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The cloud has quickly replaced on-premise systems as the leading way to host enterprise solutions in today’s complex business environment, where secure, scalable access to information is key. In fact, a report from IDG found 75% of business leaders surveyed said the cloud is fundamental to their digital transformation efforts. Furthermore, a study of Hyland Cloud customers by Forrester found a 293% three-year ROI from hosting content services on the cloud.
Hyland VP of Global Partner Programs Bob Dunn recently spoke with CMSwire to discuss this trend in further detail, and offer some important tips for companies considering a partnership with a cloud-based content services provider.
CMSWire: Why is it that companies today are increasingly moving enterprise solutions to the cloud?
Bob Dunn: There’s a number of factors at play, but perhaps the biggest one is the ease and speed of deployment companies can take advantage of when operating in the cloud. Companies like cloud-based approaches because there’s no capital expenditure and often limited IT involvement.
Hosting solutions on the cloud also enables instant access to information, anywhere and anytime. In today’s world, where so many people are working remotely, accessibility is critical. Companies want to interact with customers and vendors in real time, and by eliminating the need to install software on their devices, it makes that capability much easier than with an on-premise solution.
CMSWire: When considering a cloud-based approach to content services, what should companies keep in mind?
Dunn: It’s important to make sure your organization’s corporate leadership is in favor of cloud-based solutions. Historically, IT resistance has been a significant challenge for companies, particularly in unique industries such as government, where leaders have often been in their roles for a long time.Dunn: It’s important to make sure your organization’s corporate leadership is in favor of cloud-based solutions. Historically, IT resistance has been a significant challenge for companies, particularly in unique industries such as government, where leaders have often been in their roles for a long time.
That being said, resistance has minimized greatly over the past two to three years, in part because many providers now only offer cloud-based solutions, coaxing companies to embrace change. The COVID-19 pandemic was also an important tipping point as companies sought new solutions that better enabled remote work. Most companies today have at least one, if not multiple, cloud solutions in place.
However, it’s still important to make sure your company has a corporate readiness for cloud-based solutions, and that your IT group is engaged during the process, as they can help guide and direct.
CMSWire: Once that corporate readiness exists, and you’ve engaged the necessary stakeholders, what’s the next step for companies?
Dunn: Companies need to decide if they want to manage hosting themselves, which means procuring a content solution and installing it in a third-party provider (such as AWS) of their choosing. If doing this, you’ll need to look very closely at the provider’s reputation, governance, security and the stability of the organization, because ultimately, you’re entrusting them with your company’s data.
The other option companies take is choosing a content services provider that will take care of hosting for them (through a third-party provider or their own private cloud). This way, they don’t need to worry about finding their own host.
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Deciding which approach to take is important in guiding your search for a solution. Most companies go for the latter approach, because they want a vendor that can offer comprehensive support. However, companies with their own hosting capabilities can always opt to decline a vendor’s cloud services.
When it comes to partnerships, some partners choose to stand up hosting sites on behalf of their customers, but most want to leverage a partnership to not only procure software but also manage hosting.
CMSWire: What are some of the benefits companies that partner with a cloud-based content services provider enjoy?
Dunn: In addition to passing along the general benefits of a cloud solution to clients, their biggest benefit of a partnership is not having to own any piece of the solution: They can focus on day-to-day usage of the solution they choose to buy. They don’t have to worry about pushing out software or updates to their clients, or about the security or protection of their data. It really enables them to focus solely on doing business and serving their customers more effectively.
CMSWire: What are some other key features a cloud-based content services partner should offer?
Dunn: It’s very important for global companies to find a service provider that is equipped to store data in the country or region of its origin. Their data centers need to comply with regional and industry-specific regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, FDIC and more, and having multiple data centers makes it easier to do so.
This is why working with a partner who uses established cloud providers can be an advantage. These providers have a strong reputation for data safety and global compliance, and when it comes to content services, customers want that reassurance. With a highly reputable provider, it makes getting buy-in much easier and the procurement process faster.
Find out how the Hyland Cloud can offer security, agility and support for your clients’ content services at hyland.com.