Cloud computing has had a significant impact on life as we know it. Not only has it simplified the way business is done but it has also touched our day to day life in myriad ways. Ways we might have not really noticed but embraced and accepted simply because they make things easy and save valuable time. Here are 8 significant ways in which the Cloud has changed our lives…
Connected Shopping
Buyers will no longer run out of steam and patience as they scour the stores for products that they need and want but are not available because stocks have run out. With the cloud, inventory records will become more visible and reliable. As e-commerce sites capture consumer interest across the globe and buyers become more mobile a retailers’ brand value will be dramatically affected by quickly they are able to service the needs of these shoppers.
Buying Revolution on the Cloud
As more and more customers favor online transactions, which are fundamentally a cloud phenomenon there is already a buying revolution on the cloud. Even in instances which call for direct personal interaction, buyers will form their opinions of products and services based on input from online communities. This is where the power of social networking and social media marketing can be used by sellers.
Burgeoning Need for Advice from Our Online Footprints
In the era of information overload and unlimited choice, companies across a wide spectrum of industries will want to become the common man’s trusted advisor in a bid to veer away from excessive commoditization. The need for guidance will prompt the growth of new companies that are powered by the insights from the many footprints we leave online. Shopping sites might offer suggestions of books, outfits, brands, movies or videos based on previous purchases.
Fixing stuff will be easier
Thanks to the cloud fixing things around your home or place of work becomes easier. You can expect to get earlier notice when things around your house or office are about to need servicing or replacement. For example, a cloud-based app alerts drivers of electric cars when their batteries will run out of steam, enabling them get to a charging station without having to call a tow truck.
Say Hello to Healthier Homes
The convergence of the enterprise and consumer clouds has opened up new arenas such as home health monitoring. The cloud facilitates doctors to wirelessly monitor patients with sleep apnea, collect information and then tap into a network of experts to devise a treatment plan. Experimental technology has developed an infrared camera which can be mounted above the bathroom mirror to take a photo of a person’s face every day. Over time, these images can be stored and analyzed for changes, alerting doctors of pre-cancerous skin cells to begin treatment earlier.
Developing Countries As New Markets and New Competitors
India, China and other emerging countries have not developed robust IT infrastructures which bode well for them on the cloud front. They can embrace the cloud quicker and explore new opportunities ahead. The cloud will provide new opportunities in these emerging countries like in India where the number of people who use cell phones exceeds those who use landlines. As the cloud eliminates barriers to what mobile devices can do, the devices will become a means to open up newer and bigger markets.
Small Businesses Will Go Global Quickly
In order to satisfy the new markets being created by the cloud, small- and medium-size companies will capitalize on the power of the cloud to get a bigger slice of the action. Small- and medium-size businesses will no longer be constrained by geographical boundaries and budgetary limitations. The cloud will help them to go global with negligible overhead costs.
While Google, Amazon and Microsoft are the big players among companies in the cloud forces to reckon with, some of the other emerging names that are creating the headwind in the cloud space are AppZero, Enomaly, Long Jump and Vaultscape, Flexiant, Workbooks, CloudSigma and Cloudmore, etc.
Computers will become Invisible
When we use search engines, we usually don’t realize we are accessing billion-dollar computer networks. As the power of the cloud spreads, one major impact will be to make software and computing more invisible. Our interaction with computers will be more hands free like Kinect, which allows gamers to eschew controllers and just use gestures and movements that are interpreted by a 3-D camera and infrared detection system.
