Business innovation with cloud: easier said than done?
By Carol Ko 16-May-2011
Over the last years, much hype has been built around cloud computing such that even non-IT business units have become keen to adopt "cloud computing" to introduce "innovation" to their businesses projects and processes.
More business users are buying into the "cloud" concept because it is easily justifiable with improved scalability and business efficiencies. At the same time, however, we also witnessed failures such as cloud service outage, cloud sprawl, as well as bill shock when cloud usage spiked out of control.
Taking technical issues aside, how can cloud adoption help address practical challenges that various industries encounter? And how can the cloud be innovatively used to create new business opportunities? In an interview with Asia Cloud Forum, René J Aerdts (pictured), an HP Fellow since 2001, gives us the following tips:
Asia Cloud Forum: Innovation is easier said than done. What are the CIOs' three biggest challenges to introduce innovation to their businesses?
René J Aerdts: The biggest challenge is that many people are too busy innovate. People are so busy with day-to-day activities that they feel innovation is an additional burden. However, innovation is everyone's job. It's not something you make time for on your calendar. It's something you should be thinking about from time you walk in work and until you leave.
"[Innovation is] something you should be thinking about from time you walk in work and until you leave."
-- René J Aerdts, HP Fellow |
Most people think innovation takes shape in the next big thing -- but in reality innovation comes in many forms. Even something as simple as a new improved report.
When coming up with innovative ideas, some people get frustrated because of the lack of funding. However, even with funding, ideas can fail. This frustration and failure needs to be managed effectively and efficiently in order to maintain people's interest in innovation, as people are the source of ideas that lead to innovation!
Currently, 70 to 80% of IT budgets are spent on maintaining current business operations and the remainder on innovation. Moving to cloud computing drives down cost and increases the amount of resources allocated for driving innovation accordingly. This in turn will drive business, innovation, and speed-to-market.
Cloud computing has sometimes been termed as an "innovative technology." How may the use of cloud computing/ cloud service address the following business challenges?
a. Hospitals getting customer complaints about the lack of personalized healthcare services
Aerdts: With cloud computing, hospitals can move towards adopting electronic health records and secure wireless technology so that personalized medical data can be kept secure in the system and accessed securely regardless of one's physical location.
b. Governments wishing to hear genuine feedback on policies from citizens
Aerdts: It is important for people to have access to a computer or device that connects them to the cloud and Internet. This is especially critical for people living in remote areas in the world. Connecting people with the Internet allows governments to hear from their constituents.
Cloud computing enables all that feedback data to be captured, stored and analyzed. Imagine your citizens number in the millions (or even over a billion) -- all their feedback and ideas have to be managed. With cloud computing a government can tap into far more resources than they have in their own data centers.
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