Innovation in the cloud: HCLTech’s report highlights the future of business-IT collaboration
Cloud-based solutions can enhance an organisation’s agility as well as facilitate both expansion and profitability.
Cloud-based solutions enable flexibility in organisations, says Ms Siki Giunta, executive vice president and head of CloudSMART Strategy and Industry Cloud Consulting at HCLTech. Photos: HCLTech, Shutterstock
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Amid the shifting digital landscape, cloud technology has emerged as a pivotal element in driving business transformations. It has redefined operations by facilitating multi-cloud data storage and access, alongside the integration of cloud-native applications.
These advances play a critical role in supporting emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence. With its capacity for scalability and efficiency, cloud technology is increasingly regarded as a key factor for businesses seeking a competitive edge.
ENABLING RAPID RESPONSE
According to Ms Siki Giunta, executive vice president and head of CloudSMART Strategy and Industry Cloud Consulting at HCLTech, cloud-based solutions offer a critical advantage by addressing an organisation’s “need for speed”. In particular, cloud platforms enable businesses to leverage real-time data analysis for uncovering insights. These insights, in turn, empower organisations to tackle challenges, innovate and drive profitability.
The imperative for agility is underscored in HCLTech’s Cloud Evolution report, a comprehensive study that surveyed 500 business and senior IT executives across 17 industries in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. One significant finding highlighted the prevalence of strategic pivots, with the majority of surveyed leaders reporting making adjustments to their business strategies at least twice in the past three years. Some 87 per cent of the leaders who effectively navigated these pivots attributed their success to the harnessing of cloud-based apps and infrastructure.
UNLOCKING THE BENEFITS OF CLOUD
Ms Giunta shared that the advantages of a cloud-based infrastructure include flexibility, accessibility and resilience.
“Modern cloud services should be elastic, complemented by pricing models tailored to match a company’s resource requirements,” she added.
Organisations undergo constant growth and evolution, often resulting in unpredictable shifts in the location of human assets. Flexible infrastructure empowers employees to access data and applications seamlessly from any location. “This enhanced accessibility fosters collaboration, enables remote work and boosts productivity,” said Ms Giunta.
Despite the evident benefits, the HCLTech report highlighted lingering concerns among organisations regarding the security implications of adopting cloud-based solutions. Both business and IT leaders expressed apprehension about perceived challenges in detecting and responding to intrusions, particularly for applications migrated to the cloud and cloud-native applications.
In response to these concerns, major cloud providers have stepped up resources to protect applications and data on their platforms. Ms Giunta cited HCLTech’s CloudSMART strategy, which integrates security enhancements into its services, offering solutions that embed security and compliance measures within cloud applications. She added that resilience stands as the cornerstone of every enterprise, emphasising the need for a secure cloud infrastructure that complies with regional and global regulations.
GETTING THE STRATEGY RIGHT
An organisation’s cloud strategy should closely align with its business goals, whether they are financial targets or competitive market positioning. This synchronisation, as illustrated in the HCLTech report, plays a fundamental role in fostering a culture of innovation.
Effective collaboration between IT and business teams is also vital. “While the report offers numerous insights, one recurring recommendation is clear: To develop purposeful communication between IT and business leaders in order to navigate the cloud journey successfully and realise its financial benefits,” said Ms Giunta.
Leveraging its extensive cross-sector expertise, HCLTech collaborates with clients to harmonise business and IT objectives around the cloud as the primary platform for conducting business. “This focused approach ensures the availability of funding for technology initiatives, thereby facilitating business expansion and enhancing profitability,” Ms Giunta explained.
The HCLTech report further underscored the need for constant vigilance, centred around strong security protocols, ongoing modernisation efforts and investment in workforce retraining for cloud-native operations.
Said Ms Giunta: “Cloud adoption is not a ‘one-and-done’ exercise. It’s a continuous evolution that enables the smooth adoption of the latest technology to meet business requirements and compete in crowded markets.”
Learn more about how the cloud is becoming a scalable, cost-effective solution for businesses in HCLTech’s Cloud Evolution report.
