What are the best ways to innovate with new cloud technology for competitive advantage?

1 Adopt a cloud-native mindset

One of the key benefits of cloud computing is that it enables you to build and deploy applications faster, cheaper, and more reliably. But to fully harness this potential, you need to adopt a cloud-native mindset, which means designing your applications to take advantage of the cloud's scalability, elasticity, resilience, and automation. Cloud-native applications are composed of microservices, containers, serverless functions, and APIs that can be deployed, updated, and scaled independently. This allows you to deliver features and fixes more frequently, respond to changing customer needs and market conditions, and optimize your resource utilization and costs.

2 Explore new cloud services and capabilities

Cloud providers are constantly launching new services and capabilities that can help you solve your business challenges and create new opportunities. For example, you can use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) services to enhance your data analysis, personalization, and automation. You can use edge computing and internet of things (IoT) services to extend your cloud applications to the devices and locations where your customers and users are. You can use blockchain and quantum computing services to secure your transactions and accelerate your computations. You can also use hybrid and multicloud solutions to integrate your cloud and on-premises environments and leverage the best of both worlds.

3 Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration

Innovation with new cloud technology is not only a technical matter, but also a cultural one. You need to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration within your organization, where you encourage your teams to experiment, learn, and share their ideas and feedback. You can use cloud-based tools and platforms to facilitate collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing across your teams and departments. You can also use cloud-based methodologies and frameworks, such as agile, DevOps, and lean, to improve your workflows, quality, and speed. Moreover, you can involve your customers and partners in your innovation process, by soliciting their input, testing your prototypes, and co-creating value with them.

4 Invest in cloud skills and competencies

To innovate with new cloud technology, you need to have the right skills and competencies in your organization. You need to invest in cloud training and certification for your employees, to ensure they have the knowledge and expertise to use the cloud effectively and securely. You also need to hire and retain cloud talent, by offering them attractive incentives, career paths, and learning opportunities. Furthermore, you need to develop a cloud strategy and governance framework, to align your cloud initiatives with your business goals and objectives, and to manage your cloud resources, risks, and performance.

5 Monitor and measure your cloud innovation outcomes

Finally, you need to monitor and measure your cloud innovation outcomes, to evaluate your progress and impact, and to identify areas for improvement and optimization. You can use cloud-based tools and dashboards to collect and visualize your cloud metrics and indicators, such as usage, cost, availability, performance, security, and customer satisfaction. You can also use cloud-based analytics and insights to understand your cloud trends, patterns, and anomalies, and to generate actionable recommendations and alerts. By monitoring and measuring your cloud innovation outcomes, you can ensure that you are delivering value to your customers and stakeholders, and that you are achieving your competitive advantage.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?