A recent report by IDG Research Services commissioned by EMC demonstrates the close connections between hybrid cloud computing and digital business. The report pegs hybrid cloud as the “great enabler of digital business”, but it’s more than a proven enabler. Hybrid cloud can accelerate progress and amplify the benefits of digital business initiatives. There’s a benefits “multiplier effect” when companies put more workloads in hybrid cloud and put the agility of hybrid cloud to work.
It probably goes without saying that digital business is high on corporate agendas (90% of respondents to the global IDG survey count it among their top business priorities) and, therefore, high on the agendas of CIOs and IT organizations. Consumer technologies and the Internet have altered forever the expectations of consumers and commercial customers. People and organizations expect to do business quickly, easily, anytime and anywhere. To remain competitive, companies must further digitize their processes and interactions – and deliver engaging customer experiences.
How does hybrid cloud play a role? It’s today’s best infrastructure for digital business. It has the necessary underlying characteristics for keeping pace in a fast-changing digital economy: speed, flexibility, reliability, scalability, cost effectiveness. And it enables digital business in specific ways. Hybrid cloud supports rapid testing, deploying, and scaling of new applications by enabling businesses to leverage public and private cloud applications and services together seamlessly. New mobile apps can integrate with core systems so a company can bring all of its capabilities into play.
But the hybrid cloud value proposition goes further. The IDG survey showed that hybrid cloud adoption reduces IT operating expenses by a remarkable 24% on average. That’s a big number, both as direct savings and as opportunity to reinvest. But the real kicker is that the surveyed companies put around 40% of their savings into new business and technology initiatives.
Then there’s the multiplier effect. The more aggressive adopters – those with a significant number of workloads in hybrid cloud – enjoy the biggest gains. They are three times more likely to be achieving their digital business goals and achieving infrastructure readiness than non-adopters. Their IT operating expense reduction increases to a whopping 29%. This translates into an even greater opportunity to reinvest savings. Hybrid cloud is, indeed, the great enabler.
For more on the story of hybrid cloud and digital business, read the press release here. For more on hybrid cloud and IT cost take-out, check out this new video as well. Digital business is a corporate imperative, and supporting – or even driving – digital business is the most important business contribution that IT can make today.
Hybrid cloud sets the stage.
With help from EMC, it’s now simpler than ever to make progress towards digital business and get in on hybrid cloud. The Federation Enterprise Hybrid Cloud is an engineered solution that combines best-in-class technologies, professional services and one call support. It gets organizations up and running quickly to help drive business agility and reduce costs by automating delivery of secure, always-on infrastructure and IT-as-a-Service for traditional enterprise applications.
