Forbes- IBM Smarter PlanetVoice_ Three Companies That Transformed Their Businesses Using Cloud Computing

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06/11/2014 IBM Smarter PlanetVoice: Three Companies That Transformed Their Businesses Using Cloud Computing - Forbes

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Three Companies ThatTransformed Their BusinessesUsing Cloud Computing

IBM Smarter Planet Contributor , IBM Smarter Planet

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By Philip Guido, IBM

What do an insurance company, grocery chain and educational service have in

common? This may sound like the opening question to a riddle, but the

answer is serious business. Theyre all using the cloud.

Cloud computing is no longer just a buzz word inside the corporate IT

department. In fact, clouds potential has captured the attention of business

leaders across every vertical industry, looking to capitalize on its speed, scale,

control and economics. Organizations around the world are increasingly

relying on cloud to market, sell, develop products and manage supply chains.

According to the research firm IDC, 85 percent of new software being built

today is for the cloud.

However, while these companies recognize the huge opportunities to

transform and grow their business, they are not moving their IT wholesale to

the cloud. For large enterprises, the move to cloud is a journey, one that often

starts with small, manageable workloads, and picks up speed as they gain

confidence in the cloud.

IBM Smarter PlanetVoice

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The result is the creation of a hybrid IT environment that combines the IT in

which these companies have invested for years with the new cloud workloads

in either a public or private cloud. Hybrid IT environments present unique

challenges that are part of the journey to cloud.

Heres how three companies have started their own cloud journey:

The Hartfordis transforming the way it delivers IT services by implementing a

new infrastructure that includes a private cloud. As the company focuses on

growing its group benefits, mutual funds and property and casualty

businesses, the hybrid IT model will enhance The Hartfords ability to

anticipate and meet the needs of customers and agents. By taking advantage

of the inherent benefits that cloud computing offers, the company expects to

reduce costs, improve system availability and business continuity capabilities,

and bring products and technology services to market faster.

DelhaizeAmerica, operator of the Food Lion, Hannaford and Bottom Dollar

grocery chains, is running Big Data and analytics on the cloud to study the

impact of local weather on store and category sales. From the analysis, the

food retailer has learned, for instance, that warmer weather reduces

purchases of certain grilling meats and increases purchases of magazines.

These types of insights will enable the company to make smarter decisions
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This article is available online at: http://onforb.es/1A4FIKe 2014 Forbes.com LLC All Rights Reserv ed

Cloud is transforming business models for large enterprises such as The

Hartford, Delhaize America and Pearson. With a clear understanding of what

is possible and what is necessary, including a focus on security,

transparency and integration the journey to the cloud in a hybrid world can

be a smooth one that drives new innovation and creates greater value for a

business.

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To learn more, visit ibm.com/cloud or join the conversation at #ibmcloud.

Philip Guido is General Manager of IBM Global Technology Services, North

America.
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Forbes- IBM Smarter PlanetVoice_ Three Companies That Transformed Their Businesses Using Cloud Computing