The following is the eighth blog in a series about why businesses are moving to the cloud to modernize and improve business performance.
So far in this series, we have covered topics such as the innovation cloud brings, cloud security, and disaster recovery in the cloud. In this blog, I want to address an issue that is of primary concern to every business: finances. While the cost of a digital transformation is initially high, in the long-term, when done right, it is a prudent financial decision for most companies.
Generate ROI with cloud
It may seem strange to think that investing in a digital transformation is actually an exercise in cost savings, but it’s the primary driver of new revenue for many businesses. Moving to cloud technology is a key component of any digital transformation, and one of the benefits of moving to cloud is the cost savings. You will reap savings in the following areas:
- Lower upfront capital investment for computing hardware and software
- Eliminated cost of annual maintenance contracts for software and hardware
- Reduced or eliminated cost of physical data centers and communication links
- Reduced labor cost to install, upgrade, and patch hardware and software
- Eliminated “cost of capital” charges, which can improve profitability
- Reduced or eliminated missed opportunity cost of time
Measuring ROI as a result of moving to cloud is really not much different from the way that you currently measure ROI, but there are a few differences.
You will gain a reasonable ROI from your cloud technology investment in areas like total new business over time, or a faster turnaround for both internal and external requests. However, you will have a few new measurements to track, such as a reduced missed opportunity cost of time and a reduced cost of capital charges. Some businesses will see significant ROI in other areas like an eliminated unused compute capacity cost and the associated overhead, as well as a reduced data center footprint and related cost.
The increased speed and agility will translate into improved overall business revenue in a more timely fashion. It is difficult to determine how much of the increase in revenue comes as a result of using cloud technology compared to other activities, but the ROI is shown definitively in other areas.
Learn more
Do you want to know more about cloud’s capabilities and the potential benefits for your business? Click here or fill in the form below to read the guide Transform Your Business with Cloud and learn what cloud can do for you.
