There are three main business modes that organizations are following as they harness the capabilities of cloud – optimizers, innovators and disruptors; this is based on a recent study by IBM, which found that recent technology and social media trends have created a “perfect storm” of opportunity for companies to embrace the power of cloud.

More businesses are embracing cloud as a way to reduce the complexity and costs associated with traditional IT approaches, according to the study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit, which surveyed 572 business and technology executives across the globe.

In fact, almost three-fourths of respondents indicated their companies had piloted, adopted or substantially implemented cloud in their organizations – and 90 percent expect to have done so in three years.

And the number of respondents whose companies have substantially implemented cloud is expected to grow from 13 percent today to 41 percent in three years.

“Companies are starting to understand: cloud isn’t just about gaining efficiencies and cost savings; it’s about driving the kind of fundamental innovation that provides lasting marketplace advantage,” said Saul Berman, IBM global strategy consulting leader and co-author of the study.  

IBM has identified three kinds of business archetypes representing the extent to which organizations use cloud to impact company and industry value chains, and customer value propositions, which are:

• Optimizers use cloud to incrementally enhance their customer value propositions while improving their organization’s efficiency.
• Innovators significantly improve customer value through cloud adoption, resulting in new revenue streams or even changing their role within an existing industry ecosystem.
• Disruptors rely on cloud to create radically different value propositions, as well as generate new customer needs and segments – and even new industry value chains.

However, in most business circles, cloud is still viewed by many as an IT solution, rather than a mainstream strategy.

While IBM’s research reveals organizations intend to rely on cloud to enhance their business capabilities, only 38 percent cite cloud as a leading priority for the entire company; 62 percent cited cloud as a leading priority for their IT organizations.

The major benefits of cloud, IBM said, include cost flexibility and business scalability. More than 31 percent of executives surveyed cited cloud’s ability to reduce fixed IT costs and shift to a more variable “pay as you go” cost structure as a top benefit.