Global workforces went through a digital transformation during the pandemic, and now, effective cloud services are more crucial than ever. In episode one of our five-part No Network, No Cloud podcast series, Rob Kim, Vice President of Technology Strategy at Presidio, shares his insights into these changes and how to find success in the cloud journey.

Join us as we discuss:

• Providing control and policy at the software level
• The challenges of digital networking
• Integrating data into your workflow

Listen to the full podcast here. 

The borderless workforce

When you look at cloud developments over the last decade, they followed the relatively predictable pattern one would expect for the development and adoption of any new technology.

Well, that is… until the pandemic.

Ultimately, the necessities of the pandemic accelerated everything cloud-computing related, putting the shift to and adoption of this new technology into overdrive. And while this meant we were able to support a massive shift to things like remote work, it also highlighted the challenges inherent in moving to the cloud.

“After the pandemic fueled the shift to remote and distributed work, you can see how this has also created complexity in distributing the network even further outward.” — Rob Kim

In particular, the new normal of distributed workforces, powered by distributed networks, has added a lot of complexity into the way we work — particularly when it comes to two of the most vital areas for any business…

Namely, user experience and security.

The digital experience

When it comes to interactions with your users — whether that be consumers of your product or your newly distributed employees — leveraging cloud services may allow you more flexibility, but it places a lot of new, complex demand on your business.

For Rob, the complexity lies in the experience, which ultimately boils down to a simple binary.

Whether you are trying to attract consumers to purchase your product, build brand loyalty, or foster a thriving team culture internally, there are really only two ways to do it: digitally or in-person.

While in-person interactions give you more leeway to improvise and react in the moment when things aren’t going right, digital experiences don’t have that luxury — and that can pose a problem.

Why?

Because, when it comes to consumers, they care more about the buying experience than almost any other differentiating factor between brands.

“80% of consumers looking to buy between different brands make a determination based on their overall buying experience. So, when selling digitally, you need to provide that in a much more enhanced way.” — Rob Kim

Likewise, you need to be much more intentional about fostering the kind of thriving culture your teams need because, of course, many of those organic social moments one may expect in an office setting are no longer there.

When it comes to digital experiences, you need to put in extra care and effort, aim to surpass anyone’s most optimistic expectations and, above all, be intentional in crafting the perfect experience for your users.

The security question

Security (of course, accompanied by compliance) is understandably at the forefront of most business leaders’ minds when it comes to the new cloud-powered, distributed business paradigm we’ve moved to in the wake of the pandemic. 

Indeed, it’s often one of the — if not the — biggest area for technology investment for many.

“Security is a top-three priority from a technology-investment perspective.” — Rob Kim

Yet, many leaders have trouble figuring out the best way to allocate these funds — or worse, still: They invest in the wrong areas altogether.

One such mistake Rob counsels against is allocating too much of the security budget to preventing a breach in the first place.

Ultimately, if someone really wants to break in, they’ll find a way — and no amount of money will stop them.

However, companies who invest much more heavily into detecting, isolating and responding to breaches will get a much better return on their investment.

In the end, it’s not how well you prevent breaches that matters, it’s how well you get back to normal.

Presidio’s podcast series, “The Digital Decode,” covers topics ranging from digital transformation to discussing success stories from our customers. The Digital Decode dives into the nuances, myths, and business outcomes that arise in the constantly evolving digital space.