Think like a ‘super app’, and your unified hybrid multi-cloud solutions will help clientele ease digital transformation (DX) pains

To remain competitive in the region, businesses are re-evaluating their granular strategies and realizing that digital transformation serves as both a survival strategy and a key driver of growth. 

However, some surveys show that as much as 62% of IT leaders have considered that cloud migrations projects “very difficult” or “failing” — with performance, cost, security, and expertise emerging as major hurdles.

Many of these challenges can be addressed by adopting a hybrid multi-cloud ecosystem with data centre capacity optimized by edge computing (or simply, ‘the edge’). Such a hybrid multi-cloud ecosystem allows businesses to choose the most compatible providers for their cloud journeys, while also offering edge proximity for low-latency performance and cost savings benefits. 

Cloud computing with an edge

From a service provider’s perspective, the digital transformation strategy being highlighted here is the unification of the edge, the hybrid multi-cloud strategy: such an ecosystem equips your clients with the benefits of enhanced performance, cost savings, security, and expertise that allows them to access the tools they need to make their cloud migration and digital transformation strategies successful.

For illustration, think about a ‘super app’ that is able to meet your full needs in a simple and accessible manner. Currently, super apps in the market are able to save consumers much time and effort by providing them with a single platform for transport, shipping, shopping, entertainment and payment services. 

Similarly, a unified cloud-edge ecosystem brings together a host of complementary service providers — including cloud-storage and cloud-security providers, managed service providers and software-defined networks — to deliver solutions that will comprehensively meet the needs of enterprise customers.

A data center that grants access to localized service providers improves user-friendliness and convenience for end users — both key drivers for customer retention in any business. Its supporting component, the edge, is omnipresent and serves to bring connectivity, cloud-based services and content closer to customers for better performance and reliability. 

Asking the right questions 

Service providers looking to customize digital transformation solutions for their clientele need to ensure that their solutions are compatible with enterprise customers catering to a burgeoning demographic of technology-savvy individuals.

To ensure this fit, ask the right questions:

    • What are our automation capabilities?
      Service providers should incorporate accessibility and visibility into all facets of their operations from anywhere and at any time — to be able to run global networks in an effective manner.
    • Are we providing effective integrated solutions
      A managed service provider present at the edge is essential, as this role is critical in remotely managing IT infrastructure and end-user systems, and can facilitate the development of customize integrated solutions to tackle digital transformation challenges encountered in bringing ecosystems at the edge together.
    • Does my hybrid multi-cloud ecosystem at the edge support sustainable growth?
      Increasingly, markets in the Asia Pacific region are concerned about their sustainability goals. In keeping with regulations and customer needs, service providers have to be nimble and craft unique solutions tackling sustainable power while championing a fair labor market.

The above introspection process allows service providers to consistently bring their customers closer to the benefits of a hybrid multi-cloud ecosystem at the edge in an economical manner — all while enabling marketing, mindshare and managed services.

The journey towards cloud migration and digital transformation is no easy feat but with the right tools in place customers and service providers will see themselves gaining an edge.