Cloud technology is not reserved for an elite group of data scientists in high tech start-ups. Due to fast-growing expertise among IT experts and service providers, cloud technology has become a very popular set of tools that can be running in a matter of weeks to support your activity in almost any industry and any role. If you have data to leverage or if you are working in a complex environment, you probably have a relevant business use case for the adoption of cloud technology. Take a fresh look at your role and ask yourself, "How could I apply cloud technology to make a difference, to create more value?" To get started, write down every activity that takes a significant amount of time in your weekly schedule. You'll probably come up with a list of 10 to 20 items worth mentioning. For each of them, ask yourself the following questions, "Would this task be easier or faster if I could collaborate and co-edit a document instantly with several other contributors? How much time would I save if I didn't have to manage five versions?" Think of a lawyer who has to finalize a 100 page customer contract in less than 24 hours. Imagine if they could have clerks working simultaneously on several paragraphs or if they could assign multiple experts to validate complex legalese simultaneously. Is there an opportunity to simplify a complex problem so I can more easily perceive trends or uncover hidden bottlenecks? Do I want to gain a clear perspective in this task like a doctor facing a complex diagnosis or a technician, who needs to evaluate the maintenance needs in large factory? Are there categories that are hard to define but would make my job easier, including the ones that are not obvious, such as customer segments or image types? Think of a professional landscaper who could take a picture of a yellow leaf with her mobile phone and be instantly notified whether this plant is dehydrated or sick. Would I benefit from clear recommendations, such as which investment is the most likely to turn a profit, if I'm a corporate banker? Or how to reorganize my merchandising if I'm a store manager and there has been a sudden change in weather? In each of these 10 to 20 core activities, would the ability to predict the future help me save money, increase profit or accelerate my work? If the answer is "Yes" to any of these questions, how many hours a week could you save? How much additional profit could you generate? What are the building blocks of a business model that you could present to a decision-maker in order to get funding? Checking the viability of a new type of investment is always a healthy habit. You'll soon discover that investing your time, your energy, and your ideas into new cloud-based business models can be very productive and help reinvent the way you work.
