Cloud vs. on premise: Benefits, differences, cost considerations
When considering cloud vs. on-premise, the choice for businesses today is obvious. Cloud saves money, time, and paves the way for innovation.
Having been in ‘IT’ for over 20 years, there always seems to be a new buzzword or shiny new thing that is getting all the attention. We have seen fads and trends come and go, but there is one constant that always stands the test of time: businesses only survive if the initiatives they focus on drive true business value.
In the early 2000’s, (around 2003 if I remember correctly) the buzzwords of the time were ‘cloud’ and ‘decentralised services’. At the time, if you asked ten different technology leaders what “cloud” meant, you would get ten different answers. Yet fifteen years on, those same ten individuals would now likely agree with each other on the definition, and their response would probably also include a description of the value proposition.
Tech talk buzzwords: IoT, ML AI, VR
We seem to be going through a similar phase, with IoT (Internet of Things), ML (Machine Learning), AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (Virtual Reality), BD (Big Data) and Block Chain. I love technology and working out what these solutions (buzz words) are, what the business value is and how they help organisations. Each of these terms is absorbing large cycles of discussion and debate about their use, relevance and meaning at conferences and in the marketplace.
I read an article by Bob Hoffman the other day that made me chuckle. He suggested that we seem to have reached a point where ‘Customer relationship management (CRM) has evolved into not much more that a competition to collect the most data’ rather than the data being used to drive true value or a business benefit. He goes on to say ‘the only value of data is if you actually do something useful with it’.
So if we examine AI (Artificial Intelligence) with this in mind, considering what it actually is and can actually do, then the reality of what is available today is analytics with some ability to leverage an algorithm to improve its predictive nature over time. But the power of AI is being touted and repeated with abundance right now, and if you examine what it really is I think the following quote sums it up:
When you’re fundraising, its AI (Artificial Intelligence)
When you’re hiring, its ML (Machine Learning)
When you’re Implementing, Its Linear regression
When you’re debugging, Its printf()
While it’s very easy to get carried away with the latest new thing, my advice when considering new technology is to focus on your customers, what they want, what they need and how the technology can help deliver a business outcome.
If a technology meets these requirements and also covers one of the new buzz words being thrown around, then great. But ensure everything you do focusses on your business and your customers – because your business is nothing without customers.
Let’s move away from the buzz words and get back to the basics and what drives true business value. I would love to be sitting down to dinner in another 15 years time and every one understand what it is we do in the ‘IT’ industry. We deliver business value, leverage really cool software to help you, your business and your customers.
