One of the major drivers of the digital economy is cloud computing. Cloud Computing is the availability of storage, databases, servers, and network infrastructures over the internet. It will be unwise to isolate the role it plays in innovating and developing the modern workplace with which a larger percentage of the workforce are remote workers.
Prior to 2019, remote work was not really a conventional term. In fact, most organizations only adopted it when the need arose or when their workforce was domiciled in different regions. Notwithstanding, most job roles were not laced with remote work options. Counting down to 2022, remote work is not just an option but a necessity to scale up development and innovation at a higher frequency.
Cloud computing through features like video conferencing, virtual shared workspace, messaging, virtual private network, and cloud storage, has made excellent connectivity in remote workspaces possible which is instrumental to the development of remote teams.
Industry Cloud Platforms
Industry cloud platforms leverage web-based computing to offer IT resources such as storage, database, computing, analytics, machine learning, human resources, artificial intelligence, developer tools, IoT, security, enterprise applications, blockchain, virtual machines, network solutions, and other resources. Their services are used in web & mobile applications development, website hosting, media & gaming, managed services, e-commerce, virtual meetings, online shared workspace, and a plethora of other usability.
Cloud platforms provide on-demand tools, infrastructure, and services for businesses, government agencies, and individuals to build, deploy, store, and scale their applications and databases. These services are categorized into:
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and also the Talent Cloud.
- The Talent Cloud uses AI to manage, vet, and source global talents. It is a new category of cloud model that can be thought of as an Amazon but for remote human talents. One of the leading companies in this category is Jonathan Siddharth’s Turing which helps companies spin up their developer/engineering dream teams with the push of a button. Other companies in this category include Jyve for retail workers, Flockjay for Salespeople, Publicist for marketing talents, and so on.
- In the IaaS model, cloud platforms offer infrastructural services like servers, storage, and virtualization layers that would otherwise exist in an on-premises data center. In addition to this, cloud platforms add perks of innovative services like monitoring, automation, security, and storage resiliency which makes cloud computing preferable.
- In SaaS, cloud platforms offer productivity and business software on an outright purchase or rent basis over the internet to their clients. This software includes but is not limited to database management software, customer relationship management software, and human resources management software.
- In addition to providing infrastructural services like IaaS providers, Platform as a Service (PaaS) providers offer cloud services necessary for software and web development.
Importance of Cloud Platforms Services in the development of Remote Team
Cloud platforms have developed to offer services that are instrumental to innovative and sustainable remote workspaces. They provide services that enable enterprises to scale up, grow, and experience high productivity amidst turbulent economic and global realities. The importance of these services are but not limited to:
- Enhanced Security: Cloud storage affords maximum security of data, protection of data privacy from intruders, and comprehensive control over sensitive information. This is because cloud platforms are built with an enhanced level of cybersecurity. Cloud platforms like Amazon Web Service (AWS) and Azure give users the liberty to enforce specific security measures such as encrypting data and setting up permissions on their data. The incidence of hacks and security breaches of team members which invariably expose the organization’s private data to third parties is reduced.
- Higher Speed of Hiring: Using cloud computing services like the talent cloud increases hiring speed. According to an Intelligent Cloud company like Turing, hiring with a talent cloud shortens hiring time to 1-2 days and saves up to 50 hours of interviewing time.
- High and Flexible Scalability: Cloud platform services such as servers and storage create room for high scalability in remote workspaces. The company's management can easily scale up cloud resources to accommodate an influx of new employees for high productivity. The elasticity of the cloud makes it easier for organizations to power up or power down their computing power at any time to meet peak demand for workloads, business requirements, and other changes in the organization.
- Access to Data On-demand: In the absence of cloud platform services in a remote workspace, data flow amongst team members is only possible during official working hours. Outside this window, it is difficult to access data on other team members' storage facilities. The use of cloud platform services in a remote team makes the data, information, and work progress of every team member accessible in real-time and around the clock to everyone in the team. This drastically reduces the time that team members use to debrief team leaders on their progress.
- Seamless Transition and Continuity: In a setting where team members are working on different shifts across different time zones, employing services of a cloud platform like Fusion 360 aids team members from each shift to seamlessly catch up with the work pace and progress of the team members in the previous shift. In this scenario, the downtime experience of waiting for a team member’s feedback or monitoring emails for answers to questions is expunged as multiple collaborators have access to things as they happen; moving the development process along faster. Cloud platforms also eliminate the fear of losing track of work and multiple latencies of data, thereby ensuring seamless workflow and fluidized continuity.
- Speed and Agility: Data and Resources can be provisioned in a cloud environment with only a few clicks. Therefore, team members can shorten the time to make these data available to each other from days to just minutes. The availability of these data reduces downtimes, incessant meetings, and longer debriefing times. It gives remote workers enough working hours to make high-quality deliveries. However, this demands team leaders mandate all team members to have robust documentation of their work.
- Emergency Retrieval of Data: In cases of emergencies, companies whose data and information are stored in on-premise servers can only retrieve the same during working hours. This limits the company's ability to swiftly respond to emergencies and urgent work needs. However, in a remote workspace with cloud storage, data can be retrieved instantly to attend to emergencies or provide a solution to an urgent need.
- Cost Management: To stay afloat financially, companies are not just after profit-making, chasing contracts, and business deals. It is also pertinent to cut the operation cost where possible. It is widely known that hardware acquisition, operation, and maintenance rake up a larger chunk of the company’s budget. Using cloud platform services reduces the cost of management, therefore the company can channel surplus funds into the acquisition of top remote talents to improve productivity.
- Live infrastructure usage, performance tracking, and reporting: This improves accountability and productivity as team leaders are constantly abreast of what is going on in the team without necessarily asking questions and calling for meetings and briefings.
Last Words
The modern workplace is evolving into a remote village. Companies are now adopting strategic approaches to garner competitive edges over other players in the market. Cloud platforms are key players that create value for remote companies by offering relevant industry solutions for improved productivity within the organizational strata. These solutions make collaboration amongst remote team members easy and adaptable. By taking advantage of great cloud-based collaboration tools that cloud platforms offer, rapid growth in team performance can be hacked.