Why Businesses and Leaders Need to Think About Digital Value Chains to Leverage the Power of the Cloud

Some business leaders underestimate cloud technology’s potential, regarding it as “just” a tech solution. In reality, cloud technology has far more to offer than just making a business’s existing technology better.

Just as Open Source created access to more innovation, Cloud shall provide access to more services. It can also integrate into business solutions to achieve more significant results for end customers.

Business reporting is sometimes guilty of characterizing cloud technology as if it were some mystical, unseen force fundamental to the fabric of the universe, responsible (somehow) for a host of undefined and unexplained tech solutions. The reality is much more mundane, but cloud computing doesn’t need to be magical to be impactful.

New technology’s full range of potential applications isn’t always obvious at first glance: The Teflon that coats your non-stick pan was once designed as a component of artillery shell fuses. Cloud computing is no exception. The rest of this article will lay out the reasons business decision-makers should recognize cloud computing’s scalability and versatility.

Using Cloud Technology to Create Value

Some business leaders underestimate cloud technology’s potential, regarding it as “just” a tech solution. In reality, cloud technology has far more to offer than just making a business’s existing technology better. Just as Open Source created access to more innovation, Cloud shall provide access to more services. It can also integrate into business solutions to achieve more significant results for end customers.

So what does that reconceptualization look like? The journey to and in the cloud can and should only be seen from the lens of the end customer’s needs and the value your company intends to deliver to them. So, it’s essential to think of the digital value chains that directly create value for the end customer. This thought process invariably involves thinking about the business transformation agenda, which in turn needs you to think of how technology can enable the business transformation.

No technology transformation, whether cloud computing-based or otherwise, is possible without a parallel transformation of the business’s operating model. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to think of how your products directly impact clients and ensure that the front, middle, and back ends are completely aligned with that.

Rethinking the Cloud

Customers, customers, customers: At the end of the day, cloud computing applications are powerful tools for achieving the primary aim of any business–customer satisfaction. As a first step, every enterprise and enterprise leader should consider driving clear initiatives to improve efficiencies and unlock budgets that can help with the transformation agenda. The next stage is to re-organize by products and platforms that can create not just velocity but clear and measurable impact to the end client. As they do this, they need to rethink on how to reduce both technical and technology debt.

How do IT and business teams align? For one thing, it’s not enough to focus on how they work together to achieve existing project objectives — you have to also create biz-tech teams that can jointly sketch out future business strategies and the features that matter to end customers. What new revenue streams might you be able to exploit? What new technology is on the horizon? The key to a successful long-term tech strategy is to always think a few steps ahead.

What Are the Benefits of Rethinking Digital Value Chains?

Much as inventions and technological breakthroughs frequently offer more utility than just their literal intended purpose, cloud computing creates much more significant value beyond some vague notion of “better tech.” Here are three concrete examples of cloud computing’s capacity to transform businesses:

1. New Products:We all like new things, and cloud computing empowers businesses to develop new products and services their customers will love. Positive business outcomes like using cloud computing to create new revenue channels also put companies in a better position to anticipate customer needs and adapt to shifts in the industry and across the planet.
2. Improved Customer Satisfaction:A satisfied customer is a loyal customer. Cloud computing boosts customer satisfaction in several ways:.For example, cloud tech enables businesses to provide fast and seamless omnichannel customer service and also allows team members to do their jobs faster and with greater productivity. This will, in turn, translate to customers receiving a better product/service in less time.
3. An Innovative Mindset: As in life, outcomes in business often stem from an organization’s chosen approach and way of thinking about its industry sector. Cloud-driven organizational culture shifts are arguably the technology’s most valuable impact:.The cloud lends itself towardsa forward-thinking mindset where business leaders are always thinking about “the next big step,” as compared to the traditional ways where you have to plan it all out completely.

Any business in any industry can benefit from cloud computing, but only if they recognize its full potential. In fact, cloud computing technology’s versatility might be its greatest selling point. There is no single “correct” approach to a successful cloud computing strategy, nor is there a predetermined path one must follow in order to implement cloud-based innovation “the right way.”

You (and your business) are the authors of your particular cloud computing scenario and that scenario’s definition, scope, and conclusion. The specific circumstances of your financial situation, economic landscape, and existing infrastructure will naturally vary, as will the goals cloud computing will enable you to achieve. And therein lies the beauty of cloud computing: “The cloud” is an apt name for this technology because only the sky limits the course of your progress.

Written by Arun Melkote.

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