A Closer Look at Cloud ROI

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In order to be truly successful in the long run, a technology has to demonstrate healthy ROI. And it’s not only the initial investment that a business should take into account, but also the hidden costs associated with unforeseen changes.

Here’s a closer look at how unplanned but possible developments can impact the cloud ROI, making a strong case for careful planning and forethought.

Cloud computing ROI

Given that there is very low entry barrier in cloud computing, the ROI can seem very high and lucrative. But it’d be jumping the gun to base the ROI purely on initial expenditure. Consider the case of a rollback; what if tomorrow the business needs to revert to its previous model of managing business workflows – how would that impact the bottom line? And while it’s true that the chances of that happening are pretty low, it is a possibility considering the dark clouds of government regulation hanging overhead.

Further, it’s not as if migration to cloud computing is a cakewalk. If you are working on legacy systems, migration would effectively mean rewriting the entire application pipeline and testing it in the cloud for scalability, security, etc. Even choosing to customize a solution can incur huge costs, depending on your business model.

Thinking deep and ahead

All this means that companies need to put on their binoculars and survey the field deep. It’s important not to get caught up in the hype, but be aware about lock-ins, migrations, security challenges, and their real cost before coming to a conclusion.