What Cloud Solutions Can Expect

By Susan deCathelineau, chief customer success officer at Hyland

In 2020, legacy brands that had been slow to adopt Cloud solutions had to quickly migrate as workers became almost completely remote. In 2021, cloud providers will place increased importance on high-level security, such as end-to-end encryption, to show legacy brands that Cloud solutions have staying power.

A recap of cloud's impact on 2020

2020 has seen a significant increase in companies implementing a cloud strategy, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key driver as organizations move to a remote workforce. In shifting to a virtual environment, gaps have been identified that may be addressed by implementing a cloud strategy. Cloud solutions provide remote employees access to information they would traditionally leverage in the office environment. Access to information and the ability for team members to collaborate are essential in driving businesses forward in a year like no other.

What to expect from cloud solutions in 2021

In preparing for 2021, organizations are learning from the lessons of 2020 in expanding a move to the cloud. The focus is on the end-user experience and less about maintaining the infrastructure that information services departments have historically balanced. Limited budgets require prioritization on finding new ways to create business efficiencies. By leveraging cloud solutions and environments, information services professionals can focus on application adoption and optimization. The expectations of cloud providers to ensure system reliability and fast response time will continue to increase.

Cloud security in 2021

Protecting information and providing access to authorized individuals has become more critical due to the increase in cyber threats around the world. Customers of cloud providers will require contracted service-level agreements with associated penalties to ensure they are protected from a targeted, harmful event. In moving to the cloud, organizations expect an increased level of security beyond what they may be able to provide by leveraging their own infrastructure.

Why we can expect these changes

As more of our customers are adapting to the new way of doing business, and from lessons learned in 2020, the overarching theme is the need to move to a cloud environment to support a remote workforce. For example, in the healthcare industry information is essential for clinicians in providing care virtually to patients who are seeking care from their homes. Across all industries, administrative departments such as accounts payable have seen efficiencies gained by a remote workforce utilizing a cloud environment to further automate and secure sensitive financial information.

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About the Author

Susan deCathelineau, MS, is the Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Success Officer at Hyland. With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare, technology and operations, Susan brings expertise and leadership in areas including customer experience, strategic product development, campaign management and solution design and implementation. In her role, Susan leads the next evolution of Hyland’s Customer Success Department, focusing on helping customers gain long-term competitive advantages by leveraging the breadth and depth of their technology investment. Channeling the voice of the customer, Susan leads Customer Success strategies, aligning customer experience, delivery and innovation, building a customer listening path to seek input and implementing actions that support customers’ growth.