For most companies, cloud computing has become an indispensable operations tool to achieve scalability, cost-efficiency and agility. Businesses compete in this dynamic market, with the rise of emerging tech and trends making cloud investment more challenging.
According to Dimitri Denissiouk, Managing Director of IBA Group South Africa, cloud computing provides an ideal accessibility solution for operations and a strategic tool to increase business growth; however, there are several benefits of cloud computing, while still sustaining aspects of your enterprise that are already working well.
Scalability and flexibility
Historically, businesses have always had challenges managing the ebb and flow of demand. This often leads to underused IT infrastructure after significant upfront investments, says Denissiouk.
Cloud computing offers a solution by allowing real-time resource adjustments to match operational needs and reduce inefficiencies. For example, a retail business can scale up server usage during the busy holiday season and scale down during off-peak times, minimising resource wastage.
Agility and innovation
At its core, cloud computing accelerates innovation because it offers wide-ranging access to the tools and platforms needed to keep companies competitive. It allows easy deployment of applications and updates, enabling quick pivots to new opportunities.
For instance, a financial services company can use the cloud to analyse customer data in real-time and create personalised offerings, explains Denissiouk. The cloud also integrates technologies such as AI and data analytics, offering actionable insights for strategic decisions. Additionally, it simplifies managing hybrid and remote teams, allowing seamless operations across multiple locations.
Cost efficiency (at least in theory)
Cloud computing shifts IT spending from capital expenses (CapEx) to operational expenses (OpEx), avoiding costly investments in servers or data centres. Businesses can pay as they go and adjust flexibly. However, cost-efficiency depends on effective management; without proper controls, training and setup, you might face unexpected expenses, says Denissiouk.
There are hidden costs that need to be avoided to maximise efficiency. Common cost pitfalls include overprovisioning, data egress costs, idle resources, and AI and machine learning costs. While cloud computing offers savings, it has caveats.
Scaling up with providers like AWS, GCP and Azure can increase expenses. A clear cost-management strategy is essential. Automatic scalability offers flexible operations but can also raise costs if not managed well. A usage spike during a sales event can lead to ongoing higher costs if scaling isn't controlled, advises Denissiouk.
To avoid cloud cost overrun effectively, Denissiouk advises business leaders to use four tactics listed below.
- Setting clear parameters using autoscaling methods for cloud usage helps avoid unexpected expenses.
- Most cloud providers offer cost management tools to detect spending patterns and provide alerts for unusual usage spikes.
- Treat cloud expenses like any other business investment. Align spending with strategic goals and explore hybrid and multi-cloud options to optimize costs.
- Avoid costly hardware purchases by using spot instances for temporary needs and providers specialising in GPU cloud services such as CoreWeave and Lambda Labs to optimise AI workflows with batch processing.
Today, AI, deep learning and big data are driving innovations in the business landscape but require high-performance GPUs for complex tasks. GPU cloud computing is essential for AI and ML workloads like customer personalisation and predictive analytics, avoiding costly hardware purchases and allowing scalable, on-demand access. Start-ups and businesses experimenting with AI models benefit from this flexibility, explains Denissiouk.
The rapidly-evolving technology field makes it challenging to predict future trends, but several areas are likely to shape cloud computing, advises Denissiouk. These include serverless computing, which offers cost-efficiency by charging only for used resources; AI-driven optimisation, which uses AI to allocate resources efficiently and boost performance; and sovereign clouds, which ensure data privacy and regulatory compliance for specific regions.
Denissiouk concludes by sharing how IBA Group supports customers with cloud computing. By offering strategic planning, cost management, and seamless implementation and migration services, IBA Group supports customers through the cloud journey to ensure security and compliance, optimise performance using AI-driven tools, and provide ongoing support and maintenance.
Share