Rules of capitalism are being re-written by the cloud

THE digital economy has already surpassed the size of the oil economy, and the World Economic Forum estimates that it is set to reach US$100 trillion by 2025. While the industrial revolution was all about factories, the digital revolution is all about platforms, powered by the cloud and enabled by mobility.

When cloud computing first emerged, the decision to move to the cloud was purely an IT one. But today, for organisations of all sizes and across all sectors, from oil and gas to manufacturing and retail, cloud has become a strategic platform for businesses to expand into new geographies, introduce new products and services faster, and drive their growth. In addition to the technical advantages of leveraging cloud-based services, business owners have fully grasped the philosophical shift that the cloud stands for - empowered access to services by anyone, anytime, without the limitations of geographical borders.

A professor at New York University coined the term 'cloud capitalism' to describe the way in which the cloud has changed the world of business for good. There are now very limited barriers to entry across sectors, levelling the playing field between startups and industry stalwarts. In tandem, nimble, new market entrants are turning standard business models on their heads, forcing established players to innovate to be able to keep up.