Harnessing the power of the cloud for digital transformation

Now more than ever, academic and government leaders need to open their eyes to the need for learning, embracing and investing in advanced technologies, particularly the unprecedented opportunities that the cloud can bring.

As businesses and organisations globally continue to embrace the onset of digital transformation, it has become increasingly evident that cloud adoption and policy must be on top of the mind and included in organisational strategies if true benefits are to be reaped.

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person on the planet to achieve more, and embracing the cloud is a key part of bringing that vision to fruition for organisations of all sizes. Historically, many small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face the challenge of not having the same access to resources and opportunities as larger organisations. Cloud computing helps break down this barrier by allowing small businesses to be increasingly agile, offer services more easily, and be more reactive to customers. In contrast, large enterprises often face increasing pressure to reduce IT spending, improve security, meet new compliance standards and arm themselves with better big data tools. Cloud computing has the potential to aid them in addressing all these challenges.

Pakistan’s digital market is growing exponentially and most industries in the region are accelerating digitisation to experience these benefits — aiming to optimise costs, improve customer relationships and experience overall efficiency. While the value of digital transformation is evident, many leaders feel understandably daunted as they try to navigate through the early stages of their businesses. Microsoft is committed to easing that process to a sophisticated cloud environment that empowers the entire organisation to embrace the future of work.

We know a trusted cloud means that customers know their security, privacy and compliance needs are met. The reality is that your data is more secure when it’s stored in the cloud than it is sitting on your hard drive. Think about the example of the missing laptop — if your company data is stored in the cloud, you can continue to access and protect it, with or without that laptop, because you can access the internet from anywhere on any computer.

In terms of cloud security, Microsoft is spearheading the industry in regard to security investment, research and development, spending over a billion dollars a year on continuously strengthening the safety of the cloud.

Strong security requires constant innovation, investment and vigilance. We never content ourselves with “good enough” when it comes to the security of our customers. That is exactly why we announced our new Azure Security Lab at Black Hat 2019, a dedicated testing ground, isolated from customers, for outside researchers and hackers to safely discover and report vulnerabilities in Azure in partnership with Microsoft experts.

Not only do we constantly challenge and strengthen cloud security, but know it’s essential to make it easy for our customers’ IT and security teams to have the right tools to understand and improve their organisation’s unique security postures. This increased visibility into organisational vulnerability allows security experts to create nuanced management of controls and policies that work for their unique company, such as strengthening common weak defences around identity and authentication.

Because you don’t have the expense of setting up an actual physical server to store your data, operating in the cloud can save your organisation from otherwise costly decisions. In addition to the hardware, on-site datacentres often have added costs such as employing staff, buying and maintaining land and building. The best part of moving to the cloud is that you only pay for what you need. For example, Azure pricing is based on the service you use and storage you need and is calculated as a per-hour fee.

Companies that have already made a significant investment in on-premises infrastructure can also choose to adopt a hybrid cloud strategy. The latter allows businesses to store some of their data and software on shared public cloud infrastructure while still making use of their own existing servers.

According to Forbes, 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by 2020. The very nature of cloud enables increased productivity from desk to factory floor by breaking down access barriers and allowing for real-time data collection and collaboration.

For example, if you have multiple people working on the same project, it can be difficult to keep track of which version is the latest. When a document is saved to the cloud via collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, multiple people can input simultaneously, and the whole team has peace of mind knowing they’re always in on the latest version. Similarly, team members can collaborate from remote locations as they are able to access, edit and share documents from anywhere.

The burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) is revealing new scenarios that were simply not possible until now. Smart sensors and connected devices allow us to capture new data from industrial equipment from factories to farms, smart cities to homes. By connecting IoT devices to the cloud, companies enter the era of intelligent edge, a connected set of systems and devices that gather and analyse data on unprecedented scales. These real-time insights, delivered by highly responsive and contextually aware apps, offer increased efficiency and agility.

Most businesses absorb the cost of computing resources, such as additional servers and software licences, which are on reserve in anticipation of future growth. However, cloud solutions are scalable — this means you can increase your resource capacity as and when you need it.

Microsoft has continued to back its cloud commitments with the biggest technology investments in the world: housing 54 Azure cloud regions around the globe — more than any other major cloud provider. There are many ways in which cloud can help your business. Taking the leap to transform your business can be scary, but once you make the move, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2019.

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