Case Study: AWS Selected by GE for App Cloud Provider
General Electronics (GE) has selected AWS for hosting more than 2,000 apps on the cloud platform, which includes the ones used by GE Power, GE Aviation, GE Healthcare, GE Transportation and GE Digital Divisions. Most of the applications have already migrated to AWS since GE undertook digital transformation in the year 2014. More applications are suggested to be migrating to AWS, as it is a “preferred cloud provider” by the company.
The company chose AWS as the cloud provider because AWS is the industry-leading cloud services and allowed them (GE) to push their boundaries, thinking big and delivering better outcomes.
Also, AWS stated that, “GE’s drive to digitally transform its applications and services is something it’s seeing regularly across industries and having a secure, scalable and flexible platform onto which to migrate critical elements of infrastructure is essential.”
Rise of Cloud Computing and Digital Transformation
- By 2020, nearly 83% of the workload is going to be hosted on the cloud
- 74% of the Tech CFOs believe that cloud computing will hold a great impact on the business offerings
- 89% of the enterprises are either planning or have adopted a digital transformation business strategy
- 92% of the executives consider the digital businesses plan as a part of the firm’s strategy
Why Cloud for Driving Digital Transformation?
Businesses have implemented cloud computing and digital transformation for enormous growth and improved efficiency. It has enabled them to stay relevant and thrive in an ecosystem that is completely dynamic. Digital transformation includes finding newer business models and the firms must keep on innovating, to remain in the game, and here cloud acts a catalyst for driving this innovation. Cloud provides features such as agility, effectiveness in terms of cost and labor and scalability. All of the stated technologies are needed for any firm under-going digital transformation.
The cloud provides enables digital transformation in the following ways:
- Agility
Cloud provides the required infrastructure, platforms and computing abilities which can help the firm stay Agile and always ready for changes.
- Cost- and Labor-Effective
Cloud computing allows the firms to scale up or down, enabling the firms to pay only for the resources that they are going to use.
- Security
For any firm, moving the databases to the cloud offers several advantages related to increased protection from threats such as data breaches, disasters, and even system shutdowns. One can create multiple backups and a reduced risk of system failure is always there, whenever there are large data involved.
- Fast Prototyping
The cloud helps in efficient execution of processes such as innovation, testing, and implementation without any assistance of the complicated resources and infrastructure. Any business can test and deploy different applications on a different set of platforms during the experimentation phase
Challenges in Cloud Implementation
Despite having several benefits, business firms tend to face several challenges when it comes to the implementation of cloud technology for enhancing digital transformation.
- Data Security and Service Quality
Whenever information is migrated to the cloud, it requires additional security measures. The provider of the cloud has the user’s security and privacy controls, which could expose critical information for attacks. Poor quality of cloud-related services also is a major challenge. One possible solution could be retained control of data and enablement of real-time analysis by the means of a dashboard.
- Performance and Costs
Data-intensive applications often result in higher costs. The requirements related to bandwidth are increasing whenever exhaustive and intricate data is sent over the network. The organizations should look to move towards a metered and dynamic model for pricing to keep the costs down. The cloud service providers need to provide the option for fixing costs to each service.
- Migration and Integration of Existing Systems
The migration of a legacy system is a troublesome task for any business. With a sufficient budget and pan-organizational support, this objective can be achieved. The challenge lies in integrating the existing infrastructure with the cloud for ensuring maximum efficiency and productivity.
- Governance
Strong governance ensures that the information and data are used following agreed policies and procedures. IT governance must also align with overarching business goals and objectives. The cloud-based systems offer only partial control over how the infrastructure is to be provided and operated upon. Thus, there have to be firm governance measures.
Industries That Have Opted for Cloud Migration
It is a misconception in the industrial world that cloud migration is restricted to only certain industries. Businesses in any industry can gain benefits by moving their workloads to the cloud platform.
Here are some industries that have benefited regularly by moving their data and apps to the cloud
- Manufacturing Industries Managing Business Aspects in Real-Time
Gaining live access to vital information is now becoming common practice for manufacturers who are looking to outperform the competition. Today, the best ERP software and mobile sales force apps are now being stored and run through the cloud. Timely information has become essential for decision-making and due to this reason, more and more manufacturers have now prioritized the migration paths for cloud platforms.
- Telecom Industry is More Than Phone Calling
The telecom industry has evolved beyond phones, text or emails. Live video has now become an integral part of human life in both — personally and professionally. The telecom industry now facilitates the interaction with friends and family by the means of video calls. In their professional lives, the clients can be reached by the use of video meeting platforms. Be it the development of B2B or B2C applications, the telecom companies are now looking for a differentiating advantage.
- Automotive Businesses Includes Scalability
The common feature of many automotive companies is the speed at which they can scale their businesses. It is done by entering newer markets, setting up of newer factories, etc. Each of these actions is supported by a lot of data, and at times even the mobile and web apps perform best when they run in the cloud. Synchronization is an important aspect which can be easily handled when the apps are migrated by the use of reliable solutions.
- Healthcare Stores Big Data
A large number of companies, from R&D institutes to hospitals, have now begun to accumulate a large amount of confidential data, by ensuring that security remains to be a critical aspect. The healthcare data management systems store the information in perfect security and distributing it as needed, from an institution to another.
- Entertainment Industry Embraces Streaming
This industry was among the first ones to discover the benefits of running platforms on the cloud. It includes moving and storing the files into the cloud. Most companies have included it in their advanced business models and have transformed the streaming apps for making profits.