On Cloud

How do cloud-tech companies make the journey from hot startup to hot growth? For a growing number, it’s through a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, because SPACs may be more willing to make investments that more traditional investors see as risky. In this episode, David Linthicum and Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Barrett Daniels discuss how a SPAC works and how some companies leverage SPACs to help them raise capital to grow.

It may seem counterintuitive, but to reduce cloud complexity, it's sometimes necessary to slow down to speed up. Why? Because planning and balancing standards with flexibility before you migrate can save time, resources, and pain in the long run.

Old software paradigm: Update every five years and bear the cost and the pain. New paradigm: Move to SaaS and get continuous updates with less complexity--all in a secure environment that fuels agility, insight, and innovation.

Companies are always looking for ways to boost their cloud success. Freddie Mac may have found one. Effective leadership with a solid support structure, modern delivery methods, and partnership between the business and IT seems to be their winning formula.

Traditional software delivery methods don't work well at the speed of cloud, so many companies are turning to agile, pod-based development teams to speed their journey to cloud—and to help them continue to innovate at scale once they get there.

The pandemic forced many companies to cloud, even though some were hesitant. Now, many are making the move to cloud permanent because it lets them offer better products, services, and customer experiences--and it lets them leverage new tech like 5G and intelligent edge.

As cloud adoption has gained steam over the past half-decade, the education sector has often lagged behind. However, that’s changing—in part due to the shift to remote learning brought on by COVID-19, but also due to a desire to enhance the student experience.

DevOps is well known for increasing collaboration between application development and operations. Savvy organizations are now leveraging the ethos behind DevOps to foster teamwork, train employees on new processes, and implement change throughout the enterprise.

Cloud isn't simply someone else's datacenter. It's no less than a revolution in the very foundations of IT. Cloud has completely transformed the way software is designed, and it helps companies build IT ecosystems that are secure, safe, available, reliable, and resilient.

Cloud migrations require both a paradigm shift and a cultural sea change. Companies that see flexibility as a key component of success, and that leverage a team approach to navigate the changes cloud brings, will be well equipped for their cloud journey.

Cloud gaming is coming into its own via 5G, but the tech behind it can also bolster remote learning and working. And, it can fuel new ways of working and learning through augmented reality, immersive experiences, and spatial computing. It's a game-changer!

As cloud adoption soars, so does the complexity of the accounting treatment for cloud. And with the adage that, "Now every company is a tech company" now a near reality, accounting for cloud has never been more important to the bottom line.

Doing DevOps right involves more than technology. It requires changing the organizational culture to build a joint-responsibility model based on outcomes and value. How companies implement that culture change will be critical in determining DevOps success.

Post-pandemic, companies will be looking to chart a new path to success. Key to that success will be overcoming barriers to cloud, finding the right partner for the journey, and embracing new ways of working. Building robust ecosystems will play a large role as well.

AI has the promise to transform business, but only if it's implemented correctly and used effectively—and kept as bias free as possible. So, to keep projects on track, it's critical to keep humans in control and practice good governance.