Cloud computing offers the flexibility of rapidly scaling resources and storage up or down as business needs change. With the right cloud service model, enterprises and users only pay for the resources that are actually used. This avoids overbuilding and underprovisioning infrastructure, while enabling IT teams to focus on more strategic projects for the business. And because providers continuously innovate, enterprise IT teams can access the latest advances in technology faster and more cost-effectively than they would if they built or bought their own hardware.
In addition, centralized management makes it easier to update and roll out new applications, while eliminating the costs of maintaining and replacing hardware. The scalability of cloud computing also makes it possible for organizations to easily adapt to changing work demand by cloning tasks onto multiple virtual machines at runtime and distributing them using load balancers. For end users, cloud apps appear to function the same way on any device, anytime and anywhere—as long as they have an internet connection.
But it’s important to keep in mind that not all clouds are created equal. In fact, McKinsey research finds that many companies are struggling to get real value from their investments. Often, it boils down to not fully understanding what’s important to measure and lack of rigor in implementing a monitoring program. To see better returns from their investment, IT leaders need to understand the full range of potential benefits and take a more holistic approach.