The lifeblood of successful corporations is technological innovation.

It seems like a given in this day and age where consumers are constantly asking for, "the next big thing." But the revolution extends beyond the customer; the most powerful companies in the world are constantly revising their internal processes and organisational workflows, resulting in reduced costs and improved productivity. Unfortunately, some businesses are still arriving late to the party.

Reading between the numbers

The largest ever Australian leadership study was conducted last year by the Centre for Workplace Leadership at the University of Melbourne. It focused primarily on business innovation as it relates to performance, and the results were less than ideal:

• Companies are prioritising senior executives; average resource allocation favours them 10-to-1 over mid-level management.
• Roughly 40 per cent of organisations failed to meet internal performance and return on investment (ROI) goals.
• Less than one-fifth were identified as radical innovators.

It's easy to see what's happening: While senior leadership is being financed heavily, the lack of resources available for mid-level management and the rest of the organisation is stopping companies from being able to overachieve.

"The business community is facing a period of seismic change as we shift from a resources-based economy, turn outwards to new trading opportunities, and grapple with new technology that is transforming business models and jobs," Professor Peter Gahan told the Australian Broadcast Corporation.

Innovation begins at the core of the company with the way employees handle day-to-day tasks. With increased reliance on web-based applications to service customers, it's clear why many businesses have hybrid cloud integration at the top of their to-do list.

State of the industry

Organisations had faced an internal bottlecap on speed and performance with their on-premise infrastructure, prompting them to explore alternative strategies. While cloud computing provided relief, investing in it came with drawbacks; namely the redundancy of existing, viable hardware.

Hybrid cloud integration has emerged as an effective pivot for companies over the past few years, with 59 per cent of respondents to a Forrester Research survey claiming they're adopting the technology.

Businesses are now using hybrid cloud models to solve a number of issues:

• Integrate public and private cloud.
• Improve infrastructure performance and cybersecurity.
• Generate ROI without taking a realised loss.

In the past, simply being on the cloud was enough. But innovators move quickly, which is why just 15 per cent of respondent to the RightScale State of the Cloud 2017 reported identified themselves as having integrated just a single public or private cloud, or none at all.

"We recognised that we were spending a lot of time, energy, effort and management bandwidth to create infrastructure that already exists out there in a much better state and is evolving at a furious pace," Capital One chief information officer Rob Alexander told CIO.com.

Bright future

The underlying reason behind organisations adopting hybrid cloud architectures is primarily financial. Nearly 53 per cent admit the appeal of cost savings is too good to pass up and are currently optimising implementation for that very reason, according to RightScale.

Cloud computing offers the ability for companies to continue investing in effective leadership at the top, but also provide resources for mid-level management and other employees to improve productivity and customer service. The byproduct of doing so can help many Australian businesses achieve their performance and ROI goals that they currently struggle to meet.

For some organisations, the time and money that goes into hybrid cloud integration can seem like a daunting mountain to climb. Many don't realise there are managed cloud services available, as well as IT consultants that can complete the process without a hitch. Contact an ANATAS representative today to find out how your company can improve technological innovation with cloud computing.