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Cloud computing can help companies respond to economic challenges

Ben Farrell
August 15, 2012

Cloud computing, particularly Software-as-a-Service solutions, is rapidly becoming much more popular in response to a growing need to reduce operational costs while still improving productivity, a recent study from KPMG International found.

According to the news source, the SaaS market is growing because many businesses are facing an economic circumstance that pushes them to reduce the amount of money they spend on operations and capital investments. Because SaaS allows organizations to deploy innovative solutions without making investments in hardware and in a more fluid subscription model, the technology has thrived as a solution for ongoing operational requirements.

The study found that the increasingly tight financial climate is pushing many companies to focus almost exclusively on return on investment as the primary variable that dictates how companies invest in new technologies.

"The global economic challenge is forcing CIOs to look at their IT budgets very carefully," the study said. "The return on each IT investment is critically evaluated and CIOs are finding various ways to derive the maximum value out of the IT investments made. Cloud computing, business analytics, virtualization, social media and mobility are few of the initiatives that enterprises are considering to be on high priority - in order to meet their client needs, increase profitability and gain competitive advantage."

When it comes strictly to choosing the most inexpensive technology possible, cloud computing is definitely a key option. But the key in the current economic climate is to actually choose the technology that offers the greatest value. Many experts agree that businesses are willing to spend on the right technological solution as long as they are confident that they can use that system to generate revenue.

In order to take cloud computing, mobility, social media and other emerging technologies and turn them into solutions that generate new revenues, companies have to find ways to get the disparate solutions to align. Business process management software is often the solution to the problem of getting diverse systems to work together. The technology automates the underlying functions, binding mobile, social and cloud solutions into a holistic system that companies can use to streamline operations and develop a customer-centric methodology for day-to-day functions. Essentially, BPM acts as the glue that keeps various IT solutions together and the catalyst that enables process-level improvements to come from technological upgrades.