4 Things Every CEO Needs to Know About Cloud Computing

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the future of business technology is rapidly changing. Every day seems to bring a new device or software product that says it can streamline your business processes and save you money.  For the most part, however, this new technology isn’t complete hype, and CEOs need to be up to speed on what’s changing (and what will change in the future).

As a co-founder of TechCrunch (one of the most popular tech sites on the internet – with 273,583 fans on Facebook) Keith Teare knows what he’s talking about when it comes to technology. Recently, Teare wrote an opinion piece for the tech website about how and why the landscape of technology as we know it will drastically change over the next five years.

In the piece, Teare predicts the failure of some massive companies in today’s marketplace. Those spaces in the market, however, will be replaced by newer, bigger and simpler companies.

The main theme of the near future? Mobility and the cloud.

• Information will no longer be consumed while sitting at a computer and desktops will be only for serious work
• Companies need to develop mobile platforms to be competitive
• Mobile phones and devices will become increasingly sophisticated and workers will be productive from anywhere
• Data and software will be run and stored using the cloud
• The cloud will become simpler and companies that run on thick clouds, like Facebook, will need some serious restructuring to adapt to the new marketplace

The Wall Street Journal interviewed the CEO of Autonomy, a company that was recently acquired by HP. CEO Mike Lynch has similar sentiments to TechCrunch’s Teare, and also sees the future of technology as shifting toward a mobile platform and away from desktop computers.

In the interview Lynch says, “The constraints in the past have been processing power. With everyone carrying a smart phone and processing power doubling, and then the fundamental algorithms have gotten a lot more powerful recently…If you think the first-generation of the Internet was about sitting in your bedroom and typing text into a keyboard…the next generation is going to be able being out and about holding up your smart device, it sees what’s going on and the way in which you interact with information as objects.”

An upcoming whitepaper from Chief Executive outlines why businesses should adopt cloud technology for their businesses:

1. Switching to the cloud could save you thousands – even millions – of dollars a year: companies can downsize in-house IT staff in favor of cloud-based email systems, web hosting, and file servers
2. Disintermediation of complex software infrastructures: instead of implementing and maintaining complicated and expensive software systems, software-as-a-service applications are less expensive and easier to implement and maintain, and also allow employees to access important information from anywhere
3. Increase company agility: You change software quickly and easily, unlike expensive enterprise systems
4. Enhanced data security and systems reliability: cloud vendors will have more sophisticated security than your internal systems to shield you from cyberattacks

It’s important to remember that the hype surrounding cloud and mobile technologies is real — you need to pay attention. Is your company current these digital trends? Join other CEOs at the CEO Tech Summit to explore how other companies are utilizing new technologies to reduce costs and grow their businesses. More information on this unique event at Stanford Business School can be found at: www.ChiefExecutive.net/CEOTech