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Does the cloud really make you more efficient?

Let's look at how the cloud improves efficiency in practice

Efficiency is to be striven for - obviously. The more efficient we are, the better the business performs. The problem is defining efficiency, and then unearthing methodologies to improve on existing processes.

Clearly, each business features a mix of processes and methodologies: some are common to most organisations, while others are unique to the individual enterprise. Common to all however is the desire to reduce costs through greater efficiencies, and this where cloud-enablement really scores.

Collaboration and communication

Among the key problems faced by employees is the need to locate and communicate with one or more other employees, perhaps to form a virtual team in order to drive a new project, or simply to help gather information as part of the job. Yet effective collaboration and communication - for so long the Holy Grail dangled, right from the start, to justify the relentless march of computers into the enterprise - remains elusive for many organisations.

In many cases that could because they're trying to do it alone, using their own infrastructure. In today's cloudified world, this makes no sense. The large cloud services providers have far more wide-reaching networks and deeper application portfolios than the world's biggest enterprises, simply because they are serving companies of all sizes in all segments, across the globe.

Using those cloud-based resources enables virtual teams can hook up quickly and easily, all using the same data, the same tools and the same interface. This makes collaboration seamless. Decisions can be reached more quickly and efficiently, without the time wasted talking about - for example - how to display or share a document, which can all too often derail meaningful online meetings; before you know it, half the time allocated has evaporated.

Common processes

It's natural for people to cling to the known against the unknown, generating resistance to the enforcement of efficiencies. In a cloud-enabled environment, this too makes no sense. Common processes across the organisation enhance profitability by removing silos of knowledge which isolate individuals and data, and often result in the reinvention of the wheel, time and time again.

Cloud-based systems can enforce those common procedures for business processes such the hiring and retention of talent, financial reporting, and accounting. With everyone on the same page, collaboration and training new hires become easier and quicker, among the many other benefits.

Faster time to market

Speed is everything in business: the first mover advantage sees to that. Deploying cloud applications can speed up decisions by automating processes and eliminating silos of both data and practices. It can enable HR to quickly hire the right talent at the right time for new projects, and give access to big company tools such as analytics, in order to make those decisions not just fast but correct.

It's all about competitive edge: faster, better decisions, improved communication and collaboration, and enhanced, cloud-enabled processes within the organisation all add up to a more agile, flexible enterprise. And that feeds right through to the bottom line.

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