avaap
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Dhiraj Shah
Most businesses desire growth, whether that's through product development, market expansion or opening new facilities. Technology is often the catalyst for this growth,but system administration and hardware maintenance put strain on the IT department, which is why more organizations are considering cloud.

In a recent survey by 451 Research, more than half of the respondents cited improving technology quality, helping grow the business and adding capabilities that couldn't be built internally as the main reasons for moving to the cloud. Cloud has been moving up on the CIO radar for several years, but the technology isn't nearly as interesting as the business advantages it delivers.

Keeping pace with change
Adaptability and flexibility are key reasons for cloud's mounting appeal. In many organizations, changing business requirements outpace IT resources, making it difficult to keep up with what's required to manage and support on premise hardware, software, and networking infrastructure. As smaller IT departments become the norm, ongoing system administration and maintenance becomes resource draining and time-consuming, preventing IT staff from focusing on higher-value company initiatives. Qualified technology talent is also in short supply, compounding the challenge in most organizations. According to a 2014 survey by the Health Information management and Systems Society (HIMSS), a third of healthcare managers said they had to postpone or scale back an IT project because of inadequate staffing.

In the case of ERP systems, fewer individuals are entering the field with the specialized skills required for ERP implementation and maintenance. And, as ERP applications mature, it is increasingly difficult to source, recruit, and retain the talent needed for enterprise application management.

Cloud eliminates infrastructure, administration, and management costs while solving the skills shortage, enabling organizations to focus on core capabilities and effectively scale to meet business demand. Healthcare providers can focus on patient care, retailers on creating more engaging consumer experiences, and public-sector entities can look for better ways to serve citizens and not spend time on monotonous IT tasks.

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