Learn how to extend and personalize SAP applications. Follow the SAP technology blog for insights into SAP BTP, ABAP, SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP HANA, and more.
Like Alice’s fleeting childhood, the legacy hardware and software that companies around the globe have used to run their businesses are invariably going to fade into distant memory. Thanks to the proliferation of smart phones and tablets, today’s employees require immediate access to corporate data from Macchu Picchu to Timbuktu to Kathmandu and every place in between. The only question about moving to the cloud is: When will your organization get connected?
The cloud has unexpectedly brought the future of work right to the present. Employees are now suddenly engaged in the business of the moment,from anywhere and at any time. For insight on this seemingly overnight change in direction,perhaps a quote from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” might be apropos, “Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be, and if it were so, it would be. That’s logic.”
Since Alice was down the rabbit-hole by page one, let’s use our own logic of analogy as we take a look at the cloud.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Curious and Curiouser!
Cloud file sharing is all the rage as data-curious employees now quickly install consumer-grade services onto their devices-often without corporate approval. IT departments are often out in the figurative wilderness when it comes to tracking usage of an employee’s sync-and-share services. Also every time one of these files is saved on a device,it’s subsequently uploaded to a server and synced to multiple devices.
Watch your Tarts
With the clear-headed logic of the Cheshire Cat, cautious IT teams are understandably concerned about how and where these files are used and on which mobile devices. Additionally, when an employee leaves the organization they may still have access to sensitive data from a sync-and-share account on their personal computer or device. A rogue Knave of Hearts may potentially wish to steal your data-the proverbial tarts. This means that organizations may require a cloud solution that offers options like security audit trails and business continuity.
Balancing your Pack of Cards
The Cloud also allows firms to lease computing cycles as opposed to operating their own servers and data centers. Public cloud solutions may be less expensive, but file security and possible outages remain concerns.
There are likely numerous existing on-premise applications already deployed by businesses so synergy with legacy computing systems must also be factored in. With the cloud, the scalability and innovation demands of the future workplace are continuing to grow.
Not unlike Alice strategically playing her hand with the Queen using the talking playing cards Two, Five, and Seven, a solution with just the right mix of public, private, and on-premises applications may be the way to go. For a rigorous and insightful discussion on the matter, cloud guru Sven Denecken takes us through the thoughtful evolution to the hybrid cloud in this blog.
Mastering the Mushroom
Like Alice unlocking the puzzle of the mushroom, creating a hybrid model that works for your business will offer scalability,security,and configurability while at the same time reducing complexity. By running simply, companies can grow their business and improve their bottom line.
When companies employ a simple and balanced approach to harnessing the cloud, everyone from an innovative, globe-trotting millennial to a vulnerability network research engineer can embrace the future together, today.
The cloud is here to stay and as Alice herself said, “Sometimes getting to forever only takes one second!”
