We joined Microsoft for its annual Cloud and Hosting Summit this week in Bellevue, Washington. The event is an opportunity for leaders in the hosting industry to connect and share ideas for new services, innovation, and opportunities. At dinCloud, we were pleased to take part in the event once again this year. “Digital transformation at work” served as both a theme for the event and frequent topic of discussion in the keynotes and classroom presentations.
We’ve all observed the transformation cloud services have catalyzed in recent years. When we work, where we work, and how we work has changed. On a larger scale, many industries have completely transformed by integrating technological innovation into their workflows. As laid out in the presentations over the course of the 3-day event, however, it was apparent that the full impact of cloud is just starting to take hold. Discussion at the event centered around the trajectory of cloud innovation and the expected impact. We’ve summarized some key takeaways and predictions for the direction of the cloud industry.
Cloud Industry Direction
We can anticipate continued shifts in business models and market “disrupting” innovations as the “as a service” model continues to dominate. So much so that one of the presentations was titled “transform or die” as a call to action for technology players looking to thrive in the current landscape.
Not only are business models changing, but so are customer needs, and furthermore, who the customer is. With the introduction of cloud, we see more Line of Business (LOB) interaction. To accommodate this audience, technology isn’t just about what a certain product or service does, the emphasis is on what technology enables companies to do.
It’s also projected that hybrid cloud will continue to be widely adopted, with data showing that most businesses have some sort of hybrid cloud strategy in place.
Instead of solely focusing on the numbers, Microsoft’s CFO discussed their “customer-centric” business model. With the “as a service” consumption model, technology partners are called upon to deeply invest in their customers’ success. Business can greatly benefit from partnering with a provider who has a stake in their joint success.
Lastly, expect to see more industry specialization. At dinCloud we cater to businesses that are subject to regulation such as HIPAA or PCI. See our industry page for more information.
For more on this event, see Microsoft’s Cloud and Hosting Summit webpage. Until next year!
