As digital business expands at a rapid pace, businesses are posed with numerous opportunities and threats. One of those is the ability to adapt and leverage every growing volume of data, and leverage the insights contained. Doing so effectively is not just a business advantage, it is essential for your company’s survival and growth.
Whilst unifying data and deriving insights may seem complex at first, cloud analytics provide an excellent platform to simplify this initiative. Moreover, cloud analytics provide a means to integrate data into your business framework.
In this blog we answer questions of business and IT leaders about how they should adopt cloud analytics, overcoming challenges such as skill set gaps and strategic planning needs.
Cloud analytics offers companies of any size a range of benefits, going beyond just delivering insights. Using the cloud for your analytics initiatives delivers enhanced scalability, reduced infrastructure cost and agility to respond to new business requirements faster than ever before.
- Understanding Cloud Analytics: In simple terms cloud analytics refers to the delivery of integration, analytics and business intelligence capabilities using a cloud platform. This can include simple services like data visualisation, to advanced capabilities like machine learning and predictive modelling.
- Advantages of Cloud Analytics: When implemented effectively, cloud analytics offers far greater flexibility, allowing businesses large and small to manage large volumes of data and deploy services as required. Moreover, thanks to its scaling nature, it eliminates the need for significant upfront investment in infrastructure. Some even offer pay-as-you-go models that significantly reduce costs.
- Integration with Current Systems: Implementing cloud analytics doesn't always entail a complete overhaul of your existing systems. Many cloud solutions are designed to work seamlessly with the systems you have today, integrating data from multiple sources. This makes cloud analytics cost effective since they leave your existing systems unchanged.
Getting started with cloud analytics is as much about technology as it is about strategic and organizational change. When Business Leaders and IT Managers are starting their cloud analytics journey, they should at least include the following steps:
- Assess Current Capabilities: Understand the current state of your organization’s data infrastructure, data skills, and data resources. This assessment provides the input for a blueprint of the cloud services you need and how to prioritize them.
- Set Clear Objectives: Define what a good outcome of your initiative looks like. Objectives include improved decision-making speed or accuracy, better customer insights, increased operational efficiency, etc. Set objectives which can be measured and quantified. Clear goals will focus efforts and guide the selection of analytics tools and services.
- Develop Talent and Expertise: Analyse potential skills gaps and plan to tackle them. Consider options like recruitment, partnerships, or training programs. Ensure the right expertise is in place to leverage cloud analytics effectively and decrease the risk of incorrect adoption.
- Select the Right Partners: Cloud solutions make look similar on the surface, but they are certainly not all equal. Choose providers with a proven track record. Consider their security measures and verify that their offerings align with your goals and existing systems.
- Pilot Projects: Start small with pilot projects that demonstrate quick wins and tangible value. These pilots serve as a tester for how broader implementation might unfold and create buy-in across the organization for faster adoption in later stages.
- Iterate and Expand: Adopt an agile and iterative approach where your plan adopts new learnings to create an overall more aligned and effective solution. Also consider that cloud analytics is an evolving space, new capabilities are introduced every day and the solution you build may look different from the one you can see today.
