Strategic Advantages of Cloud Analytics

Leveraging the private and hybrid clouds opens important new models for delivering BI capabilities staff...especially those in the field or just on-the-go. Enterprises can now offer analytical resources and insight that are easily accessed from anywhere, at potentially lower infrastructure and operational costs when compared to traditional models too. Cloud analytics capabilities can be managed from anywhere. In some cases, they can even be configured for on-demand self-provisioning as business needs dictate.

With the cloud, enterprises can deploy analytics solutions that go wherever employees go, empowering them with insights typically available only on the corporate desktop. Cloud-friendly BI provides tools are usually mobile-friendly as well since they were designed for mobile computing from the outset. With cloud analytics, your data is in a safe place where employees can access it wherever they are, whenever they need it.

Without the confidence that their data is secure, few enterprises would be willing to adopt a cloud model, regardless of its cost savings or data accessibility benefits. Hosting providers are strongly invested in providing security as part of their value proposition to customers. Cloud BI typically comes with industry standard security that protects cloud data and infrastructure. In many cases, their security and compliance may provide stronger data protection than companies can afford to implement on their own.

When you are ready to leverage cloud BI solutions, start with a targeted set of customers or a field team starved for insights. Determine if existing software can be deployed on cloud infrastructure or procure limited-time licenses or subscriptions in order to test-drive the benefits of cloud-based BI tools. When evaluating options, consider the value of analytics software that synchronize assets and access across cloud and on-premise deployments. Set up a secure and automated process to deliver data to the cloud. Focus on several high-priority use cases within a beta experiment and then scale out the successes to additional employees, addressing lessons learned. No BI solution portfolio is complete without some capabilities that can leverage the accessibility offered by the cloud.