How Different Industries Embrace Cloud Computing?

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Several recent tech reports are pointing towards one fact that cloud computing is gaining popularity across the globe and every industry is in the process to leverage it. Cloud computing is enjoying popularity in various industry domains for business support functions. That era had gone when cloud computing was limited just to the IT functions. Many industries are utilising the power of the cloud, and still figuring out how it could help further with an increasing number of technology options. The combination of cloud with several other technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), Edge Computing, 5G, etc. will empower almost every industry out there!

A lot of businesses have understood that if they want to succeed in the marketplace with cut-throat competition, then shifting businesses online, i.e., on the cloud is the only way!

In this article, we will see how cloud computing is leveraged in different industries. Let us talk about the regulated sectors first. Regulated means the sectors which are ruled or governed by the laws of government.

Cloud Computing in Regulated Industries
As per different research reports, many regulated industries like insurance and banking sectors were a bit hesitant to expand on the cloud.

Insurance Sector
In this sector, private clouds are usually preferred than public clouds for their optimal security. But, slowly and gradually the trust of insurance sector is getting strong on the potential of the cloud.

Banking Sector
Security has always been the concern of every industry, especially for the banking sector. But later on, the concept of banking community cloud made the banking industry trust the cloud technology. It was conceptualised so that the operations would run according to only banking specific standards. Earlier, the banking sector used cloud only for administrative transactions like file transfer, notes sharing and sending emails.

Government Sector
The government and the Public Sector Units are also from the categories which demand the highest level of security. Although the government projects started coming on the community cloud, higher security standards were still needed. Later the Govt. empanelled and MeitY empanelled cloud came into existence. The standards were set, and according to them, the government community cloud concept became popular.

After the regulated businesses, let’s move on to the unregulated ones which are leveraging cloud computing technology.

Cloud Computing in Unregulated Industries
Both public and private cloud computing techniques are utilised in the businesses which are not that regulated or governed by the government. These are basically service sector industries. So, here are some of the sectors which are harnessing the power of cloud computing and evolving with technologies.

Retail Sector:
Generally, this industry has preferred PaaS or IaaS solutions for implementing cloud solutions. Retailers consider several aspects while deciding which operations they want to deploy on the cloud and which don’t. The aspects usually include availability, vendor maturity, scalability, and of course, security.

Media Industry
How could this industry not be listed here? It is one of the broadest and general businesses which utilises cloud computing’s power. People have access to every content; be it of any form, in many possible ways. The cloud service providers and developers are on their way to enable and improvise a cloud-based method for getting ahead with multi-screen entertainment.

Manufacturing Industry
In this sector, the usage of cloud is for sales, logistics, support operations, customer service, human resources, life cycle administration, product development, and at last, some manufacturing functions and processes.

Deduction from the Article

These were a few industries covered here which have adopted cloud computing technology and learning with their experiences. The adoption of cloud computing will definitely vary from one business to other as per their necessities. Certain features are required by one industry might not be needed by others; while some standard features are a high priority like security and scalability.

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The healthcare industry, for obvious reasons, puts a lot of focus on client safety, security, and privacy.

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Though many industries are embracing the cloud, the following five industries are seeing the largest investments in industry cloud solutions:

1. Manufacturing – In 2019, Forrester Research predicted that by 2020, the majority (84 percent) of global purchase influencers in North American manufacturing firms would increase their use of cloud. Thanks to the rise of industry cloud, core transactions – including the systems that are used to run the factory lines to handle the inflow of parts and materials that are going into production, as well as the feeding of the end product that goes into systems for delivery or for sales to customers in manufacturing – are moving to the cloud. Further, since automation and machine learning are predicted to take over the manufacturing industry by 2024, this field is prepped and ready for digital transformation.

2. Retail – Due to the massive amounts of data that the retail industry generates, the sector is primed to move to the cloud. Forrester Research determined that roughly 77% of global purchase influencers in North American retail organizations cited the increasing use of cloud as moderate, high, or critical priority in 2020. To maintain such a large volume of data, retailers must scale up on data storage, collection, and organization practices. And when it comes to the cycling of goods and inventory, this industry cloud makes a huge impact on core retail management systems.

By helping manage the inflow and outflow of retailers’ goods, and how that flows through their own distribution system of stock that's in warehouses, versus stock that's on trucks, in stores, or has just been sold, these systems keep track of those stock levels, and make sure that there is a flow of goods in to replace what's going out to the customer. Further, cloud technology also helps track business performance of various retail stores and outlets, based on whatever factors the companies want, improving efficiency, sales, and customer satisfaction in the process.

3. Government – Mainly focused in North America, hyper-scale providers are supplying either a specific government version of the cloud or some form of a focused government or country-specific cloud. These clouds help alleviate workload isolation, working as a closed community, which guarantees no classified data will leave the country. When it comes to security concerns, users need to receive specific permission from the government to host workloads on a government cloud.

4. Healthcare – This industry has a dire need for both data management and storage. Forrester Research found that in 2020, 74 percent of healthcare global purchase influencers in North America identified that the demand for cloud use is a moderate, high, or critical priority. Since the industry stores so many personal records, healthcare industry clouds allow for a central, secure place to store information. Further, cloud computing can also help healthcare professionals track and keep data about patients' care, behavior, and health progression. Armed with this information, health professionals can look at success rates and correlating scenarios, certain drug reactions, and other insights.

5. Agriculture – The agriculture sector has been helping farmers learn more about their environment and crop production, allowing for innovation thanks to the internet of things (IoT) and big data. Paired with an industry cloud, these technologies can lead to enormously potent insights for farms and agriculture leaders. For instance, the IoT plus cloud enabled agricultural manufacturing to really take advantage of cloud capabilities. Through the use of sensors, the cloud can help the agriculture industry capture information about its environment, including soil sensors, machine sensors, seed or grain sensors, and sensors around animals.