The top benefits of industry cloud and what it means for your business

Increasingly, industry cloud is emerging as the key to unlocking greater business value, fast. And businesses are just beginning to recognize its potential with just 20% of executives in our 2023 Cloud Business Survey indicating that adopting industry cloud was a key focus for their company this year. As executives begin to understand that industry cloud is a smart way to leapfrog the competition, they need to think about how to make that happen and what they should do to prepare. Here are four strategies for getting started.

Understand that industry cloud impacts the entire organization

All cloud initiatives should be developed for the benefit of the full organization, not just IT, and industry cloud is no different. A well-conceived industry cloud solution should connect applications, models and users across the entire enterprise, giving everyone a consistent, scalable platform upon which to operate and grow. Properly designed and implemented, industry cloud can deliver an end-to-end business solution that addresses specific challenges in your organization’s market. For example, in the banking industry, there’s a growing range of core capabilities offered that many banks would find difficult to build on their own. With today’s industry cloud, a bank can rapidly architect and stitch together the data, technology and processes from different cloud service providers to handle tasks such as payment processing, customer relationship management and client onboarding.

Get the entire C-suite on board

It’s critical that the support of the full executive suite be leveraged in rolling out an industry cloud solution. While the CIO is responsible for the technical support of the project, without full leadership support and involvement, the initiative isn’t likely to meet expectations. Take the energy and utility sector. Collaboration is essential in the race for a transition to cleaner energy. Leaders should view industry cloud not as a series of individual efforts but as the connective tissue that can help create end-to-end interconnections from enabling EV charging and customer payment apps to absorbing new technologies and infrastructure connections needed for the energy transition.

In fact, our cloud survey found that companies with a CIO who has strong working relationships with the board and fellow C-level leaders were more likely to realize a high level of success in their cloud initiatives.

Start with an understanding of your current cloud maturity

Has the bulk of your company’s workloads already moved to cloud, or are you just getting started? Organizations that have a good understanding of the requirements of general cloud technologies will have an easier path to success, though the eventual upside for organizations with a smaller crowd footprint may be greater due to the transformational aspect of an industry cloud implementation.

Know what sets you apart

Even within an industry, businesses have different needs, sometimes dramatically so. An online fast-fashion apparel merchant has a far different way of working than a chain of offline grocery stores even though both are part of the broader retail industry. Understanding specific business needs, and how they vary in relation to your competition, is key for increasing  the value realized from an industry cloud implementation. Other factors like geography, the broader competitive marketplace and regulatory issues can further complicate (or ease) an engagement.

Any new technology can add complexity, but industry cloud is unique in that it’s designed to help reduce redundant activities, eliminate irrelevant components and streamline your rollout considerably. The bottom line: By focusing on the problems that really matter to your business, industry cloud is designed to make your operations faster, more efficient and more secure — and ultimately more profitable.