By: Ramkumar Murali, General Manager, AWS Sales, LTIMindtree

Did you know that by 2026 half of all enterprises’ revenues will come from businesses that haven’t been created yet? We’ve entered an era of accelerated change — one that will be shaped by new business models, products and services, and new revenue streams. To succeed in this new era, companies will have to up their innovation game to meet the speed of change in the marketplace, whilst recognizing the importance of being more outward-looking and viewing their customers and partners as collaborators.

The innovation ecosystems of the past were more closed, operating within the four walls, and only a few limited individuals and departments were allowed to experiment with new technologies and tools. Although this may have worked in the past, this approach won’t cut it in the future because of the changing workforce mix, especially for millennials who prefer an empowered workplace. This article provides insight into how hybrid cloud sets the right foundation for this modern innovation ecosystem Hybrid Cloud:A Technological Glue for Open Collaboration, Experimentation, and Co-creation

Businesses need an agile, flexible, and quickly scalable innovation platform that enables every stakeholder to collaborate more effectively. Businesses’ biggest dilemma is how to open their innovation ecosystem across their workforce to strike a balance between risks and benefits. Companies want to accelerate their innovation process, but not so much that they lose control.

Hybrid cloud provides a solid foundation for a modern innovation ecosystem to take advantage of the best of both worlds — the flexibility and agility of the cloud, with the security and control of on-premises resources. For example, a hybrid cloud can help integrate on-premises data with public, private, or managed cloud data to allow an ecosystem of employees, partners, and customers to use that data for insight and innovation. Hybrid cloud environments can speed up application development, testing, and deployment when paired with agile development methods.

As per various industry researches, the global hybrid cloud market is estimated to be around US$ 90 billion, exhibiting a robust 20% CAGR. Multiple cloud strategies are becoming more popular as companies prepare for the future. Increasingly, companies are unwilling to commit to a single public or private cloud platform. They want to work with multiple flavors of cloud as each of them brings their unique capabilities. As a result, companies get the best of everything while de-risking their cloud strategy.

Companies need a centralized, self-serviced hybrid cloud platform to manage different cloud models for efficiency and scalability. Imagine different innovation teams collaborating on different cloud models, creating complexity and confusion. Collecting, storing, and analyzing torrents of data flowing across the ecosystem can be overwhelming. Turning data into actionable insight doesn’t occur by accident— companies must establish and manage a “data supply chain” for the innovation ecosystem. That’s where the hybrid cloud architecture comes into its own: mining, refining, distributing, and monetizing the data to turn innovations into realities. Moreover, a centralized innovation architecture board can decide which cloud technologies and services should come on board, and how to set the architecture standards and rollout, ensuring the underlying technology infrastructure is consistent and easy to manage across the ecosystem.

Are You Ready to Unlock Your Innovation Ecosystem with Hybrid Cloud?

Businesses today are under immense pressure to innovate and grow, whilst at the same time being pulled in opposite directions by the need to reduce costs and increase efficiency. This tension will only intensify in the years ahead, making it essential for businesses to find ways to unlock innovation and growth while also containing costs. Just as enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions became the backbone of enterprises in the past, hybrid cloud will become the backbone of modern innovation ecosystems. By unlocking the potential of both private and public clouds, businesses can create a more agile infrastructure that allows for greater innovation and faster product development. Companies that re-imagine the customer experience, restructure their business model, and rethink the technology foundation with hybrid cloud, are most likely to capture and ride the burgeoning next digital wave.

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