How Boards Need To Shape Their Business’s Cloud Strategy

Almost every organization faces issues like maintaining critical information, keeping systems up and running on in-house computer servers, fluctuating bandwidths, and more.

The solution to these problems has been around for a long time, but it has only recently acquired significant applicability for organizations. Cloud computing is a concept that has grown in popularity in recent years.

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused boards to consider the cloud's role as a successful enterprise strategy. Boards may reap multiple cloud benefits by recognizing both their impact as directors and the most effective strategies to support management.

Let us have a look at a few of the problems that can be solved by appropriate Cloud Strategy –

Problems solved by the Right cloud strategy

Operational Flexibility

Many small and medium-sized organizations operate with fluctuating bandwidths to save money. This can be challenging to manage because fluctuating ramp-ups and scale-downs can harm performance and productivity. Maximum operational flexibility can be achieved by the company's cloud strategy, which not only saves money but also increases productivity and performance.

Cost-cutting measures

Cloud-based services are provided on a subscription basis, which is perfect for firms with low upfront money. The suppliers' smooth setup and management skills can help small and medium-sized businesses save significantly on physical infrastructure and redirect cash flow to key business services.

Improved Risk Management

Businesses that move to the cloud not only save money on hardware infrastructure but also save the headache of routine maintenance. Servers and other critical resources are typically located offshore, and service providers use high-tech approaches to maintain them up to date. This also saves users the trouble of investing in catastrophe recovery. Regardless of the type and scope of the disaster, service providers' powerful security and top-tier recovery solutions can keep the business functioning.

Prevention of Disaster Vulnerability

You may be more vulnerable to natural disasters damaging your data if you just keep your data on local servers. Certain steps, such as data backup, may help mitigate this danger, but using the cloud can provide much more security. While the cloud is not without risks, it does provide an additional degree of safety in the event of a disaster. Natural and man-made disasters can cause equipment damage, power outages, and the inability to perform vital IT activities. One of the significant benefits of cloud computing for businesses is the ability to support disaster recovery efforts which helps to reduce risk.

Encourages collaboration

It's difficult to collaborate when your collaborators are all over the place. It can be challenging to work on the same activity when everyone is constrained to their local workstation if your staff are outside the office, or your clients are not physically accessible.

However, with the cloud, your company may use file-sharing software to efficiently cooperate even if everyone is physically separated. Clients, vendors, and workers may all collaborate in real-time, making improved communication one of the most effective methods to mitigate the risks of not migrating to the cloud.

Let's investigate how Growth Jockey leverages cloud computing.

We, at Growth Jockey, discovered strategies that are most valuable in assisting boards in effectively engaging with their management on the cloud. These methods apply to all sorts of boards, while there may be minor differences to consider depending on company size and maturity.

1. Include the cloud in discussions about risk and compliance

Forward-thinking boards are incorporating the cloud into their risk-assessment frameworks and risk decision-making. Executives have typically been cautious to go to the cloud due to security concerns. But the reality is that cloud service providers (CSPs) have invested enormous resources in building best-in-class protection that outperforms what firms can achieve.

Boards provide value by encouraging management to update security training as part of a bigger effort to reap the risk benefits of cloud computing. Furthermore, directors endeavor to ensure that management has well-thought-out risk-mitigation measures in place so that the board may approve cloud-related activities with confidence.

Aside from security, the cloud is frequently at the crossroads of privacy legislation, data storage, and geopolitical danger. Depending on the country, cloud data storage sites will encounter increasingly diverse restrictions. Growth Jockey supports and leads management in debates about whether to geographically separate data and how cloud computing might help with this.

2. Assisting in cloud capabilities development across the organization

The full benefits of cloud computing will not be realized until IT and business alter their operating methods to be faster and more collaborative. This necessitates enhanced skills and ways of working across the organization, as well as clarity on how the changes fit into the larger digital transition. Strategic leaders must understand how cloud computing may create new value and advance the organization's business priorities.

The board at Growth Jockey asks the management to ensure that cloud talent development is an explicit component of the overall transformation program. This can be done through regular reports and specific KPIs such as the number of cloud certifications.

The IT department must know how to execute the cloud at the appropriate speed. It should possess the poise to properly coordinate it with the wider digital transformation of the business. Because the cloud is expected to be a vital element of the business in the long run, the board includes cloud knowledge and experience as criteria in succession planning for senior leaders.

3. Convey the financial impact of the cloud

While the cloud can provide enormous value, the switch demands a significant initial expenditure. Cloud computing also necessitates a move from a capital-expenditure-heavy operational paradigm to an operating-expenditure-heavy approach. As a result, the board at Growth Jockey collaborates with management from the start to establish a clear cloud business case. So, that explicitly accounts for the trade-offs versus future value required in initial investments and operating-expenditure shifts.

The board is also responsible for assessing management's communications to shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders regarding these financial changes. These should clearly describe where the cloud is taking the organization and why it is the best decision for the company. It is critical to make clear expectations for shareholders, in particular, that these investments and modifications to the P&L statement will result in higher long-term returns. The board at Growth Jockey supports the management and even takes a more active role in designing and disseminating the messaging.

4. Connect the cloud to the overall strategy debate

Boards often recognize that critical cloud talks with management must go beyond the question of “when”. Instead, the board may be useful in assisting its leadership teams to think about how the cloud might drive company strategy by applying its commercial and strategic experience. The flexibility and speed of the cloud, for example, can assist businesses in rapidly testing and iterating on particular use cases such as growing services, personalizing customer experiences, and exploiting market possibilities.

Cloud, with its capacity to dynamically meet user demand and quickly deploy new content, plays a crucial role in propelling the company's rapid valuation.

Summing Up

With emerging proof of the cloud's capacity to deliver considerable value, an increasing number of businesses are examining the cloud's role in radically changing their firm's competitive position.

Understanding how the cloud disrupts alters and accelerates business models will influence how businesses navigate the future normal. Growth Jockey integrates Cloud computing into top-level strategic talks as part of a full digital transformation.

Boards at Growth Jockey play an essential role in driving debates and ensuring their enterprises benefit from the power of the cloud.

At Growth Jockey, we are fully committed to providing tailored solutions that effectively tackle the crucial challenges in cloud and cyber security faced by our clients across diverse industries. Regardless of the size of your company, whether it's a small-scale enterprise or a large corporation, you can now leverage the advantages of advanced technologies in cloud and cyber security.

Take the decisive step towards unlocking the next level of growth and protecting your brand by contacting us today!