Text Ariana 3_Cloud Computing.docx

**Mega-Trend 4: Cloud Computing** When most of us hear the word "cloud", we either think of a big puffy floating glob of cotton in the sky, OR we think of that special online place to which we upload our pictures, videos, and Word documents, so that our many electronic gadgets now have storage spac...

**Mega-Trend 4: Cloud Computing** When most of us hear the word "cloud", we either think of a big puffy floating glob of cotton in the sky, OR we think of that special online place to which we upload our pictures, videos, and Word documents, so that our many electronic gadgets now have storage space for NEW pictures, videos, and Word files. Most of us think of clouds as just another place to store things. So why is "Cloud Computing" one of THE biggest current trends in digitalization today? One of the most fundamental ways in which Cloud Computing has changed the world is in the way teams now COLLABORATE. In the past, team members that were working on the same document or project had to EITHER be sitting at the same table OR one of them would work on a document, then send it to the others, who would each add their own two cents, then send it to the others, in an ENDLESS loop that left the team with multiple very different versions of the same underlying task. You basically either had the choice between 'moving ahead very slowly' or 'creating mass confusion'. With CLOUD computing, all team members now have access to the same documents and data in real-time, regardless of whether they're sitting at the same table or located in very different geographic locations. Aside from the obvious benefits of saving time and reducing confusion, this type of REAL-TIME collaboration fosters creativity, resulting in higher-quality outcomes. Cloud technology also gives us access to a bundle of online services and apps that simply wouldn't be AVAILABLE at a click otherwise. Think of all the apps that you use that aren't stored on a digital device. The only reason they work is because they're stored in a cloud somewhere. And BECAUSE they're in a cloud, they can be accessed by multiple team members -- or by you AND your customers, or you AND your suppliers -- always at the same TIME, once again allowing you to collaborate MUCH more effectively. Which allows organizations to develop new goods and services at a much faster pace. Aside from collaboration, the fact that an organization can store its data on a cloud allows employees, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders to access this data in real time, regardless of where in the world they're located. In the past, an organization would store all of its data on a local server. So let's say you're a company employee located in a branch on another CONTINENT. Because of the geographical DISTANCE, you don't have automatic, IMMEDIATE access to the local server. But you need some of the data on that server to do your job. So you contact someone at headquarters, request the data you need, and wait. And WAIT. And then wait some more. With cloud solutions, you don't have that time lag anymore. If you're authorized to access the data you need -- whether you're a company EMPLOYEE, a company SUPPLIER or even a company CUSTOMER -- you simply retrieve it from the cloud. No phone calls, emails or waiting time involved. Just think about how much TIME that saves around the world every single day. And now think of all those machines and robots in a modern-day factory that ALSO need countless data in real-time so that they can carry out THEIR work. Once again, the ability to simply access the data they need from a cloud -- COMPLETELY independent of where in the world they're located -- allows companies to produce goods and services in a far more efficient, automated manner -- and far more SAFELY than was previously the case. If an organization stores its digital content on a local, centralized server, then the amount of data it can store is limited by whatever HARDWARE it has purchased. This essentially leaves it with two options: EITHER buy hardware with the storage capacity to match the organization's CURRENT data needs OR buy hardware with the storage capacity to match the organization's anticipated FUTURE data needs. The first option will obviously be cheaper than the second. BOTH options are sub-optimal in case an organization grows and incurs higher data storage requirements. In the FIRST case, the upgrade in storage capacity is going to cost the organization MUCH more than if it had simply bought the "higher storage capacity" option server right away. And in the SECOND case, the organization will have to spend a much higher amount earlier up-front for something that it doesn't NEED yet. CLOUD computing bypasses this tradeoff because it's SCALABLE. Basically, an organization can increase or decrease its storage capacity as NEEDED -- and without disrupting an organization's ongoing workflow. Now consider that in light of our first two 'megatrend videos'. The Internet of Things is growing at lightning speed. This means that the amount of data that affects EVERY organization will not just double, triple or quadruple in the near future. Instead, we're talking about a worldwide increase in the next ten years by at least TEN times as much data as is currently being handled. Where are organizations going to store all their extra data? Local physical servers simply won't be a cost-efficient option for most organizations for SUCH massive scaling -- but clouds WILL. Imagine an organization that stores all of its data and its applications on a server at a SINGLE geographic location. And NOW, let's imagine that something happens at that geographic location -- maybe a tornado races through the city, or maybe the building next to the server catches FIRE. The organization's data and applications would be gone forever. And because of that, the organization probably would be, too. The ability to backup data and applications on CLOUDS spread across the planet eliminates THAT risk entirely. And we don't even need to think that drastically. You've probably experienced hours in your lives where your phone service is down, or when your wi fi provider is down. That's an understandable annoyance for you, as a consumer. But IMAGINE how the same downtime affects a company whose employees, suppliers, machines, robots, and customers ALL rely on company data in REAL TIME. If there is only ONE location at which that data is stored -- and that location is 'DOWN' for whatever reason -- then the workflow in that company will essentially come to a standstill. On the other hand, if the company has distributed its data and applications over multiple clouds in different geographic locations, it has the perfect 'SAFETY net'. Whenever a primary site is down, data or App requests by employees, suppliers, machines, robots, and customers are simply re-routed to a secondary cloud location that ISN'T down. This distribution of data over several locations often goes hand-in-hand with something called "Blockchain technology". The idea behind blockchain technology is that you don't store the complete version of something at ONE location or in ONE cloud. The reason behind this is that if that ONE location is ever hacked, the hackers have access to ALL the data they need in order to do some real damage. Instead, with BLOCKCHAIN technology, data is split up into individual "blocks" that are CONNECTED to each other, but are each stored at very different locations. So even if a hacker manages to infiltrate and get hold of the data at ONE of these locations, they still won't have access to the data that's stored at all the OTHER locations. Think of a picture. Now split that picture up into the little pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece is SEPARATE, but it also has a connection to some of the other pieces. Now imagine each piece of the jigsaw puzzle is kept at a separate LOCATION. A thief breaks into one of these locations and finds exactly ONE piece of the jigsaw puzzle. They'd still have no idea what the ENTIRE picture looks like. Because of this FAR greater level of security, companies are increasingly using blockchain technology in combination with clouds to to store information securely. In order for any type of AI to be useful, it needs to access a SIGNIFICANT amount of data. The more relevant data it has, the better its ability to analyze the data, identify PATTERNS, automate and optimize WORKFLOWS, and make recommendations. Obviously, the data explosion that is the consequence of the 'Internet of Things' will be a BONANZA for the quality of future Artificial Intelligence. But again, this data needs to be STORED somewhere cost-effectively. Also: a GREAT deal of the data that future AI will draw upon will be need to be accessed by MULTIPLE organizations, not just by one. The best solution for both these requirements are clouds. Last, let's re-visit the daily quantity of data traffic that will be sent through cyberspace by the Internet of Things in just a few years. We're talking about at least TEN times as much traffic as per 2023. Faster communication networks like 5G will undoubtedly improve transfer speeds per KILOBYTE. But even so: the internet traffic of the future is going to look a LOT like the Hollywood Freeway on a Monday morning. So ANY workflow where a company transfers ALL its data to ONE centralized location -- like a local server - and then RETRIEVES all its data from that same centralized location, simply won't be fast enough anymore. And that's why many organizations are already experimenting with NEWER solutions like "edge computing", "hybrid clouds" and "multi clouds". Bottom line: Digital strategies that don't make clever use of cloud computing have no future.