Saugatuck Research: Resilience and the Cloud

Resilience is an important topic for Saugatuck clients, as natural and financial events have struck across the globe. You might be interested in looking at a research piece just written on this issue that examines how organizational resilience is linked to developments in Cloud IT.

Resilience is a growing requirement for organizations. A resilient organization is prepared for disasters of all types, able to respond quickly and creatively, and capable of realizing opportunities in change. Resilience both IT and the organization at large is fostered by Cloud IT. This Strategic Perspective looks at how the Cloud aids in developing resilience.

Resilience and Cloud IT go hand-in-hand, but it is important to bear in mind that this is an evolving relationship. Cloud offerings provide enormous benefits for resilience, but there are also significant caveats. For businesses wishing to develop resilience, Cloud should be a significant contributor to the plan, but it is important to ensure that focus remains upon processes rather than upon technology.

Key Cloud characteristics favoring resilience are:

Risk Management

• Risk management centralization
• SaaS risk management
• Big Data risk assessment

Business Continuity Management

• Remote data storage, backup & mirroring
• Remote server templates & mirroring
• SaaS applications from anywhere
• Non-reliance on specific hardware

Enterprise Agility

• Easy as-needed service addition
• Rapid, low cost scalability
• Anywhere access
• Communications enhancement
• Personnel movement flexibility

All organizations need to consider the role that Cloud IT will play in resilience. Users of IT need to develop a resilience plan that includes Cloud components. Vendors need to understand how these capabilities can be brought together in a Cloud to provide necessary services. Developments within this area are being driven both by the need to respond more effectively to crises, by the need for integration of threat response, and by the evolving scope of Cloud-based technology solutions.

Resilience is essential to survival in an increasingly complex threat environment, with requirements for ever faster response. It brings together Risk Management, Business Continuity and Agility to provide a flexible solution. The concept represents an evolutionary plateau in the development of the component services, and it is ideally served by Cloud IT. Understanding how Cloud creates resilience and the processes that are required to enable it are critical to developing organization that can resist any crisis, and, where possible, emerge stronger.

Note: Ongoing Saugatuck subscription clients can access this premium research piece (1025STR) by clicking here, and inputting your ID and password. Non-clients can purchase and download this premium research piece by clicking here.