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Recent years have seen many businesses switch to cloud-based services and solutions. Cloud-based services can be game-changing tools for many organizations—providing cost savings, streamlining operations, giving remote workers easier access to files and software, and fostering better collaboration and communication among teams—and more.
There are countless cloud-based services that help companies cover everything from project management to customer service, as well as tools and strategies to maximize the benefits of cloud services while reducing costs. Below, 16 members of the Forbes Technology Council discuss cloud-based services and strategies every organization should consider, including some specific tools they rely on.
1. Multi-cloud strategy
With the growing demand for all cloud services, every technology department must adopt a multi-cloud strategy to improve its cloud computing capabilities. Employing a multi-cloud strategy allows enterprises to take advantage of the unique capabilities and features offered by each service provider at a lower cost and lower overall cloud infrastructure costs. – Ankush Saharwal, Korover
2. File sharing service
I think one of the most effective strategies for business is using the ability to share files instantly. Services like Microsoft OneDrive, DropBox and others are great productivity solutions for teams, allowing them to easily manage and share their files. – Ofer Lidsky, Excellent Brain Ltd.
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3. Backup solution
Having a cloud-based backup solution is essential to the success of a modern business. Information is the lifeline of any organization; Having a customized backup strategy in place allows technology departments to properly store and protect their most valuable assets. It also promotes business resilience in the event of disruption or disaster, which is non-negotiable for customers in today’s digitally dependent world. – Ryan Mallory, flex
4. Cost management solution
Cloud billing is a hot topic this year, and cloud-based expense management solutions are a must-have. Such a solution provides the visibility teams need to better understand their spend units and identify any usage anomalies that lead to cost overruns. It opens the door to optimizing the use of cloud resources for cost savings by providing recommendations or automatically applying fixes. – Laurent Gill, CAST AI
5. API Gateway
While it’s true that there’s no one cloud service for everyone, everyone should use API gateways with serverless services, even if not for scalable production use cases. This is a great litmus test of whether your team is ready to embrace major architectural changes in the software. – Matthew Wallace, Faction, Inc
6. Project-management tools
Cloud-based project management tools allow teams to collaborate and manage projects remotely and often include features such as task tracking, document management, and real-time communication. They are used to track progress, identify bottlenecks and stay organized, helping to improve efficiency and productivity. Meditation and asana are our solutions. – Iman Bashir, Craftly.AI
7. Gong.io
Gong.io has become an indispensable tool in the modern technology stack. The platform records interactions with customers and provides insights and guidance that can be invaluable in measuring impact, improving training and team performance, and staying closer to customers. With deep visibility into customer relationships, all departments can learn and iterate on processes to help your business succeed. – Rujul Zaparde, zip
8. IdevP as a service
Every CIO is focused on building an internal developer platform to overcome the complexity of cloud-native technologies and manage autonomous development teams. As a result, platform engineers are building IdevPs using cloud capabilities. However, this is a time-consuming and never-ending exercise. Therefore, IdevP is an important cloud offering as a service. – Asanka Abeysinghe, WSO2, Inc
9. Idea
Ideation is an essential asset for managing projects, and this can be especially true for technology teams. Unlike other project management and note-taking applications, Notion has a minimal and intuitive user interface that seems to prove the old adage “a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.” While the colorful user interfaces of other popular apps can be pretty to look at, they also increase the potential for distraction. – Arnie Gordon, Arlene Scales
10. Software as a service price tracker and calculator
As more companies expand their cloud presence, the technology department must provide visibility into cloud costs. One area that can escape attention is the cost of SaaS-based applications. Using a cloud-based tool that automates SaaS usage in an organization can help drive cost efficiencies. These tools can identify potential volume discounts, unused licenses, and duplicate services. – Jeffrey Ton, Intervision.
11. Storage Services
Modern applications should take advantage of the storage services offered by Google Cloud, AWS, and other major providers. Containers make it easier and less risky for your software engineers to maintain and improve your applications. This greatly reduces the cost of ownership while providing your customers with a robust software product. – Tim Malley, AlertBoot
12. Global API Availability Control
We use services that control the availability of our APIs from different geo-segments of the Internet. From time to time, parts of the global network fail, and even when one part of the world has an API, another part of the world may not. Monitoring services allow us to proactively resolve issues and notify consumers of problems before they contact us. – Pavlo Sidelov, SDK.finance
13. Duplication of storage
Before cloud storage, we stored backup tapes of storage volumes in secure facilities. If cloud storage exists, we store data that is unnecessary or often duplicated in the business. Cloud storage is critical to business continuity, but it comes at a high cost. Therefore, storage reduction is a key service that every technology department should use to reduce costs. – Mark Brown, British Standards Institution (BSI)
14. Identity and access management services
Cloud-based identity and access management services—such as those that facilitate single sign-on, enable multi-factor authentication, or provide traditional authentication services—are critical to managing users in public or private clouds. With a centralized portal to manage identities, organizations can better secure and monitor user access across any cloud environment. – Mike Lefebvre, SEI
15. Software version-tracking system
A cloud-based version tracking system for software development like GitHub is a power multiplier for engineering teams. By enabling a distributed team of developers to simultaneously build different modules in a complex software project, review and approve changes, and coordinate updates, such a system provides the glue that allows the team to work effectively. – William Bain, ScaleOut Software, Inc.
16. CRM platform
One cloud-based service that every technology department should use is a customer relationship management platform. These platforms facilitate data management and customer interaction, making managing customer relationships easier. They can also be used to track customer orders and support requests and automate customer service processes. – Fabio Moioli, Spencer Stewart
