Startups and cloud computing have always been in some ways very connected. However, the world is changing. How much of an impact did the cloud have for the startup boom and how will it help them survive the essential new era?
Cloud And The Start Up Boom
We have been living in an era of fast technological change. Some still remember – as if it was that long ago – that only 20 years ago telephones were still stuck to the wall and VHS tapes were a big hit. Global connectivity and digitalisation were just dreams – even some of the industry leaders thought it ridiculous to think that we would all be connected by this global network. However, things have changed. If it looks like the world has changed a lot on the surface, you only have to look slightly below to see just how large that change is.
With tech evolving, so did the business.
Trends like cloud computing and mobile devices have shifted the playing field more towards startups. While they used to struggle with competing with titans of various industries, they were able to compete with them as equals in this field of startups.
Startups got the access to the same tools and infrastructure that large enterprises had. Through cloud computing, small businesses had a unique opportunity to operate entire networks without even a single piece of hardware.
Back in 2015, startups were equal to large businesses because of the cloud.
The New Digital Era
Companies around the world – no matter the size and industry – are embracing new technologies, business models and globalized economy. From AirBnB to various learning apps, the change and transformation happening because of the digital era are obvious. So many different technologies have emerged that we could only dream of just a few decades ago.
Many digital companies recognise that cloud was one of the most important drivers of this digital transformation. Businesses across the world confirm just how essential it was in helping them become what they are today.
The agility of the cloud enabled companies to embrace the change and the market as a routine and not something scary or dangerous for their business.
“It’s cost efficient, scalable and very accessible – all of the traits that startups loved – and it adds tremendous value to the digitalisation of the way we are doing business across the globe. But, organisations are shifting towards different usages in cloud computing. For instance, cloud-native applications as designed especially for cloud architectures. Studies show that the number of new business applications will only grow in the future,” says Jonah Ames, an IT specialist at Lucky Assignments.
Managing the cloud environment is another issue and organisations are tackling it as a way to boost digital transformation.
Experts believe that despite the gloomy economical predictions, new startups and the recently formed ones will lead the next generation of both cloud computing with new inventions and technologies that will further progress the digitalisation of business. Some have a different opinion – the one that says that the startup boom is over simply because the new technologies that companies are using are something that’s too expensive and unavailable for startups. But, everything depends on the stance an expert takes in relation to this issue.
Could this be the End of the StartUp Era?
This is a common question nowadays.
For one, cloud was the one that made the first startup renaissance happen. But, some people say that the world is shifting again.
Cloud still holds the same relevance as it did before but there are new technologies on the horizon. Technology by nature favors large enterprises – by the expensive, complex nature – and this may be the reason startups won’t be as successful in the future as they were in the past decade.
Experts say that the world simply favors the big over the small and that this is the reason for this swing-back. Businesses and executives will be the rulers of the new age rather than entrepreneurs. This will happen not because of one reason but because of multiple problems and issues that have arised in the recent years.
The big markets and opportunities for big enterprises are too difficult to get into – from the stance of a startup. Areas like AI, AR and VR, drones and so on are all very restrictive and expensive. It all comes down to the resources that startups, in essence, don’t have. Big names have already established some sort of dominance in these fields and they are becoming harder to breach into in any meaningful way.
However, some think that not all is grim for startups. They think that exactly because of this change, the startups and young and ambitious people will come up with new ways to make waves in the tech area.
Startups are, by nature, more adaptable and flexible than large enterprises and that is exactly what makes them suitable for this change.