16 Essential Features Of A Great Open Cloud Experience

Innovation 16 Essential Features Of A Great Open Cloud Experience Expert Panel® Forbes Councils Member Forbes Technology Council COUNCIL POST Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based) Jun 16, 2022, 01:15pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin getty Among its many cost-saving and productivity benefits, cloud computing has made it easier for companies to provide remote work options for employees and create a more user-friendly environment.

However, a shift to the cloud doesn’t ensure good results in and of itself; it’s essential to consider features including everything from connectivity speeds to security measures to potential costs to achieve an optimal open cloud experience. As more companies move their operations to the cloud, it’s critical to keep both safety measures and the user experience in mind. To help you achieve this, below 16 members of Forbes Technology Council detail essential features of an efficient, safe and user-friendly open cloud experience.

1. Fast, Robust Connectivity Open cloud needs to be accessible. Do not try to cut costs when it comes to secure, redundant connectivity solutions, or you will make the entire experience painful.

Telecom connectivity solutions are often overlooked when an organization is going through a digital transformation, and inadequate planning can result in a frustrating user experience and a loss of productivity. – Mahesh Jaishankar , Arc Solutions 2. Cybersecurity Safeguards Cybersecurity is a must in order to provide users with a safe experience and their fundamental right to privacy.

Users will also want to feel safe in knowing that their data is protected. Cloud systems have been plagued by security breaches, and more often than not, it is because proper safeguards were not implemented. – Harold Li , ExpressVPN Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives.

Do I qualify? MORE FOR YOU Google Issues Warning For 2 Billion Chrome Users Forget The MacBook Pro, Apple Has Bigger Plans Google Discounts Pixel 6, Nest & Pixel Buds In Limited-Time Sale Event 3. Automated Security Testing Automated and continuous security testing should be built into open clouds as a key feature. This includes generating a software bill of materials and regularly testing Web applications and APIs for security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

Choose cloud solutions that have security baked into their design, or lean on modern scanning tools so that you can reduce your risk in the cloud. – Sonali Shah , Invicti Security 4. Tool And Platform Integration Integration between tools and platforms is the foundation for enterprise automation, so empowering this approach with robust APIs and a well-thought-out security posture is essential.

The more interconnection a company has, the better off its automation strategy is—and the more intelligent it is as an organization. – Carter Busse , Workato 5. Frictionless, Bidirectional Data Migration The ease of data migration, both in and out of the cloud, is essential to its integrity and the user experience.

Bringing new data sources into the cloud unlocks its underlying insight-generating potential. However, data strategies shift, and users may need to have an outbound pathway as well. Users need to have frictionless, bidirectional data migration to support a flexible, safe cloud experience.

– Trisha Swift , PricewaterhouseCoopers 6. Smooth Data Exchange Don’t forget about the data. Open cloud provides flexibility in application selection, microservices, security models and so on, but if the data exchange is cumbersome and hard to govern, you will limit the integrated value of your implementation.

Understanding what data is required—not just at a technical requirements level, but at a business process level—will maximize your business value. – Rex Ahlstrom , Syniti 7. Fast, Simplified Delivery All assets, no matter if they are coming from internal or external systems, need to be delivered in a cloud-native, consumable way.

Everything needs fast delivery and simplicity (that is, the complexity of the actual source system of record is hidden). Since the data has to always be kept up to date, automation and standardization are crucial. – Romi Stein , OpenLegacy Inc.

8. Proper Uptake I think people underestimate the number of projects going on in enterprises at a given time. “Cloud migration” projects have hundreds and even thousands of sub-projects, and there are older systems still being used.

Launching a cloud project is just the start. Getting it to meet its design goals of internal adoption is another matter that requires a lot of work, energy and planning. – Billy Bosworth , Dremio 9.

Consistent Policies And Procedures As businesses migrate from legacy systems to cloud-based platforms, they will need to develop consistent policies and procedures. Vulnerabilities have become more pervasive as Internet of Things devices are widely adopted, yet data governance may lag behind. CTOs and CIOs can lead this charge by ensuring their internal teams are educated, thereby creating a culture that centers around data governance principles.

– Venkat Viswanathan , LatentView Analytics 10. Easy Access To Solutions Give users a way to quickly get product value. For the cloud to be available and tools to be understood, vendors need to provide the builders of the cloud with direct access to the solutions, not force them to talk to sales.

This concept, known as product-led growth, forces companies to be user-centered in their design and by nature is more efficient than top-down sales and products behind paywalls. – Vladi Sandler , Lightspin 11. A Well-Designed Operating Center A visual, easy-to-navigate, unified cloud operating center improves efficiency, especially in highly technical fields such as industrial software and supply chain management.

Integrating bright colors, large images, diagrams and easy-to-read text alleviates pressure and confusion for users as they’re navigating real-time insights in an already high-pressure landscape. – Andrew McCloskey , AVEVA 12. Cloud Folders Audits One of the best ways to keep your open cloud experience safe and efficient is by regularly auditing your cloud folders.

You’ll want to make sure that access to sensitive information is limited to people who are supposed to have it and that anyone who shouldn’t have access is removed. People will come and go from your online environment, and you don’t want sensitive data landing in the wrong hands. – Thomas Griffin , OptinMonster 13.

Flexibility Flexibility and scalability are key features needed from the cloud. With fast changes and global instability, the economy and security drivers change much faster than ever before. Being ready for such market and security changes requires elastic technology platforms that save time and allow organizations to focus on business and their strategies for response.

– Alaa Youssef , SAS 14. Documentation Many times, when potential cloud services are presented to me, the first question I will ask is, “Is there documentation?” If the answer is “no,” the vendor will not even be considered. If it’s documentation that seems less fit for developers, my answer is also “no.

” If there isn’t a “Getting Started” section, that is also a “no. ” No good cloud service makes it a pain to get started with them. – Jacob Mathison , Mathison Projects Inc.

15. Data Recovery Systems Too often, people make the mistake of thinking their presence in the cloud means their data is protected. Subsequently, they don’t take action to secure it.

Adopting data backup and recovery will not only streamline data access from different points for efficiency and ease of use, but it will also increase data security in case of hacking or ransomware attacks, improving the overall cloud experience. – Danny Allan , Veeam Software 16. Consumption-Based Billing Look for a cloud service provider that offers consumption-based billing or a pay-as-you-use model.

In cloud computing, the user should pay only for the service or the space they have utilized. There should not be hidden or extra charges that must be paid. – Vivek Ahuja , rSTAR Technologies LLC Check out my website .

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