“Cloud will be the foundation of AI”: why the technology remains essential to business innovation

Accessing vast computing power over the internet enabled companies of all sizes to challenge the status quo. Now, the same cloud technology is playing a pivotal role for businesses looking to adopt artificial intelligence

Few technologies have changed the way the world operates as much as the cloud. But given its role in enabling some of our most-valued digital experiences, it doesn’t always get the credit it deserves.

Cloud technology forms the backbone of much of our day-to-day world, with businesses from the tiniest startup to the biggest conglomerate using it to power their operations. For example, ASOS used the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to deploy a new digital architecture, accelerating its ability to provide more tailored and engaging customer experiences.

But what’s really turbo-charged cloud technology’s impact is the ability to democratise access to computing power, giving disruptors and innovators chances to break into new industries.

“The cloud makes digital transformation accessible,” says Tosca Colangeli, general manager at Microsoft UK. “Because it can scale as needed. It is also an area where we see the ‘born in the cloud’ digital native community becoming huge disruptors. They can disrupt 100-year-old businesses in a way that wouldn’t have been possible before. It’s super exciting.”

Cloud technology enables businesses to access computing power via the internet. Before it came along in the 2000s, companies would have owned and run private physical servers on their premises. They would have been responsible for their upkeep and for fixing them when things went wrong; they would also have been limited to the power and capacity that server could provide, and security was often compromised. Moving to the cloud ensures access to a set of security tools that can better detect, assess and warn customers about threats to their data. When cloud technology took over, with companies such as Microsoft offering access to large public servers via the web, the flexibility and ability to scale up or down was transformative.

Pay-as-you-go

“It’s about being able to pay for the resources that you need as and when you need them,” says Colangeli, adding that this characteristic allows businesses to flex and adapt according to their peak trading periods. Not only this, but cloud’s adaptability also stretches to disaster recovery. “You’ve got this pay-as-you-go subscription model, not just for your core applications, but also for managing your disaster recovery. It’s been a great move forward.”

Cloud’s flexibility has changed how businesses operate, and it’s also changed how they innovate – something that will become increasingly important for companies coping with the pace of change wrought by Al. “The generative Al era is going to redefine how we operate, and how we innovate with technology for years to come,” says Colangeli. “It’s going to be quick, it’s going to be very fast. It took years for the internet to reach 100 million users. ChatGPT reached 100 million users in two months.”

According to Gartner, by 2026 global cloud spending will exceed 45% of all enterprise IT spending. The key to keeping up with this pace of change is embedding cloud within an organisation. Microsoft in particular is planning for this uptake by working to make sure its data centres support the increasing demand for both its Azure Al service and Copilot technologies. “Establishing a digital culture is core, and you have to start with the foundations. Cloud technology will be fundamental to this era of Al,” says Colangeli.

AI’s impact will differ according to how each company embraces the opportunity, Colangeli says. For example, she has found Microsoft’s recently launched Copilot functionality has transformed her working day. It’s called ‘Copilot’ because it sits alongside you in support. “The speed at which I can now respond to customers is remarkable. Copilot augments me, and helps me accelerate the value I can bring.”

Focus on data

So what should businesses be doing to ready themselves for the next phase of cloud technology? Colangeli flags that focusing on data should be top priority. “Your success with Al will be as good as the data you hold in your organisation. Making sure your data is accessible on a unified data platform is job number one.”

Using AI responsibly will also be a key priority for businesses. Keeping a handle on this can be challenging, however, especially with things moving so rapidly. Colangeli says Microsoft has built a series of principles, tools and processes into the Microsoft Azure platform to help with this. “When you create technologies that can change the world, you must work to ensure that the technology is used responsibly.”

Microsoft’s principles are grounded in fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, and security, and the business has built on these to develop practical boundaries. “Having principles is not enough – they are not self-executing, and they could be open to interpretation,” Colangeli says. “For that reason we’ve got a set of tools and practices that we use to set up guardrails around and within all of our products.”

Ability to adapt

Businesses looking to innovate, evolve, and ensure a place for themselves in the future will want to explore, or ramp up, their use of cloud and Al technologies. The exact approach will differ according to the business, but what’s most important is developing that ability to adapt and flex. “Cloud – particularly what we’ve done with Microsoft Azure – is the most adaptable way to build your business,” says Colangeli. “It’s not one-size-fits-all – every customer has different problems. But cloud computing is the foundation for building a truly digital business.” Building a unified data platform will enable the business to use Al to accelerate value. “But you have to start with the foundations to be able to build on it, and adopt innovation. That’s where it starts.”

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Non-independent content produced as part of a commercial deal with Guardian Labs.

Header photograph: Laurence Dutton/Getty Images/iStockphoto