Today, the digital transformation of organisations fundamentally relies on data. Cloud computing is being used more and more by organisations to build their data foundations and fully harness this asset, with the aim of unlocking new performance insights.

Cloud computing offers flexibility by providing IT resources such as storage and infrastructure on demand, along with security features and optimised costs. In other words, you only pay for what you use, and you no longer need to physically manage your resources as this is done by cloud providers as part of their service.

This article explains how cloud technology can be used strategically to manage, analyse and create data value.

Scaling Smarter: How Cloud Computing Transforms Data Storage and AI Innovation

The increase in internet traffic has made it more challenging for companies to store their collected data within their own infrastructure. Indeed, the volume of data has increased significantly in recent years, becoming more diverse due to the multiplication of data sources (IoT objects, social networks, transactions, etc.). Local storage has reached its limits and is costly.

Thanks to cloud technology, companies can quickly adjust their storage capacity to meet their needs without incurring significant material costs. They can also decide when to increase or decrease their storage capacity in order to anticipate incoming traffic. This feature is called scalability, offering flexibility in terms of storage capacity.

Cloud computing makes your data and AI projects more agile. It enables organisations to develop, test and implement new analytics or AI initiatives swiftly and freely, without being constrained by physical infrastructure. This allows you to innovate and build new data use cases.

Leveraging Cloud Computing for Enhanced Data Governance

In addition to the scalability features detailed above, cloud computing is a valuable asset to consider when developing your data governance framework as part of your data strategy.

Firstly, cloud computing improves collaboration between business teams by providing them with access to the same real-time data sources via a centralised system. This makes decision-making faster and more reliable, enabling cross-functional teams such as marketing, finance and operations to align their strategies more effectively.

Furthermore, cloud providers generally include additional powerful tools used for predictive analysis and machine learning. For example, Azure from Microsoft offers prebuilt APIs to access GPT models like GPT-4 and additional AI tools.

Finally, cloud providers integrate robust security measures into their solutions to ensure compliance with public data management regulations. They also hold certifications such as GDPR compliance, which is in force in European Union territories. Their solutions are generally more robust than local storage options.

Key Considerations and Risks in Cloud Migration

As with any technology, investing in cloud resources comes with potential challenges and risks that cannot be avoided by any organisation or its chief data officer.

If you overestimate your storage needs for hosting data, you may end up wasting money and resources. It is therefore essential to evaluate your actual requirements and increase capacity gradually according to usage. Conducting a diagnostic of your business's true needs is essential.

The main risk when moving to cloud infrastructure arises during the initial deployment stage. This requires robust planning and coordination, as well as the involvement of all teams, including business and IT. Depending on your sector and your organisation's IT background, it is important to evaluate different scenarios in order to prepare the best possible cloud migration strategy.

However, although cloud providers offer robust security measures that align with current data protection regulations, certain laws require sensitive data to be stored under full local control. In such cases, organisations must ensure that their cloud strategy complies with data sovereignty requirements, potentially opting for hybrid or local cloud solutions.

Transforming Data into Strategic Value: The Role of Cloud and Culture

Before planning your cloud strategy, it is essential to evaluate your data needs. Identify your data sources, volumes and types. Furthermore, collaborate with teams to evaluate their usage of data in their daily tasks and in the long term, including access, storage and analytics treatments. Also consider the requirements in terms of security and compliancy standards. All these influence the choice of storage and cloud services.

As part of your cloud migration strategy, it is crucial to engage all employees affected by the transition and equip them with the necessary training on cloud functionalities and concepts.

To ensure successful adoption, teams should also be educated in cloud and data culture to foster a shared understanding of how to use cloud technologies effectively and leverage data as a strategic asset.

Consider organising workshops, polls and events to encourage adoption. You could also develop e-learning platforms to enhance practice.

Above all, once you have decided to switch to cloud infrastructure, it is essential to monitor usage with KPIs. This will allow you to assess performance and associated costs. Most providers offer tools to help you optimise costs as part of their solutions.

In conclusion, the cloud is no longer just a storage solution. It has become the heart of organisations' data strategy. This is thanks to its flexibility, scalability and security. It enables companies to transform raw data into strategic value to support decision-making processes.

A successful cloud migration enhances agility and innovation, and to achieve this, organisations must engage all relevant employees in creating a cloud culture as part of a broader data culture.