Fusion Theme Blog

Fuse Highlights: Coconuts, horses, and beer, oh my!

May 26, 2022

Every few weeks, we share insights with our Fuse subscribers along with news and trends we’re following across the web, including book recommendations. Here’s a compilation of some of our key insights from last six weeks. If you want content like this delivered directly to your inbox, we’ve got you covered. Subscribe to the Fuse here. Data is the Holy Grail In the classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, viewers hear King Arthur and his trusty servant Patsy approaching with a trademark “clip-clop, clip-clop” sound. When the duo emerges from the primordial mist, you see (spoiler alert) that the source of all this noise is not, as might be supposed, a horse. Rather, Patsy is banging two coconut shells together as the king trots about on his own two legs. The duo is getting from point A to point B in their quest, but not in the most efficient or effective way possible. Many companies follow that script. Equipped with buzzword mandates like process optimization and data-driven decision making, it’s all too easy to make small adjustments that sound like you’re headed in the right direction but aren’t necessarily getting you there any faster. How do you drop the coconuts and get on the horse (metaphorically speaking)? What does it look like to use data to drive optimization in real terms? We’ve got our eye on digital twins. Before you run away (how’s that for a deep cut Monty Python reference?) from yet another data buzzword, it’s worth another look at this practical application of machine learning and data analytics. Digital twins are most often used to optimize physical assets and processes like manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics. Using sensors to collect data on a product, machine, or physical process, the digital twin feeds real-time data to a machine learning algorithm to test variables and scenarios faster — ultimately leading to actionable process improvement insights. These days, we’re starting to see more businesses use digital twin frameworks to optimize and innovate non-physical business processes like accounting, HR, and marketing as well. A digital twin simulation can help you surface interdependencies and inefficiencies that might otherwise be blind spots, especially if they’re baked into your business culture as “the way we’ve always done it.” In the quest for digital transformation, don’t settle for coconuts. Instead, let’s talk about the ways your data can carry more of the weight for you. Get smart: If all this talk of Monty Python and the Holy Grail puts you in the mood for an old-school movie night, good news: it’s available on Netflix. And if you’re looking for a more literary scratch for your Middle Ages (ish) itch, we’re reading Cathedral by Ben Hopkins. It’s a fascinating look at the complex processes involved in constructing architectural marvels in the days before edge computing. We may handle optimization differently now, but human nature stays the same. Read the full Fuse: Data for April here. A horse is a horse, and other martech myths Martech is a crowded field, and a lot of the voices weighing in on your options have a horse in the race.* No one is out to skew the odds on purpose, but your organization is unique. Just because one solution is a front-runner doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great fit for your business. So how do you sort the facts from the hype and decide where to place your bets? We rounded up a few martech myths as a starting point. Myth: One CDP is as good as another. Fact Check: Finding the right CDP (or CRM, or DMP, or any other solution you can think of) isn’t a simple box to check. And, once you make your decision, integrating and customizing your platform will also take time and attention. Myth: Everyone needs a CDP. Fact Check: Depending on your use cases, you might be able to do everything you need to do within your current tech stack. Myth: You should pick a platform and go all in. Fact Check: It probably goes without saying, but when it comes to technology there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. One product might be a great fit for your needs, but that doesn’t mean that vendor should supply your entire tech stack. Myth: Data and tech silos are just the way business works. Fact Check: Regardless of size, scope, or industry, today’s businesses can’t afford to be siloed. When you’re evaluating a tech solution or rethinking your entire customer data strategy, prioritizing integration is always a safe bet. On your mark. Ready to put your martech through the paces? Read on to find resources to help you optimize your stack and get your customer data strategy across the finish line. *Full disclosure: one of our team members won $100 when Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby, but for the most part we are platform- and livestock-agnostic. Get Smart: We try not to be too on the nose with our book recommendations but couldn’t help ourselves this time. In Data Strategy, Bernard Marr collects a solid primer on the data landscape and how your organization can use it (legally and ethically) to advance your goals. Spoiler alert, though probably not surprising given the title, strategy turns out to be the foundational driver for effective data use. Whether you read the book, our Ultimate Guide to Customer Data Strategy, or just want to get a sense of potential next steps, we’d love to chat about customer data. Grab a time that works for you. Read the full Fuse: Marketing for May here. Three technology strategies walk into a bar If you’ve got a monolithic legacy system on your hands, sticking with the status quo isn’t a fun choice. But going nuclear and building back from scratch probably isn’t realistic. Wouldn’t it be great to find a middle ground? Meet the composable enterprise. It’s an iterative path toward digital transformation, with applications repackaged into components that can be used to build new solutions across the business. Piece by modular piece, you rebuild your technology ecosystem — becoming more efficient, effective, and scalable as you go. As the glue that holds those components together, APIs are key to building a composable business. And developing secure API solutions that accommodate shifting capacity demands and amplify your technology takes a hefty dose of strategy and expertise. That’s what we love about it! If APIs are your jam, too, or if you’re wondering if a composable system makes sense for your business, let’s talk. We’re talking APIs over IPAs in Cincinnati on June 16 and you’re invited. It’ll be fun! Get smart: You’ve probably spent the day wondering how speculative/sci-fi/literary fiction relates to API strategy and microservices (or maybe that’s just us). But, we’d guess, the same type of mind that enjoys transforming legacy monoliths into composable enterprises would also really track with a book like How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Modular pieces linked together by strong bonds leading to an intricate and ever-expanding whole? We’re here for it (the book and the technology strategy). Read the full Fuse: Technology for May here.

CDP vs CRM: 5 key questions to inform your decision

Apr 22, 2022

The difference between a customer data platform (CDP) and customer relationship management (CRM) solution may be difficult to determine at first, because both options collect, store, and put customer data to use in support of business goals. While their functions may overlap, the CDP vs CRM debate becomes easier when you get clarity about the people, processes, and use cases for each option. How to make the CRM vs CDP decision 1. What is a CDP? 2. What is a CRM? 3. What data is collected by a CRM vs CDP? 4. Who uses a CDP vs CRM and for what purpose? 5. What do we need: a CDP, CRM, or both? 1. What is a CDP? A CDP unifies and standardizes large and detailed data sets from a wide variety of sources, resulting in robust customer profiles that enable real-time personalization. The CDP Institute defines a CDP as “packaged software that creates a persistent, unified customer database that is accessible to other systems.” Additionally, a CDP must have the following capabilities: Ingest data from any source Capture full detail of ingested data Store ingested data indefinitely (subject to privacy constraints) Create unified profiles of identified individuals Share data with any system that needs it Through the process of identity resolution, the CDP can match, merge, and deduplicate data into a single customer view that can be segmented and analyzed — by human analysts or with the assistance of machine learning. 2. What is a CRM? A CRM and a CDP are both software solutions that handle customer data, but they differ in how, why, and who for. The difference came about organically, as organizations adopted different use cases for their customer data over time. “CRM solutions were often proposed to tackle customer data management problems. The idea was that you could get ‘all of your data in one place’ to use for sales, marketing, and customer service. The promise was they’d break down silos in enterprises and design a view of the customer that wasn’t specific to sales or marketing or customer service. That sounds familiar to the promise of CDPs, doesn’t it?” — Lizzy Foo Kune, senior director analyst at Gartner A CRM helps organizations manage customer relationships by consolidating what is known about customers from one-to-one touchpoints and transactional details into a single database, giving sales and service teams personal and actionable insights. According to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 website “CRM systems help you manage and maintain customer relationships, track sales leads, marketing, and pipeline, and deliver actionable data.” Sound similar to a CDP? There’s a key difference: CRMs only apply to known customers and contacts. Moreover, they don’t cleanse, combine, standardize, or deduplicate the customer records, so they can’t give a business a “single customer view” across channels. 3. What data is collected in a CRM vs CDP? That key difference reflects the two business silos that CRMs were developed to unite: marketing and sales. Marketing needs a high volume of customer data across touchpoints in a single, unified view to understand your customers and their behavior. CDPs collect digital data automatically using integrations and code snippets embedded in digital touchpoints, gathering customer data from websites, laptops, mobile devices, apps, and even CRMs into one place. The CDP then cleans it, and produces consolidated customer. Sales needs customer data to help manage the customer relationship. CRMs store historical data about customer interactions in order to inform future interactions. The data CRMs collect is usually entered manually and its purpose is tightly focused on logging an interpersonal or transactional interaction — for example, notes from the latest sales call – to inform future interactions. The data inputs are simple, although difficult to standardize or automate, and are usually done manually by sales (and service) people to track the progress of the relationship. 4. Who uses a CDP vs CRM and for what purpose? Your organization’s CDP vs CRM discussions may come down to who needs to use the system to accomplish critical business tasks. As we’ve said above, marketers need a unified view of the customer’s entire experience of the brand over time. A CDP’s ability to ingest, cleanse, manage, and analyze large volumes of data from many digital sources makes that task easier. But for sales and support teams, the key driver is managing customer relationships. In these customer-facing roles, contact management is critical, so a CRM’s ability to capture notes and manual inputs about one-to-one interactions facilitates that function. 5. What do we need: a CRM, CDP, or both? While choosing between solutions isn’t easy, it’s not necessarily an either/or decision. You might find a both/and solution serves your business better. How do you make the call? If your business primarily needs to manage customer relationships in a more detailed, efficient, and personalized way, you might choose a CRM. In fact, over the last few years, CRMs have been innovating and evolving to function more and more like CDPs so it might be prudent to wait and/or choose vendors carefully. Gartner predicts that 70% of independent CDP vendors will be acquired by larger technology vendors or will diversify by 2023.  “CRM systems have seen the competitive threat that CDPs brought to the table,” Gartner’s Foo Kune said. “As CRM technologies recognize that they need to update their aging databases to meet the needs of modern business functions, including marketing, augmenting your CRM with a CDP may be unnecessary.” If your business primarily needs to have a broad view of who your customers are and how they engage with your business, you may opt for a CDP. “Companies seeking a new strategy to form personalized customer experiences through data will need a CDP as it offers the resources to create a comprehensive view of the customer across each platform they interact with in real-time — whether it’s social media, apps or mobile,” says Heidi Bullock of Tealium, a CDP provider. “CRMs, on the other hand, help manage sales-focused customer data rather than collecting data across different channels.” And, if your business is broad you can choose both a CDP and a CRM.  While CDPs and CRMs offer two different marketing and sales data management solutions with differing strengths, you don’t necessarily have to choose between them. “CDPs and CRMs can actually operate simultaneously, as they work to fulfill different business goals,” Tealium’s Bullock notes. It’s possible to use a CRM as an input and output channel to a CDP, and, in turn, use a CDP to provide a 360° customer view data set within the CRM. Choosing both a CDP and a CRM can deliver both an amazing customer experience and tremendous business value: achieving high marks in customer satisfaction and providing integrated tracking and engagement. The CDP vs CRM choice depends on your roadmap. Fusion works with clients to define a customer data strategy that fits each organization’s unique strategic objectives, operational needs, and timeline. From there, our team creates a tactical roadmap to define actionable steps toward those goals. Whether you’re just getting started or trying to get your digital transformation back on track, we can help. Ask a question >> Book a workshop >> Learn more about customer data strategy >>

Digital transformation: Our predictions for 2021 and beyond

Mar 16, 2021

What will the future hold when it comes to digital transformation? We don’t have a Magic-8 ball or special spidey sense, but our team does anticipate sizeable change. We asked a few of our team members what they thought based on their work and personal experiences. Here’s what they’re envisioning for 2021 and beyond. The cloud gains more ground I expect cloud-based business application platforms such as Dynamics 365, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Workday to drive significant digital transformation within modern workplaces in the next year. Following on the heels of many core infrastructure services moving to the cloud — such as email, servers, files, and data — the next major lift for many organizations will be to modernize and automate their core business processes. I anticipate areas like finance, HR, production, and other critical business operations and workflows will be the next major shift to using cloud-based business application platforms. Moving away from legacy, on-premise solutions is not always a simple task, but in doing so, employees can then work remotely without being tethered to an office environment. Greg Deckler, Vice President, Cloud Services Connect with Greg on LinkedIn Remote workers collaborate differently The work-from-anywhere model has been proven to work and it will continue. However, right now, a Zoom meeting is about the extent of what most people see as remote teamwork — and we all know those can be exhausting. I predict greater adoption of tools like Miro and Mural. These online workspaces allow for active collaborating and co-creating in real time. The need to move quickly and keep pace with digital transformation will require these types of tools, and those who know how to leverage them, to make the most of a remote team’s time together. Doug Scamahorn, Solution Director, UX Design & Innovation Connect with Doug on LinkedIn Cookie compensation I think 2021 will be the year when businesses and marketers confront the pending deprecation of the third-party cookie. Google is driving the industry towards new solutions for retargeting and attribution following the announcement that Chrome will cease to support third-party cookies in 2022. While industry players debate over a long-term replacement, expect to see a scramble to shore up first-party data in the meantime. At a tactical level, this will look like increased pushes for “registered” online experiences where users must explicitly identify themselves, as well as the integrations that power these points of data collection. In the background, businesses will be pushing to connect the dots between online and offline touchpoints using a variety of identifiers, from email to devices to data from “walled gardens” like Amazon, Facebook, and even Walmart and Target. Companies may opt for a CDP (consumer data platform) solution on top of their existing data stack to manage data points specifically for targeted marketing campaigns. When reporting on campaign success and attribution, analysts may need to adopt new tools and strategies for managing “fuzzier” readouts on customer behavior and journey identification. Amy Brown, Solutions Director Connect with Amy on LinkedIn Augmented reality becomes actual reality As mobile processing and bandwidth progresses and matures, we can expect more augmented reality (AR) apps to provide visual assistance in a huge range of applications. I fully expect we will see vehicles with heads-up displays, smart glasses (remember Google Glass?), and other clear displays to be adopted by more companies and thus, individuals. Visual processing in itself is gaining in popularity. Retailers like IKEA are already using AR with their IKEA Place app to enable customers to “see” furniture in their spaces. Microsoft’s recent HoloLens release is a good example of where we’re headed. Jeremy Keiper, Competency Lead Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn B2B marketers will get more creative There’s always been an understanding that marketing is both an art and a science. Over the last decade, marketers have leaned into the science. Data provided marketers with information about customer behavior that was never available before. Even before the pandemic, B2B marketers were relying heavily on digital channels to engage customers. But pandemic office closures caused marketers to rely on channels like email, webinars, social media, and search engine marketing (SEM), in an attempt to reach prospective buyers who were now working from home. And they had to get creative. Marketers had to be willing to test new ideas and try things that haven’t been “proven,” and to think creatively about how we connect with and engage prospects and customers. I anticipate this to continue, and marketers will use customer data to make sure they understand consumer goals and motivations, then get creative about how to reach out and connect. Kristin Raikes, Sr. Director of Digital Strategy Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn Looking ahead Thinking about the year ahead, we do know that even after offices reopen and things get back to “normal,” the new “normal” will look different than it did before. If people continue to work from home or prefer to engage with brands virtually versus physically, then technology will have to adapt. Are there any major trends not listed above that you think will be a key to digital transformation for this year? If you have questions about specific trends, you can also connect with our team via their LinkedIn profiles above. Our consultants and team members work with clients to improve, streamline, and create actionable change. We create exceptional customer experiences by leveraging data insights, experience design, and technology to transform the way you connect with your customers. Interested in learning more? Let us know, or sign up for our newsletter to get to know us.

Driving digital transformation forward

Mar 1, 2021

Everyone is talking about digital transformation, but there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation about what that term means. Much more than just a buzzword or doing things “digitally,” digital transformation means reimagining your business and driving it forward in a better way. When done correctly, digital transformation can fundamentally change how you deliver value to your customers. That’s what you need to focus on if you want to thrive in this market. Customers today have high expectations and a lot of options, so carefully considering your customer journey is critical to success. Before you get started, here’s an overview of what you need to know about digital transformation and how to continue to drive it forward: What exactly is digital transformation? The evolution of digital transformation Cloud computing fuels digital transformation More than just technology Keys to successful digital transformation The challenges of digital transformation Where are you in your journey? What exactly is digital transformation? Digital transformation is the integration of technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. It can often be confused with digitization or digitalization, but they are all different things altogether. Digitization is the process of taking information and converting it from a physical format to a digital one, like typing up paper notes and putting them into Microsoft Word or scanning into a PDF. Digitalization, on the other hand, uses these digital files to take the processes already in place and make them more efficient using the new digital format. Digitalization allows you to make your processes faster but doesn’t evolve the process itself. Digital transformation does more by enabling you to interact with your customers in a new way that is constantly evolving to meet both their needs and your business needs. By ideating and implementing better business processes and technologies, you’ll not only create an elevated customer experience that will result in increased profitability, but you’ll also save significant time and money in operating costs. The evolution of digital transformation Digital transformation might be a popular term today, but this was also true in the late 1990s through the mid-2000s. It started with companies computerizing processes 30 years ago, and as the internet was established, websites started to connect companies with their customers. That’s when Fusion Alliance got started, and we’ve been focused on the end goal of developing solutions for clients ever since. Digital processes emerged to support customer interactions, from sending emails to managing online ordering. As digital ambitions grew, companies realized a need for dedicated digital teams to manage social and mobile channels. Connected to customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, companies realized the need to connect all of these data silos. Seeing the potential in connectivity, organizations focused on digital platforms connecting all systems. Then they started to experiment with new digital ways of doing business, leveraging data more effectively, and creating greater agility. Today, we live in a world where customer expectations have never been greater. They demand personalized experiences in every interaction with a company’s products and services. Because of this, companies must innovate quickly and deliver. In addition, the pandemic has forced IT leaders to adapt yet again, with many adopting cloud software for video collaboration and building apps that enable workers to enter offices governed by social distance practices and contact tracing. Technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence all power the innovation that is able to deliver value. An important element of digital transformation is technology. But often, it’s more about doing away with outdated processes and legacy technology than it is about adopting new tech. It should also about enabling innovation. Cloud computing fuels digital transformation Companies are increasingly moving toward a hybrid cloud infrastructure. From SaaS applications and on-premise solutions to a mix of public and private clouds, hybrid cloud strategies help companies find the right balance for their unique infrastructure needs. Over the past year, cloud providers like AWS, Azure, Google, IBM, and Oracle have made investments to support hybrid strategies. OEMs like HPE, Dell (VMware), and Cisco have also increased investments in tools that enable simpler connectivity between on-premises data centers and the cloud. These investments are all centered on meeting the customer where they are in the moment. Hybrid cloud adoption was already underway before 2020’s pandemic, but the sudden disruption sped things up. Being agile and nimble was, and still is, a significant business advantage. More than just technology Although the focus of digital transformation is often on emerging technologies moving the business forward, true transformation has to encompass much more. Business leaders at the top level must be involved in this change and must be willing to invest in and empower your employees, as well as focus on building your culture. As employees begin to see changes occurring around them, they might begin to wonder how it will affect them and their coworkers. They may question their own position within the organization and try to figure out their own best next steps. During any transition, leadership must communicate with employees to help them feel secure in their own positions as well as the direction of the organization. Head off potential issues by making sure your employees understand what digital transformation is, what it’s not, and how they can be a part of it. Additionally, it may be best to communicate how rapidly things can change throughout this process. Being as transparent as possible and preparing your employees for future changes can make all the difference in ensuring your digital transformation is successful. Keys to successful digital transformation Data from McKinsey shows that when companies achieve transformation success, they are more likely to have digital-savvy leaders in place. Less than one-third of all respondents say their organizations have engaged a chief digital officer (CDO) to support their transformations. Those that do are 1.6 times more likely than others to report a successful digital transformation. Companies that have already invested in data and infrastructure to support technology efforts are more adept at again succeeding. The keys to finding success with digital transformation projects vary because no two companies are the same. However, we do have a few recommendations: Define what digital transformation means to your business Create a map of where your business is now, including people, process, data, and technology. Then define where your business needs to be. The gap identified becomes a roadmap. Defining the gaps are in the business is the first key step in your digital transformation process. Identify and involve the right internal stakeholders Leaders and decision-makers might not have the insider knowledge to execute technical challenges. Your stakeholders should be throughout the organization, across departments, and exist at different leadership levels. Align with a partner to shepherd the process You might find your business well-suited to tackle projects outside your normal scope of work, but many companies lack the internal resources to be able to undertake larger projects. Finding an outside partner might be helpful to keep things moving and provide direction with next steps. The challenges of digital transformation While digital transformation is worth it and necessary to the survival of your organization, there are challenges that come along with reimagining any new business process. To make your transformation truly successful, ensure that you have a good understanding of your brand and your customers. Without that, the entire digital transformation strategy you build will be misguided, and you’ll end up back on square one. Budget can also be a big hindrance for a lot of companies looking to begin their digital transformation. Often, there are additional resources and training needed upfront. Although the cost savings and increased profitability are worth it in the end, the initial expense can be intimidating. Additionally, poor data quality can become a huge challenge for organizations as they go down the digital transformation road. Poor data analytics often leads companies to make important decisions based on misguided data. Poor data also prevents companies from being able to use emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, since they prove useless when fed with bad data. Sound strategy and good data will ensure you start your digital transformation journey on the right foot. Where are you in your journey? Whether you’re an established business or a startup, the perfect time for digital transformation is now. No matter how old your business is, your digital transformation will be unique to your organization. It is helpful to think ahead to the future — where do you see your company in the next 5 years? Create a roadmap of where you want to be in terms of customer experience, technology, and data insights, and involve those team members in your planning discussions. By involving decision makers across the organization, you can ensure that you are aligning all parts of your business with the end goal. And, if you can, bring in an experienced third-party to help streamline planning, bring in additional insights, and ensure that your projects run smoothly. Digital transformation allows your organization to deliver the right customer experience to the right people and not only remain relevant in your market, but actually build your brand. One thing is consistent: customers today expect a flawless and customized customer experience, and you’ll need digital transformation to deliver it. Your digital transformation partner Customers today expect a customized customer experience, and you’ll need digital transformation to deliver. When you’re ready, we’re here to help you execute. Need help addressing or assessing where are on your organization’s digital transformation journey? Let us know.

5 keys to planning a successful cloud implementation

Oct 20, 2020

The cloud is everywhere today, and it continues to be touted as the silver-bullet solution to everything from backup and disaster recovery to infinitely scalable mobile applications to inexpensive storage and nearly everything in between. While the cloud finally solves certain problems that have vexed corporations for decades, implementing the cloud successfully within a business takes leadership and a sound, carefully considered strategy. 1. Have a vision The first key to any successful cloud implementation is understanding the business need and business case for the cloud within your particular organization. This may seem obvious, but as I warn in my book, “Achieving Process Profitability, Building the IT Profit Center,” too often technology is implemented for the sake of technology. The cloud, as the new shiny object, is a temptation for technologists and individuals who want to follow the crowd. Therefore, bear in mind the single, universal, and undeniable mission of IT within a business is to make that business operate more efficiently, effectively, and profitably. With this mission in mind, there are definitely areas where the cloud can increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability of a business. However, these will vary depending upon the business. Some corporations may wish to reduce capital expenditures on technology. Others might wish to increase the agility or flexibility of the business. Still, others might desire to increase IT’s responsiveness to the business. Additional business needs might include increasing security and compliance, advancing corporate green or mobility initiatives, or future-proofing systems by making them easily scalable. The exact mix of these needs are important and should be agreed upon by the corporate officers. These business needs ultimately form the vision for the use of cloud computing within a corporation. 2. Develop a sound strategy Once the needs are fully understood, document them in a strategic plan. These become the guiding vision and mission of the cloud within the business. The objective is to state in plain language how the cloud can help the business be more efficient, effective, and profitable and achieve the overall goals and vision of the company. Next, perform a SWOT analysis with regard to the cloud. A SWOT analysis is a structured planning method that analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a particular project or business venture. See the example below. Using a SWOT analysis allows you to get specific about your organization’s cloud readiness and what threats exist that could prevent utilization of the cloud to achieve the stated business objectives. Any good strategic plan must include specific, measurable goals, or actions. These goals should be tied back to the SWOT analysis and business objectives identified earlier. Again, be specific with these goals. Instead of a goal such as “acquire new skills,” list the specific skills to be acquired. The final part of the strategic plan is to create one-year, two-year and three-year roadmaps on how to move the organization down the path of cloud adoption while achieving the stated goals and objectives. The roadmap should list specific projects, training, strategic hires, etc. that, as completed, make a measurable impact on your strategic goals. Example SWOT Analysis Strengths Significant virtualization experience IT systems management and governance Strong, trusted offshore partner Strong, collaborative, supportive leadership Weaknesses Cloud expertise is lacking overall, skills retooling required Network connectivity at satellite locations Opportunities Leverage cloud to reduce corporate costs, especially SaaS and PaaS solutions Leverage cloud to increase responsiveness to the business Offload compliance and auditing burden Foster innovation Threats Increasingly competitive industry External regulators are introducing new revisions to their compliance requirements in the next two quarters Recently lost our primary enterprise architect 3. Establish governance now It seems that no new technology can be adopted in an organization without the topic of governance coming up. Cloud is no exception, and governance is, in fact, even more critical to get right with the cloud than with most other technologies. The reason is that the cloud makes buying and deploying technology cheaper and easier than ever before. Business units that control their own budgets can choose a cloud technology, buy it, implement it, and bypass IT completely. The cloud is so inexpensive in some cases that the charges can be applied to a credit card and expensed. In general, allowing business units this much leeway in technology buying decisions is generally a mistake, providing short-term benefits to that particular business unit, but adversely affecting the organization as a whole over time. Start by integrating cloud governance into existing technology steering committees or enterprise architecture groups in order to provide ongoing governance in which workloads make sense for the cloud. But don’t stop there. Proper governance for the cloud needs a holistic approach. Engage the finance department to monitor business expenses and departmental expenditures for rogue cloud activity. In addition, consider modifying existing bonus structures such that a portion of management bonuses are based upon making decisions that benefit the organization as a whole, not just a manager’s particular business unit. 4. Manage organizational change Forbes has tagged the cloud as potentially “the most disruptive technology ever,” and this includes the internet, which essentially made the cloud possible. That kind of disruption does not come without impacts to an organization and these impacts should not be underestimated. New skills need to be learned, new groups must be organized and new ways of thinking need to be adopted. However, change often brings fear – fear of the unknown, of being replaced, of losing control, or not being able to keep up – all of which lie at the root of resistance to adoption. With something as transformative as the cloud, managing the “people” side of the change is imperative to getting your employees on board. Organizational change management (OCM) does just that. OCM defines the steps, processes, and cultural changes necessary for your employees to embrace the technological and cultural changes you are setting forth as you implement the cloud. It doesn’t matter how much time, money, and effort you have invested into the technology; a lack of widespread adoption by the people of your organization can lead any technological project to be deemed a failure. 5. Innovate Of all the benefits the cloud brings to businesses, the ability to facilitate innovation is perhaps the most overlooked. The cloud provides a “fail-fast, succeed-fast” environment that allows businesses to experiment with new technologies and new ways of doing things at a less expensive price point than ever before. Businesses should form a cloud innovation group that experiments with ways of using the cloud to make the business more efficient, effective, and profitable. Small investments in cloud innovation can bring big rewards for companies that are not afraid to adapt to the new reality of cloud. Organizations that do not embrace the cloud, change, and innovation would do well to remember that entire industries were disrupted and largely snuffed out by the internet and mobile revolutions. Consider the failure of newspapers to understand how the internet would destroy profits in an over-100-year-old industry or how mobile computing disrupted the taxi industry. The issue with the cloud, as Forbes points out, is that the cloud impacts every industry on earth, so ignoring is done at one’s own peril. Conclusion As with any complex technology, the cloud requires an investment in crafting a clear vision, strategy, and plan in order to provide the greatest return on investment and avoid the pitfalls of increased overhead, rogue IT, and duplicated systems. Making this investment and avoiding the common pitfalls of cloud adoption will ensure that the cloud helps make your organization more efficient, effective, and profitable. Interested in learning more? Take five minutes to find out how cloud can be a profit center. Another quick read explains which public cloud offering is right for you.

Which public cloud offering is right for you?

Sep 29, 2020

The first steps have been taken. Your company meticulously evaluated public cloud providers and their offerings, and you’ve decided to soon join the 91% of enterprise businesses (annual RightScale 2019 State of the Cloud report from Flexera) that have adopted the public cloud as part of their strategic plan. Deciding to take the plunge is a wise choice in a digital market where cloud adoption is pervasive, but what is the next step? How do you develop a cloud strategy and choose the right implementation amidst a myriad of options and providers? In this whitepaper, the fundamental offerings of the public cloud are explored and evaluated based on a number of criteria, including: portfolio objective, technical requirements, existing investments, funding approach, and security and regulatory compliance. At the conclusion, your organization will have the knowledge to develop a strategy to choose the cloud implementation that best suits your business needs. Overview of cloud offerings Start by understanding your choices. For the flagship public cloud providers, application services are provided in the following paradigms: Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). If you need a rudimentary understanding of these offerings, refer to the whitepaper, Cloud 101: Let’s Remove the Complexity. Regardless which model you choose, the business agility and management cost benefits are the allure of any cloud-computing model. Businesses that do not embrace the cloud will place themselves at a disadvantage as they compete with others who have gained the agility to innovate and respond to market opportunities through the cloud. Learn the facts before you decide Hindsight is 20-20 in every decision. Gain hindsight perspective now by exploring which public cloud implementations are most suitable for which scenarios. Learn and explore the criteria you should be evaluating as you decide between PaaS, SaaS, or IaaS so that you can move forward with a strategy to make a wise choice: Portfolio objective Technical requirements Existing investments Funding approach Security and regulatory compliance Software as a service (SaaS) SaaS products are managed entirely by a third-party cloud provider. These are typically subscription-based services that trade flexibility for reduction in planning and cost. Examples of SaaS products are Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce CRM, Workday, and Google G Suite. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) IaaS may be fairly equated to traditional virtual machine hosting in your company’s on-premises datacenter or remote hosting facility. With IaaS, you move your virtual machines from your data center to the cloud. IaaS virtual machines may be provided at unlimited scale, but still require your IT teams to manage the underlying patching and support of the infrastructure. IaaS is a key element of many companies’ hybrid cloud strategies. Example workloads of IaaS include application hosting, backend processing, and traditional enterprise software. Platform as a service (PaaS) PaaS includes many services and products that allow organizations to build and run applications without the cost and complexity of maintaining the supporting infrastructure. Examples of PaaS products include Amazon Elastic Beanstalk and Microsoft Azure Web App. According to an April 2019 Gartner report, SaaS is the largest public cloud market, but research generally agrees that IaaS is the fastest-growing market segment. The point is not that one model is preferred over the other, but rather to recognize that in a customer-obsessed world with such rapid growth of cloud adoption, it’s critical to pursue some kind of cloud strategy if you want to remain competitive and provide value to your customers. Figure 1. This diagram depicts the tasks your company is responsible for and which are passed on to the cloud provider in different implementations. Source: Microsoft Technet Full of I.T. WebLog Choose the right implementation By breaking down the current-state and goal-state applications portfolio, your company can better understand how to effectively leverage the public cloud. To assist in developing your cloud plan, you can decompose your strategy into four factors: portfolio objectives, technical requirements, security and regulatory compliance, and funding strategy. Portfolio objectives All enterprises possess multiple software applications that fulfill a broad range of business objectives. These applications are typically in variable states of value to your business and have differing degrees of currency with modern patterns and frameworks. Enterprise applications are generally organized into three categories: invest, contain, and replace (see Figure 2). Figure 2. Portfolio objectives are generally organized into these three categories. Each category serves different purposes, and with each, there is a preferred cloud implementation that best fits those purposes. Portfolio investments Enterprises have mission-critical applications that serve the core line of business. These applications are rooted in a company’s value offering and are typically enhanced to accommodate a changing business marketplace, respond to competition, and deliver value to customers. Best choice: PaaS As these applications are differentiators, these are the most likely candidates for a high degree of investment in cash and staff. PaaS is the best choice to fulfill this kind of role because it offers the greatest flexibility to accommodate custom business behavior. Portfolio containment From accounting to timekeeping, recruitment to accounts payable, most enterprises have a variety of applications that serve a narrow business need. These needs are frequently unchanging, and these applications have served the company well and do not require major project teams to support them. Best choice: IaaS The business is not served by major investments in these contain applications. The goal state is to “keep the lights on” without major time and cash outlays. IaaS provides a simplified migration story and allows you to continue to support these applications without overhauling the core implementation and architecture. Portfolio replacements Every organization has applications that no longer serve the original business need. Whether the root is antiquated technology (with high support costs), obsolescence due to a changing business and regulatory environment, the need to service a new requirement, or simply that the business has outgrown the app, businesses often have a portfolio of applications in need of replacement. Best choice: SaaS For those situations, there are a variety of subscription-based SaaS offerings that will meet the needs of your business. These applications are fully supported by full-time engineering staff, and your business can benefit from the continuous update path provided by third-party SaaS vendors. Technical requirements For applications under your company’s control, there is a varying degree of technical functionality that may lend favor to one cloud offering versus another. Assuming a company would favor a PaaS offering versus an IaaS offering, there are a number of technical requirements that would require consideration when you contemplate a migration. Technical requirements that may require reengineering for a PaaS migration include: Server installed software (ActiveX, Win32, VAS, etc.) Local/SAN file access (local processing, file drops, etc.) – Many of the PaaS offerings abstract away all local resources to better accommodate the public cloud environment Web applications that favor server-based session state versus database-/cookie-based state Non-traditional application and environment solutions (e.g., SQLite, nginx, etc.) High I/O loads Vertical scale architectures/server state management — One large virtual machine is typically more expensive than many less expensive ones If these items are not a factor, then a PaaS migration may be the right choice. However, the more of these items that become applicable, the higher the re-platforming cost and lower the overall value. In that case, it would be smarter to use a traditional IaaS offering. Leveraging existing investments While your organization may desire a true cloud hosting approach, sometimes your existing data center investments will better serve your application needs. For example, applications that have high restructuring costs are perhaps better suited to remain contained in your existing data center. Security and regulatory compliance Security is paramount to all modern applications, and few industries are exempt from regulatory compliance. While each organization is different, the approaches to cloud deployment have consistent themes. PaaS Platform as a service offerings ostensibly offer the easiest value for custom and convertible cloud solutions, but these may sometime break specific regulatory requirements. For example, there may be issues with holdoffs (physical server identification), multi-tenancy, and own-IP proprietary requirements. While many highly regulated companies go the PaaS route, personally identifiable data and other customer and employee data may reside in IaaS hold-offs or in local data centers operating in a hybrid model. IaaS As much of the current regulatory components are targeted towards on-premises hosting models, IaaS provides the most linear comparison to meet these needs. SaaS SaaS offerings, as public cloud entities themselves, will provide regulatory disclosures to customers. These typically offer very little change flexibility per customer but are available to review on demand. The two largest cloud providers also provide trust information for all service offerings across the cloud (Amazon and Microsoft). Funding strategy Cloud investments represent a substantial investment, but each offering lends itself to variable approaches to funding. Ensure that this funding strategy falls within the realm of capability for your organization. SaaS SaaS applications are traditionally offered exclusively as a subscription-based services, favoring operational expenses versus capital budgets. IaaS IaaS virtual machines are offered as an operational expense. However, by supporting a datacenter analogue, product licensing costs may be front-loaded from a capital perspective, favoring those organizations that are cash-heavy. PaaS PaaS offerings are also offered in a pay-as-you-go fashion, but for organizations seeking to reduce ongoing revenue expenses, PaaS offerings the easiest path for efficient server usages. Summary The public cloud offers a variety of different offerings for PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS solutions. As you examine the four main factors above and prioritize how they fit into your organizational goals, you should have a clearer picture of which cloud implementation is best suited for your needs. While most companies elect to take an incremental approach to cloud migrations, drawing a cloud strategy, and evaluating your implementation choices allows companies to get the greatest value out of their cloud investments. Have questions or want to discuss your organization? Let us know.

Customer retention strategies for banks: 5 tips for keeping the wealth in your institution

Aug 25, 2020

A massive storm is brewing in the banking, financial services, and insurance industries, and when it strikes, it will be devastating to the unprepared. That storm is the unprecedented transfer of wealth, $3.9 trillion worth, that will be passed from the hands of older generations to younger in the next eight years or so. The rains have already started to trickle, but when they come in full force, if your organization hasn’t already connected with younger generations, you’ll see millions of dollars in wealth walk right out your door. If your bank doesn't have a plan in place for customer retention, it’s not too late to take action. Consider that millennials (born circa 1981-1997, also called Gen Y), are now the largest generation, accounting for over 25% of the population. They are followed by Gen Z (born circa 2000-present), those born with digital devices in their hands, who comprise more than 20% of the population. The potential purchasing power of these generations combined is something that can make or break banks, wealth management firms, and insurance companies. Yet most businesses in these industries still don’t have a game plan to connect with an entire population. Will your company be different? The problem is complex, but no matter where you stand, a solution is within your reach if you create a strategy informed by data and insights that has a clear road map to success. Here are five tips to building successful customer retention strategies for your bank, so you can emerge strong on the other side of the impending wealth transfer. 1. Understand the challenges of banking for millennials Recognize that this is a whole new audience you’re dealing with. The old ways won’t work in the new economy of connected consumerism. A 360-degree view of your current customers will help you gain insights into what the older generation wants, but with an eye towards the future consumers of your brand. They’re not like baby boomers (born 1946-1964) or Generation Xers (born 1965-1979). This newer generation sees things differently than their parents and grandparents did. Get to know this younger audience on their terms and understand why they have different belief and value systems, why they view traditional institutions skeptically. Examine the world from their eyes. They’ve seen that industry giants who their elders once perceived as invincible (e.g., Lehman Brothers) are now gone. Or that others, like Wells Fargo, AIG, and Countrywide, had to be rescued by the government from the brink of bankruptcy, with taxpayers footing the bill. They’ve seen the effects of parents being laid off after years of loyal service to a corporation. They know families who lost their homes when the housing bubble burst. Can you blame them for being leery of traditional institutions? An Androit Digital survey examining millennials’ brand loyalty reported that 77% said they use different criteria to evaluate brands than their parents do. Are you aware of what criteria they are using to evaluate your brand? If not, you need to arm yourself with answers. Research shows that younger generations frequently turn to friends, independent online research, reviews, and social media for decision making. For example, an astounding 93% of millennials read reviews before making a purchase, and 89% “believe friends’ comments more than company claims,” according to an IBM Institute for Business Value survey. Your future hinges on understanding these behaviors. A report by Gallup on the insurance sector revealed, “Millennials are more than twice as likely (27% vs. 11% respectively) as all other generations to purchase their [insurance] policies online rather than through an agent.” Online purchasing is far from the mainstream among insurance consumers overall: “74% originally purchased with an agent vs. 14% online – but if this trend among millennials continues to grow, it could substantially change the way insurance companies interact with customers in the coming years,” the report stated. Likewise, “Banks are losing touch with an entire dominant generation,” according to Joe Kessler, president of Cassandra Global. The Cassandra Report cited that 58% of young adults said they would rather borrow money from friends or family instead of a traditional institution. Two-thirds of the respondents said it is “hard to know where to learn about what financial services they might need.” In other words, when it comes to banking, millennials don’t know who to trust. Begin the process of getting to know this younger clientele by conducting research that will help you gain insights into what they stand for, how and where they interact, and what their expectations are of your industry, your company, and your brand. By evaluating that data, you will be able to set the process for communicating with and building different ways to engage with these new young consumers. Your interactions and communications must be seamless and easy and reflect that you can talk in their terms. You’ll need to look at this emerging demographic with a “digital lens” because this is how millennials engage with brands. What are those channels, what are their preferences? What other services can you make available in a seamless and frictionless and customized way? If you don’t take the time to get to know your audience, you won’t be able to lay the foundation for a successful strategy to engage them. 2. Make young customer retention your bank’s primary mission Younger generations, millennials especially, are driven by a different set of values. They want a work/life balance. They like to donate money. They don’t want a lot of stuff. They like to travel. They want to experience life. They question long-standing rules that don’t make sense to them. So, develop your business strategy around a purpose or a mission – one that they will connect with. Build upon the information you learned about your younger customers in tip #1, then map this customer’s journey with behavioral analytics. Evaluate the digital channels and content that your younger clients find compelling. Now you can create a strategy and roadmap to engage these customers. 3. Build your customer experience for different audiences A strong customer experience (CX), one that creates loyalty, is one that is personalized, timely, relevant, appropriate, and built on trust. The more customizable the user experience, the better. According to Janrain, 74% of online users are frustrated with brands that provide content that doesn’t reflect their personal interests. You know users want to be recognized on their terms, but you have a problem. How do you build a single CX that addresses vastly different generations with different behaviors and interests? Is there a way to reconcile their differences via a single CX? The answer is no. For the time being, you need to develop both. If someone tells you differently, beware. Think about it. In wealth management, banking, and insurance, the older generation still holds the money and keeps the lights on for your business. The newer generation will get that money within a decade, but if you go full-throttle and build a single, mobile-first CX, you’re going to alienate the people holding the purse strings. In the next few pivotal years, your bank’s customer retention will be heavily dependent on how well you address each audience on their own terms. How to cater to older generations Older folks prefer offline channels, like walking into a branch, agency, or brokerage firm. They like to do business face to face or via phone conversations with tellers, bankers, agents, and wealth advisors. Online, they like having a “control panel” style experience on a desktop, such as you might find with financial trading platforms. This is how you build trust and timely, relevant, personalized experiences. Online, build a web portal to appeal to the interests, needs, and communications preferences of the older generation. The younger generation will use the web portal now and then, but that is not going to be the experience they associate with your brand – because you’ll give them their own. How to cater to younger generations Give the younger generation mobile apps and SMS communications. With over 87% of millennials saying they are never without their phone, this is where you should reach them. They have no interest in stepping foot in a building that feels like an institution or talking to some random agent, broker, or salesperson when they can do everything quickly and effortlessly on a mobile device. Take the information you learned in tips #1 and #2 and build strong loyalty, providing timely, relevant, personalized, and appropriate experiences on a digital dimension. As you build a CX specifically tailored to banking for millennials, you’ll find you can gain loyalty on their terms because you’ll be able to interact in a more agile, nimble, and personalized way. The older generation will probably use the mobile app for simple tasks like checking information and balances, but they’re going to associate their comfort with your brand with the CX they use most – the desktop. Two CXs could be the right solution for today’s transitioning market, but keep in mind that there are additional channels through which you can build loyalty with these younger audiences across the digital landscape. For example, you can share educational, informative content through social media channels. 4. Knowledge transfer to the younger generation Everyone in wealth management, insurance, and financial services already has a foot in the door with the younger generation. That connection is the strong relationship between existing older customers and their offspring. Leverage it. First, understand that the older generation wants to take care of the younger ones by leaving money to them, but they are worried that the next generation doesn’t have the knowledge or discipline to hold onto and grow that money. There are so many stories of young people, like athletes or celebrities, getting rich quickly, getting bad advice about money, and then squandering it all away. What if their children make the same mistakes? Help address that fear and protect those kids by arming your older customers with educational tools on how to prevent this from happening. For this CX, you’ll need to develop portals and educational content, manage and market that content, and make it come to life in an updated website (geared to the older generation) that features whitepapers, articles, or videos, such as “Talking to Your Children About Money 101” and the like. Educate this audience on how to talk about the benefits of insurance or long-term investment strategies and provide them with incentives to set up meetings with themselves, their offspring, and you. The younger generation isn’t interested in talking to an institution, but they will listen to the advice of the parent or grandparent giving them this money. Let the parents and grandparents have meaningful conversations that hold much more weight than your business sending a bulk email to junior that says, “Invest in an IRA.” Now when members of the younger generation, the recipients of transferred wealth, decide to check out your company on the advice of their parents or grandparents, they will access your relevant app that speaks their language and addresses things of interest to them. They’ll soon figure out that you’re not some stodgy institution and will be much more open to a discussion when their parents suggest a conversation with your company’s brokers, advisors, or agents. This is how the knowledge transfer will occur organically, growing your bank’s customer retention along the way as you build a relationship of loyalty and trust. You not only will give the benefactors peace of mind that their offspring will be good stewards of their fortune when the time comes, but you’ll keep the money in-house because you took time to connect with and earn the trust of the young beneficiaries. 5. Make use of emerging technologies in banking to satisfy the ever-changing digital landscape At this point, you know you could benefit from two CXs. The web platform focuses on the needs and concerns of the older generation that holds the wealth today. The mobile platform addresses the younger person who will inherit the wealth, providing guidance, teaching the basics of how to invest or buy insurance, and will be chock full of quizzes, games, personalized spreadsheets, automated tools, and more. The challenge is that when the older generations pass on, the desktop experience will be moot. You don’t want to have to rebuild all the technology infrastructure that you worked so hard to establish. The answer? Don’t build applications or tools – build platforms for the future that can be adapted as the younger generation takes over and as mobile-first interactions become predominant five years from now. Don’t overlook the fact that more cost-effective emerging technologies in banking, such as infrastructure in the cloud, will be a necessary ingredient for success. Banks and insurance companies are reluctant to get in the cloud, but if you understand that most applications are going to be in the cloud five years from now, you understand the critical nature of developing these capabilities today. The cloud enables rapid changes to meet market and customer demands. It is flexible and nimble. You pay for what you use, can pay for service or infrastructure, and simultaneously increase security and reliability. To those unfamiliar with the cloud, security can be a scary proposition. However, with major cloud providers like Microsoft and Amazon employing an army of experts to ensure security and regulatory compliance, the cloud is safer from a security standpoint than most on-premises data storage. While 85% of companies using the cloud report they are confident their providers are able to provide a secure environment, 90% of IT managers reported they are not confident in their own companies’ ability to detect security problems internally. If you’re building a flexible technology platform with the right digital CXs, infrastructure that looks to the future and cloud capabilities, then your organization will be positioned for success when the wealth transfer hits in the next decade. Final thoughts on customer retention strategies for banks There are more than 75 million millennials out there spending $600 billion every year, and that number is only going to increase. They are graduating from college with massive amounts of debt, face a precarious job market, and are typically naïve about financial matters and insurance.The companies who aggressively work to offer practical tools and advice on banking for millennials are the ones who will outperform their competition in the future. It’s not too late, but you cannot wait to take action. If a business does not begin building the bridge between current wealth owners and soon-to-be wealth recipients until after the wealth-transfer process has begun, it will experience a devastating economic blow and get left behind by those who have embraced this shift. The ball is in your court Everyone has predicted that the landscape of the wealth management, banking, and insurance markets will change dramatically due to the digital disruption and younger generations, but with the right strategy in place, your organization can emerge as a leader. Look at this as an opportunity to differentiate. A digital strategy will be the key to your success. Don’t look at digital as an application. Digital is the way all future generations will engage and interact. Leverage it today and do it well to tie the present with the future. Your formula for success is to create an actionable plan that is both informed and driven by insights and data on what people buy, how, what they expect, how they feel, and whether the experience is personalized, relevant, and timely. You need to understand your audience and use those insights to feed a strategy that ties into the mission and purpose of your customers. Bring your strategy to life in a digital channel that sits on top of flexible technology. Measure your customers’ experiences and level of engagement with your brand, and then make adjustments, continually working off of research and data. Follow this formula, and eight years from now, you’ll be the organization that is reaping the rewards because you understood how to keep millions of dollars from leaving your company. Need help improving your customer retention in banking? Let us know.

Cloud 101: Let’s remove the complexity

Aug 17, 2020

Whether you’re on the journey of exploring whether cloud is right for your organization or just trying figure out what the all the buzz is about, this article will break down the basics of cloud for you. What is cloud? The cloud is a method where you are provided IT resources as a service. This means servers, networks, platforms, and software. A provider takes ownership of all related resources and processes, and you pay them a monthly fee. What are the benefits of cloud? If the cloud is nothing more than servers being hosted for you, then why should people move to the cloud? After all, you’ve already made a heavy investment in your existing infrastructure. There shouldn’t be a need to switch over to having a cloud provider host your machines when you’ve already paid for them, right? The difference lies within the service that is being provided to you. Cloud providers bestow an easy-to-use, configurable way to spin up servers, networks, and storage on demand, quickly. They can be in charge of your hardware, your data, and all of the processes related to it (disaster recovery, maintenance, capacity management, etc.) so you have time to focus on your business. The important benefits that you gain when switching to have your servers and services hosted on the cloud are: Agility Scalability Reliability & Security Cost Agility Think about how much time it takes to provision a full application to your environment. You would first have to discover each tier of the application (web, application, data, etc.) and determine each hardware need. Assuming you don’t have the capacity to develop a large application, you would have to go through the request and procurement process to obtain the hardware. This requires you to very closely right-size the capital expenditure so you don’t overpay for the hardware. When it’s done, you’ll have to install the servers in the data center, deploy the virtualization software to the machine, and start to build the machines as stated in the specification. Now, even if your company is one of the few that diligently buys and over allocates hardware to compensate for future capacity trends, we’re still looking at an inability to rapidly provision servers when a business unit needs it. One of the characteristics that makes cloud so appealing is the ability to quickly provision on demand. No up-front investment, no additional labor cost. Simply select a server size, an operating system, and other configurations you’re looking for, and the cloud can create that server for you in minutes. Agility means time. And the less time you have to spend on workload tasks, the more time you can work on the more important things that deliver value to the business. Scalability Determining capacity remains an elusive task for many companies. The resources you need are predicted through trends of what has been used. The problem with predictions is that they are not always right. Even more important, it’s very hard to acquire additional hardware and resources using predictions. As a matter of fact, many infrastructures choose to downgrade servers rather than buy more hardware. The cloud cuts through this with (seemingly) unlimited resources that you can pool and use. Need 5,000 more web servers across the world for a few weeks to handle your Black Friday sales? No problem with cloud. The ability to never have to worry about maximum capacity and to focus on right-sizing existing resources becomes the de-facto standard with cloud. Keep in mind that when you scale you pay for more, but when you’re not using those resources, you don’t. Reliability and security If you don’t own your servers, and your data is no longer in house, how do you work through strategies like business continuity and disaster recovery? How do you control risk and cybersecurity? This boils down to trust. Cloud providers have spent a lot of time working to pass security and regulatory agencies, like PCI, HIPAA, and Sarbanes-Oxley. They also have a large amount of resources dedicated to keeping and securing data. After all, why would a provider go through all of the money they’ve spent on preparing the cloud for the biggest of businesses, only to get hacked and have countless lawsuits on their hands? With cloud providers, you own your data, it is secure and their disaster recovery service-level agreements (SLAs) are unmatched. Cost There are many benefits on the cost-side of cloud. We went ahead and wrote an additional article to dive deeper. Check out our article, The Cloud: From Cost to Profit Center. Types of cloud Wait, there’s more than one type of cloud? Yes, and each of them are enhancements to the last. We’ll describe them below: Software as a Service (SaaS) Platform as a Service (PaaS) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) On-premises (private cloud) Software as a service (SaaS) SaaS offerings are turnkey solutions in which a cloud provider gives you access to targeted application services. Your company is not required to install, configure, or deploy any infrastructure. The provider does all of it. For many organizations, SaaS represents the first foray into the cloud. With flagship SaaS products, such as Office 365 and Salesforce CRM, enterprise products that can offer true cloud solutions represent the majority of growth in the competitive cloud marketplace. For any enterprise looking to procure new enterprise applications, SaaS is generally the first stop on the journey. While potentially sacrificing some flexibility, organizations receive an operationalized subscription service that is available the moment you are ready. Platform as a service (PaaS) For organizations that leverage and build applications, PaaS cloud offerings give you the best of the cloud and the best of customized solutions. With PaaS, your development teams focus on one thing: developing the application solutions that add value to your business, and nothing that does not. Your team members can focus on code, data, and integration, and the infrastructure is left to the cloud provider. The advantage of PaaS is that your teams can get the flexibility of custom solutions with the infrastructure and management capabilities of the public cloud. PaaS applications are also uniquely valuable because they offer the following functionality: Unlimited, push-button scaling without deploying new code Transparent and independent infrastructure patching and updates Simplified distribution among many application servers Deployment capabilities that allow your company to deploy as many environments as you desire, pay for the temporary usage, and then scale back when the resources are not used Unified management portal and application performance management (APM) PaaS applications represent the greatest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and fastest time to market for custom solutions and are valuable for both the startup and enterprise. PaaS makes the development, testing, and deployment of applications simple and cost-effective. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) In an IaaS environment, you’re simply moving your virtual machines from your data center to the cloud. The impact of doing so is that you will not have to worry about capacity or the cost of factors like cooling or equipment. You are not required to move all your machines to the cloud. In fact, most organizations select a combination of servers hosted in cloud and some in their own datacenter for moving to the cloud – and that’s what’s called hybrid cloud. Selecting which servers move is essentially a business decision based on considerations like cost, hardware lease renewals, or software licensing requirements. For example, if App A is running on old hardware that needs replaced, why not move it to the cloud instead of purchasing new hardware? Your server will still be the same as it was before, with the same configurations and settings. Nothing has changed except for where the server exists. On-Premises (private cloud) How is a private cloud (one where you own all the resources) different from a typical data center? A datacenter doesn’t provide those resources like a service, whereas a private cloud does, with key elements being automation and self-service capabilities. You can leverage your existing hardware investment to give your business the same experience as using a cloud provider. This still provides some of the business value and benefits as a true public cloud, but without a huge expenditure. That’s one main reason why a business would want to make their data center a private cloud. They’ve already spent money to have that expensive data center on-premises. They may want the benefits of the cloud, but they can’t throw those dollars out the window. The private cloud is the answer to gaining cloud benefits now, but not getting rid of your existing data center investment. As the equipment and licenses expire, the transition to a hybrid or public cloud makes more sense. You can transform your data center into a private cloud by meeting two goals: Make your datacenter capable of providing self-service so that staff can request servers, infrastructure, or any other IT request through a centralized solution, such as a portal Automate your datacenter so that servers, infrastructure, and other IT resources are provisioned, managed, and deprovisioned without IT intervention Automation and self-service create tremendous efficiencies for IT personnel, freeing up their time to innovate in order to drive business decisions rather than spending time on repetitive processes and firefighting. Conclusion Now you know a little more about cloud, in very real terms. That’s the first step to make a decision on what you can actually use the cloud for and when. Companies move to the cloud for agility in an ever-changing world. While some organizations are still swamped managing their infrastructure and IT, others have moved to the cloud and are able to focus on driving business. This provides an unmatched competitive edge, and with the cloud market continuing to grow in leaps and bounds, businesses that don’t stay current in this technology revolution will be hard-pressed to remain competitive. Cloud is a huge proposition, but Fusion has the expertise to help you get there. We’ll help you understand the best strategies that will work specifically for your business and lead the way to that big cloud in the sky with our team of architects and business professionals.

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