The emerging cloud services environment is an indispensible tool for human resources in the delivery of their services, according to an international report released by professional services firm Deloitte.

 

The Human Capital trends 2012: Leap ahead report shows that HR departments are already putting cloud technology to good use in the improvement of the delivery of HR services.

 

Andrew Hill, Deloitte Consulting Human Capital partner, has found that the technologies and processes associated with cloud are rapidly maturing and are now gaining acceptance as standard business practices.

 

“Recent forecasts for 2012  by International Data Corporation, predict that 80 % of new software applications will target the cloud and that spending on cloud services will exceed $USD 36 billion. This indicates a rate of growth four times faster than the IT industry average."

 

The report identified five key drivers for cloud adoption:

  1. Cost reduction which leads to improved utilisation and saving of money through consolidation of servers and data centres.
  2. Reduced capital investments which mean replacement of capital expenses with operating expenses so organisations only pay for what they use.
  3. Faster implementation as the cloud allows organisations to get up and running quickly by avoiding the need to acquire hardware or to develop and configure applications.
  4. Agility and adjusting to changing demand and market requirements. This also includes taking advantage of vendor best practices, which are drawn from multiple organisations and rolled out quickly.
  5. Smarter decisions. Taking advantage of cutting-edge tools that support fact-based decision-making.

 

“Leading HR teams are going a step further by leveraging their experience and expanding their role in helping the rest of the enterprise manage and accelerate the transition to cloud. By taking a lead role on cloud, HR is easing the transition and helping organisations acquire and develop the cloud-savvy talent needed to capitalise on the full potential of cloud services,” added Mr Hill.

 

The full report can be found here