Disruptive Technology and Innovation, Impacts of Cloud Computing for Business Organizations - Essay Example

Disruptive Technology and Innovation Name Institution Disruptive Technology and Innovation Introduction New technologies and innovations are unfolding on many fronts and act as breakthrough to many facets of life. However, some technologies have the potential to disrupt the world and alter how people live and work (Manyike et al., 2013). They can also rearrange the status quo leading to entirely new products and services. Companies today often wait for technologies to have these effects in order to determine which innovations are truly profitable. Emerging technologies have the potential to affect the competitiveness of a firm and erode or enhance operation strategies (Manyike et al., 2013). Therefore, policy makers and business leaders should prepare for future technology by having a clear understanding of they might shape the global economy. This essay will review the McKinsey report and explain the disruptive technologies that will impact the status quo. It will analyze how disruptive technologies impact future work and jobs by examining two organizations. Disruptive Technologies Cloud Technology The use of could technology enables an easy delivery of computer application over the internet in the absence of software or processing power (Manyika et al., 2013). For this to be possible, IT resources are made available when needed without any extra investment in new hardware. Companies today are making use of the cloud technology since it promotes the growth of the internet-based services such as background processing capabilities, streaming media and offline storage. The cloud technology enhances the economics of Information Technology for companies and public sectors and offer high level of flexibility and responsiveness (Collins and Lam, 2014). The evolution of this technology has led to the introduction of new business models such as pay-as-you-go services. Although cloud computing uses elements of the old technologies, it goes beyond this. It is considered a comprehensive solution for all computing resources such as storage networking and hardware (Collins and Lam, 2014). It is among the most disruptive technology of this century as it ensures IT work is delivered in a more efficient manner and differentiates between a successful and unsuccessful business. Cloud computing generally offers three key benefits to companies; reducing costs, enhancing productivity and fostering excellent customer experience (Manyika et al., 2013). Cloud computing has eliminated the traditional boundaries of Information Technology and offers companies with new revenue streams and innovative approaches to complex IT challenges. According to Russell (2012), the disruptive nature of cloud computing lies on the fact that companies need to develop new business models in order to accommodate this technology. Other disruptive technology capabilities come in the form of internet of everything where companies can access new markets and exploit new internet connected devices; speed and agility when capturing market opportunities; ability to explore new customer value creation ; and re-engineering of business processes by realigning operations in order to integrate the cloud computing (Russell, 2012). Pearson Company and Cloud Computing Pearson is in the forefront when it comes to using cloud technology. Due to the fast changing education industry, digital content are no longer enough to need the needs of the customers (Collins and Lam, 2014). Being one of the largest education companies in Britain, Pearson is using this technology to transform how it delivers education around the world. With cloud computing, the company has establish a flexible global hybrid infrastructure which is able to free up resources to invest in new and internet-based educational products that are appreciated more by customers (Collins and Lam, 2014). In many countries such as China and Australia, education products are becoming more digital in nature. The use of cloud computing has been beneficial to the company at it can now deliver a first-rate and innovative solutions to customers quickly and cost-effectively. National Australian Bank and Cloud Computing Since the demand for cloud computing continues to grow in Australia, National Australian Bank has taken the advantage of cloud computing to reduce costs of investments made on hardware, software and manpower (Russell, 2012). It has made it possible for it to update its IT infrastructures without pay for new hardware or software. The data centres of NAB have become more nimble and are unable to manage the influx of data from different environments. To solve this challenge, the bank has adopted cloud computing that has transformed their processes without incurring extra costs. It has enabled employees across different bank branches to access banking systems through cloud infrastructure and has assisted it back up its critical business data to ensure it can bounce back in case of a disaster (Russell, 2012). Impacts of Cloud Computing The availability of cloud computing will enable companies create and develop new products and services that were impossible before and that are inexpensive. Business ideas that require high amount of computing power, scale and models can now be implemented easily and at low cost (Dunford, 2013). The ability of this technology to improve storage and processing power will allow innovations that were impossible to develop before to be accessible. Cloud computing can also offer enhanced Information Technology management through central administration of elements such as resources and vendor managed infrastructure (Dunford, 2013). IT infrastructure updates, renewal and maintenance are eliminated and employees will enjoy web-based user interface that do not require installation of software or hardware. The development of cloud computing will open up security risks in businesses. The use of this technology means that companies will be required to offer their service provider with access to internal data essential to its operations (Russell, 2012). The ease of procuring cloud services will give despicable people the ability to scan and exploit vulnerabilities within a system. Conclusion Disruptive technologies have affected how businesses operate and have the potential to change the future of the industry. One technology that is among the most disruptive is cloud computing. Companies today are making use of the cloud technology since it promotes the growth of the internet-based services, enhances the economics of Information Technology for companies and offer high level of flexibility and responsiveness. Cloud computing offers enhanced Information Technology management and will reduce expenditure of companies since it does not require installation of new software or hardware. The future of cloud computing is bright and companies need to adapt to this innovation before it is too late. References Collins, D., & Lam, K. (2014). Selling the Cloud to Smaller Business Organisations. Australian Journal Of Cloud Computing, 1-8. Dunford, H. (2013). Cloud computing for libraries (The Tech Set series #11). The Australian Library Journal, 62(1), 66-67. Manyika J, Chui M, Bughin J, Dobbs R, Bisson P, Marrs A. (2013). Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy. McKinsey Global Institute San Francisco, CA. Retrieved 16th April 2017 from http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/disruptive-technologies Russell, F. (2012). Getting started with cloud computing. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 43(1), 87-87. Senarathna, I. Yeoh, W. Warren, M. & Salzman, S. (2016). Security and Privacy Concerns for Australian SMEs Cloud Adoption: Empirical Study of Metropolitan Vs Regional SMEs. Australian Journal of Information Systems, 43(3), pp.121-143 Appendices Appendix 1. The representation of disruptive technologies Appendix 2. Performance of disruptive technology Appendix 3. Major Disruptive Technology and their emerging trends Read More