It used to be that all the money in the world was tangible — you could feel it slip between your fingers as it literally changed hands in the form of gold bars, coins bearing the image of the Sovereign or paper bills and promissory notes. Today, the vast majority of money exists in so-called thin air, and is exchanged electronically in invisible transactions.
Our society is going through a similar transition when it comes to data. Most of us are still used to thinking of data storage in terms of physical assets like hard drives, central processing units and those imposing machines in the company computer room. The reality, however, is that data storage is fast going the way of finance: the intangible Cloud is the future.
That being said, it is normal during the in-between phase for people to have qualms or even trust issues with new technology.
Some company executives fear that the Cloud is not as secure a solution as on-premises data storage. But peace of mind comes with picking the right partner to guide you through the process.
IBM has significant experience when it comes to this sort of venture, having helped more than 10,000 customers successfully convert to the Cloud while maintaining the highest degree of security.
In fact, IBM’s Cognos Analytics platform offers business clients much more than just the ability to access their data quickly and securely while being encrypted, at rest or in transit.
Flexibility is a key consideration.
With Cognos, there is no need to “lift and shift” your data wholesale into the Cloud or to maintain an ongoing replication process in order to remain current. The beauty of the Cognos solution is that it can access data wherever it is located — at existing on-premises facilities or in the Cloud. This means that businesses can migrate to the Cloud at their own pace or maintain a hybrid approach to their data for as long as they choose.
There are, of course, advantages to taking the Cloud route over time — chief among them ease of access, the savings that can be realized, and the valuable business insights that can be gleaned from your data.
With Cognos as your co-pilot, you will have all the Cloud cover you need: you are guaranteed a smooth, seamless transition, you gain the expertise of 40,000 Cloud experts worldwide and you are suddenly free to leave your routine tasks behind in the cabin to focus instead on the strategic ones that bring value and cost savings to your organization.
If you are interested in knowing more about Cognos Analytics’ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) features, please download the white paper, SaaS Analytics: Safe and Certain Reporting