Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2013. Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed article by Ravi Thakur, Vice President, Customer Success, Coupa
How the Cloud Can Help Businesses Increase ROI in the New Year
People buy software for one of two reasons: to make
money or to save money. If it doesn't do one of the two, they won't spend the money.
When cloud technology entered the scene, companies saved
money because of faster deployments (faster time-to-value), and ultimately increased
return-on-investment (ROI).
As we move into 2013, we'll see even more people embracing
the cloud within their own companies as the technology continues to become more
mainstream.
Adopting the cloud - or more specifically, a 100
percent true cloud solution - as part of a company's tech strategy can serve as
a serious game-changer.
Here is a quick look at what I have been seeing in the
industry during 2012 as a result of the continuing cloud growth trend, and what
I believe we'll see as the new year approaches:
- Greater
bottom line savings: The cloud has helped companies save money on
technology, but also provides insight to users to get the best prices for
certain commodities. The cloud allows us to bring the best deals to businesses
as they happen (or in real time), which ultimately delivers a greater impact to
the bottom line as I expect will happen in 2013.
- A
new, level playing field: The cloud removes the prohibitive sticker
price typical of enterprise software. In 2013, a new, level playing field will
emerge as small and mid-sized companies who can now afford new cloud-based
solutions are able to compete more effectively against their bigger rivals.
- Crowd
sourced innovation: A
true-cloud solution, or in other words, all customers hosted on one single
cloud platform provides a wealth of information on user preferences. Software
companies will be able to analyze their customer's usage data (most used
features, time spent in a certain part of the application, etc.) to improve the
customer experience and ultimately create products that are more intuitive to
use and are more powerful.
- Improved
alignment with business cycle: Legacy software can't
always keep up with the changing pace of businesses. Now cloud- based software
companies can quickly push out new functionality and features sometimes on a
daily basis - the technology cycle aligns with the business cycle. This also
helps companies advance how they optimize their business operations -
ultimately leading to money and time savings.
- Accelerated
adoption within companies: The cloud also simplifies software deployment.
There is no local software to install, hardware to purchase, etc. In 2013 we'll
see the use of the cloud increase within companies themselves. Extending the user-base
beyond their traditional power users. Everyone throughout a business can
collectively use the software across the entire organization, empowering a
company to optimize their spend and have full visibility into what is being
expensed.
Closing
Thoughts
In 2013, the cloud will continue its rapid adoption in
areas beyond IT. The winner will be the
business user. As the cloud makes its way out of the glass house, business
users will play a more important role, as the focus will be on how a solution
can meet business needs and IT considerations take a back seat. We'll continue
to see not only initial adoption of the cloud by companies, but also more cloud
solution throughout among its users.
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About
the Author
Ravi Thakur, Services
& Customer Success, Coupa Software
Ravi has over
fifteen years experience leading deployments and integrations of enterprise
software solutions. He is responsible for Coupa's worldwide Cloud
infrastructure. Throughout his
career, he has worked with a number of Fortune 500 companies to ensure successful
deployments of solutions. He was also responsible for the hosting
infrastructure and operational processes for Oracle Exchange, Oracle's first
multi-tenant SaaS offering in 2000.
Ravi is a frequent
speaker at cloud industry events. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Engineering from UC Berkeley and an MBA from UCLA Anderson.