The Benefits and Capabilities of Cloud Analytics

Analytics software is essential for competitive organizations, as the insights from their data uncover opportunities, risks and other information. However, this technology was not always accessible to smaller organizations, as analytics tools often require powerful infrastructure to support their operations.

Cloud analytics changed this landscape, allowing organizations of all sizes to use their data effectively. The benefits of cloud analytics come in many forms and make a compelling argument for the widespread adoption of this technology.

Rapid Deployment

Your data team no longer needs to wait for days or weeks for server provisioning. They can have the resources they need with a few clicks, allowing them to improve their agility. Important opportunities no longer pass them by and your organization can act quickly to market changes.

If your data team wants to explore new solutions, evaluation and testing are less stressful than they can be on-premises. The flexibility of the cloud allows your organization to experiment easily. You can discover ways to optimize your cloud analytics solution for your unique needs and bring in cutting-edge technology to remain competitive.

Seamless Growth

Scalability is also a simple process when your analytics are in the cloud. Whether you need more compute power or additional storage, cloud platforms make it simple to get the capacity required. Your analytics solution grows with your organization as you generate and collect more data.

Both vertical and horizontal scaling are available in the cloud, so you can configure your infrastructure based on your preferences. Creating more reliable and resilient systems is another process simplified by moving to the cloud, as high availability features can reduce your risks of many catastrophic issues.

Enabling Operational Analytics

Operational analytics allows your organization to deliver insights to the people who are responsible for daily decision-making. Rather than getting reports and data visualizations exclusively through the data team, which involves lag time, operational analytics gets this information directly into the hands of front-line staff.

For example, your sales team could use this 360 view of customers and prospects to prioritize their leads, identify upsell opportunities and improve their efficiency. Their efforts become focused on the contacts who are most productive, rather than guessing. This data-driven approach has far-reaching benefits for organizations.

Lowering Total Cost of Ownership

No conversation about cloud technology is complete without mentioning a lower total cost of ownership and this holds true with cloud analytics too. Developing and maintaining on-premises analytics solutions are resource-intensive, from the infrastructure to the IT staff needed to support the operations.

The cloud eliminates some of the most expensive parts of analytics, such as the upfront investment in high performance servers and an exponentially growing IT team. You can focus your budget on other areas and free up staff time to take proactive and strategic approaches to work with the system.

Creating a Single Source of Truth

How many times has your organization dealt with incorrect report results or repeated work due to old versions of files? When you have multiple data silos, you can frequently encounter this situation. Moving your analytics to the cloud opens up the possibility of creating a centralized source of truth.

Everyone works with the same file versions, so errors are not introduced due to obsolete information. No one gets frustrated because they are dealing with inaccurate information, so they avoid redoing work.

Your organization also gains a better understanding of the data available. The data team can explore all the information in your organization, making connections that had previously been hidden. You can create a data-driven culture that helps your organization remain competitive.

Accessing Advanced Analytic Capabilities

Enterprise-level analytics features were previously gated behind expensive licensing and infrastructure costs. Smaller organizations had to make do with basic capabilities, making it difficult to grow and compete with larger companies.

Cloud analytics helped to bring advanced features to every size of business. It’s easier than ever to try out cutting-edge analytics tools and leveraging public cloud platforms for the underlying infrastructure also delivers the high-performance servers needed for these solutions.

Supporting Work From Home

The pandemic has led to a rapid expansion of work from home staff and trying to support remote access to on-premises analytics solutions can be a challenge. Cloud analytics solutions are already set up for access anywhere, at any time, so you don’t have to try and retrofit these capabilities into legacy software.

Data scientists and other specialists can be difficult to source, as the job market is highly competitive for these roles. If your organization offers a work-from-home experience, you can expand your talent pool and keep your data team pipeline healthy.