麥肯錫-什么是云計算？What is cloud computing 2024

July2024

Mcsey

&company

McKinseyExplainers

Whatiscloudcomputing?

Cloudcomputingallowscompaniestostoretheirinfrastructuresremotelyviatheinternet,ultimatelyreducingcostsandcreatingvalue.

Rememberwhencomputerswerebig,hulking

objectsthatdominatedtheoffice?Maybeyoudon’t;manydigitalnativeslearnedtotypeonsveltelaptops,notclunky,plug-inergonomickeyboards.Here’s

alittlehistory:whentheywerefirstputintouse,in

themiddleofthe20thcentury,computerscould

fillawholeroom.Bythetimetheystartedappearinginthehouseholdsofthetechsavvy,theywere

smaller,aboutthesizeofastepstoolthatcouldfitunderadesk.Now,ofcourse,theyfitinourpockets(andsome,eveninourbrains).

Thetransitionfromhugetotinycomputershas

beendrivenbyanumberoftechnologicaladvances.Transistors,integratedcircuits,microprocessors,

LCD,andlithium-ionbatterieshaveallplayedaroleintheminiaturizationofcomputerssincethey

cameonthescene.

Theemergenceofcloudcomputinghasalsoplayedamajorroleintheevolutionofcomputingoverpast

decades.Previously,organizationsandindividualswouldhavetostoreandrunalltheirdata,systems,

andapplicationsontheirownservers.Withcloudcomputing,organizationsengagecloudservice

providers(CSPs)tohostandruntheirapplications

onremoteservers,usingonlyasmuchcompute

powerandstorageasneededtomeetdemand.Thistheoreticallyallowsforcheaperandfastercomputingbecauseiteliminatestheneedtopurchase,install,

andmaintainservers.

But,aswe’llsee,itisn’tassimpleasaone-and-done

migration.Cloudrequiresahighdegreeofchange,saysMcKinseypartnerJamesKaplan:“Even

thoughcloudisbyfarthesuperiorwaytohostanapplication,itrequiressignificantinvestments

inunderlyingservices,inapplicationremediation,inbuildingneworganizationalcapabilitiesto

changetheROIdynamics.”

Despitetheinvestmentrequired,there’sclear

economicpotentialfororganizationslooking

tomigratetothecloud—tothetuneof$3trillioninglobalvalueby2030,accordingtoMcKinsey

estimates.Kaplanputsitsuccinctly:“Partofthe

reasonyouhearsomuchaboutcloudisbecauseit’sthewaysuccessfulcompanieswillruntheir

technologyenvironmentsinthefuture.”Buthowcanorganizationsgetfromwheretheyarenowtoachievingsomeofthissky-highvalue?Readontofindout.

LearnmoreaboutCloudbyMcKinseyand

theMcKinseyDigitalandTechnology,Media&TelecommunicationsPractices.

What’sbehindthat$3trillionnumber?

McKinseyestimatesthatcloudadoptioncouldgenerate$3trillioninglobalvalueby2030.Thisnumberisderivedfromouranalysisof700usecases,dividedintothefollowingareas:

—Rejuvenate,whichfocusesonimprovingIT

capabilities.ThisincludesvaluefromIT

savings($155billion),operationalcostsavings($311billion),anddigitalriskreduction

($407billion).Thataddsuptoatotalof$873billion.

—Innovate,whichfocusesongenerating

newrevenue.$612billioncomesfrom

innovation-drivengrowth,and$1.7trillioncomesfromacceleratedproductdevelopmentand

hyperscalability,foratotalof$2.3trillion.

—Pioneer,whichcoversarangeofemerging

technologies,includingnewcloud-based

businessmodelsandintegrationwith

technologieslike5G,blockchain,andquantumcomputing.Becausethey’resonew,

theimpactcan’tyetbeexactlyquantified.

What’sthemainreasontomovetothecloud?

Thereisn’tjustone.Costcuttingistypicallycitedastheprimaryreason—butwhilecostreduction

iscertainlyatantalizingpossibilitywithcloud

migration,thepotentialtoinnovateisafarlargerprize.McKinseyhasfoundthatthevaluecloud

generatesfromenablingbusinessestoinnovateisworthmorethanfivetimeswhatispossibleby

simplyreducingITcosts.

Whatiscloudcomputing?2

Takedigitaltransformation.Whileit’san

ongoingprocess,cloudcomputing,amongothertechnologies,canhelpcompaniesgothrough

thephasesofadigitaltransformationfasterandmoreefficiently.Thebenefitsarefastertimetomarket,simplifiedinnovationandscalability,andreducedrisk.Thecloudletscompaniesinnovatequickly,providingcustomerswithnoveldigital

experiences.Italsoenablesorganizationstousebespoke,cutting-edgeanalyticsnotavailable

onlegacyplatforms.

Buttotransitiontoacloud-firstoperatingmodel,organizationsshouldmakeacollectiveeffort

thatstartsatthetop.HerearethreeactionsCEOscantaketoincreasethevaluetheircompanies

getfromcloudcomputing:

—establishasustainablefundingmodel

—developanewbusinesstechnologyoperatingmodel

—setuppoliciestoattractandretaintherightengineeringtalent

LearnmoreaboutCloudbyMcKinseyand

theMcKinseyDigitalandTechnology,Media&TelecommunicationsPractices.

Howtomaximizethevalueofacloudtransformation

InMay2024,McKinseyprofiledmorethan

80enterprisesforitsCloudSightsdatabase.Fortypercentofthemfoundlimitedvalueintheircloud

programs.Why?It’snotalwaysclear.Evenfor

companieswellontheirwaytoachievingvalue

fromcloudinvestments,itcanbedifficultto

communicateprogresstostakeholdersandmakeacasefornewinvestment.Wefindthatthe

difficultyoftenboilsdowntolackofclarityaboutwhatisimportanttomeasureandlackofrigor

inimplementingatrackingprogram.

Aswitheverythingelse,youcan’tmanagewhatyoucan’tmeasure.Datadashboardsandcentral

governancecreatethekindoftransparencythatsupportsdata-backeddecisionmaking.Here

areeightdimensionsthatareimportanttoalmostanycloudtransformation;eachshouldhaveits

owncorrespondingdashboard:

—Executivesummaryobjectivesandkey

results:acurated,top-levelprogramtoinformoverallprogress

—Businessvalueandusecases:contributestotransparencyintobusinessobjectivesand

usecasesenabledbycloudadoption;metricscouldincludespeedtomarketandpercent

ofcustomersusingnewsolutions

—Costperformance:tracksmoneybudgeted,spent,andsavedoncloudcosts

—Applicationanddatamigration:measuresprogressofapplicationportfolioanddatatransitiontocloud

—Infrastructuremodernization:reporting

oninfrastructuremodernizationinitiatives,includingdecommissioningofexisting

structuresbeingreplacedbycloudservices

—Financialoperations:detailedreportingofcloudusage,CSPcommitments,andcosts;allows

teamstooptimizespending

—Securityandrisk:assessmentagainst

securityscorecardtoidentifycloudrisksandvulnerabilities

—People,products,andoperatingmodels:

measurementofpeoplereadinessandimpactofnewoperatingmodelandproductchanges

Inourexperience,cloudtransformationisnoteasy,notleastbecauseitfrequentlytakesunexpecteddirections.Withimprovedtracking,companiesare

Whatiscloudcomputing?3

betterequippedtonoticechangesatearlystagesandmakethenecessaryadjustments.(Seesidebar“Casestudy:LincolnFinancialGroup’sjourneyfrom legacytocloud.”)

Howhascloudcomputingevolved?

TheCOVID-19pandemicrapidlyaccelerated

organizations’cloudmigrations.Priortothe

pandemic,enterprisesplannedtomoveamere

45percentoftheirIT-hostingexpendituresto

thecloudby2021.But65percentofthedecisionmakerssurveyedbyMcKinseyin2021had

actuallyincreasedtheircloudbudgets,and

40percentofcompaniesexpectedtopickupthepaceofimplementation.

Herearetwoexamplesofhoworganizationsusedcloudcomputingtoadjustquicklytothenewrealityofpandemic-eralockdowns:

—Afast-casualrestaurantchain’sonlineorders

multipliedexponentiallyduringthe2020

pandemiclockdowns,ballooningfrom50,000perdayto400,000.Thecompany’sonline-orderingsystemcouldhandlethevolume—becauseit

hadalreadymigratedtothecloud.Thankstothissuccess,theorganization’sleadershipdecidedtoaccelerateitsfive-yearmigrationplantolessthanoneyear.

—ModernaharnessedcloudcomputingtodeliverthefirstclinicalbatchofaCOVID-19vaccine

candidateinjust42days.Thissuccesswasdueinparttothecompany’suseofclouddata

storageandcomputingtofacilitateprocessesensuringthedrug’ssafetyandefficacy.

TheCOVID-19pandemicacceleratedthewidespreadmigrationtocloud,butthecloudrevolutionhad

actuallybeengoingonforyears—morethan20,if

Casestudy:LincolnFinancialGroup’sjourneyfromlegacytocloud

InMarch2024,McKinseyinterviewedtwoexecutivesfromtheinsuranceorganizationLincolnFinancialGroup:RobKlaczakis

seniorvicepresidentanddivisionalchiefinformationofficerforlife,annuities,anddistribution,andSatyendraKumarisvicepresidentandexecutivesponsorand

programlead.Here’swhatwelearned.

Lincoln’sdecisiontotransitiontothecloudwas,likemanyotherorganizations,drivenbythegoalofcostsavings.Thecosts

associatedwiththeorganization’slegacyplatformswerelargelyfixed,posinga

financialchallenge.Theleadershipteam

embarkedonalarge-scaletransformationprogram,including120complexcloud

systemsandanacceleratedtimeframeoflessthantwoyearstocomplete

theentireprogram.

Thetransitionwasguidedbycollaboration,securityconsiderations,anddata

collectionandinformationsharingacross

theorganization.Anagilemindset

wascriticaltotheultimatesuccessofthetransformation,whichKumar

citesasessentialforadaptingto

unknowns,buildingconfidence,andconsistentlydeliveringresults.

Thetransformationunsurprisinglyfaced

anumberofchallenges.Security

issueswereamajorone,saysKlaczak,particularlyauthenticationwithout

authorization.Leadershipdealteffectively

withthischallengebyestablishing

anearlyworkingrelationshipwiththechiefinformationsecurityofficer.

Anoverallmindsetshiftwasalsoachallenge,ultimatelysurmounted

byanemphasisonthoughtleadershipandmoreefficientprocesses.

WhatareKumarandKlaczak’slessonsforotherslookingtoundertakecloudtransformations?“Carefulanddetailedplanning,alongwithaSWATteam

approachtoidentifyandresolve

unknowns,iscriticaltosuccess,”says

Kumar,alongwithongoingand

exhaustivecommunication.Klaczakbelievesthat“unwaveringsupportfromseniormanagement”iscriticaltosuccess.

Whatiscloudcomputing?4

youcountfromthefoundingofSalesforce,widely

seenasthefirstsoftware-as-a-servicecompany.

Today,next-generationcloudcapabilitiesmakeit

easierforsoftwaredeveloperstotweaksoftware

functionsindependentlyandefficiently,whichallowsforawholenewlevelofagility.

LearnmoreaboutCloudbyMcKinseyand

theMcKinseyDigitalandTechnology,Media&TelecommunicationsPractices.

HowwillgenerativeAIchangehoworganizationsusethecloud?

GenerativeAI(genAI)hasthepotentialtotransformbusiness,theeconomy,andsocietyatlarge.That

includes,ofcourse,thewayorganizationsengagewiththecloud.Putsimply,genAIcouldmake

iteasierfororganizationstoderivevaluefromthecloud.GenAIhasthepotentialtomakecloud

amoreattractiveinvestment,bybothdramaticallyreducingtheinvestmentandtimeneededto

adoptcloudandgeneratingnewvaluebysupportingnewbusinessandtechusecases.

Currently,organizationsmustremediateexisting

applicationssotheycantakeadvantageofcloudcapabilities.Thisisexpensiveintermsoftimeand

treasure.EarlyeffortstoapplygenAItoapplicationremediationandmigrationhaveindicateda

40percentreductionintimeandinvestmentrequired(thoughmuchmoreanalysisisneeded).

Inthemeantime,organizationscanincorporategenAIintotheircloudprogramsinthefollowingways:

—incorporategen-AI-enabledbusinessusecases

—acceleratemigrationofon-premisestransactionalsystemstobuildend-to-endgen-AI-enabled

customerjourneys

—usegenAItotransformtheROIofapplicationremediationandmigration

ForamoredetailedlookatgenAI’simplicationsforcloud,clickhere.

Howwillcloudadoptionimpactdifferentregions?

Asiahasthehighestcloudvaluepotential:about

$1.3trillionby2030.Thisisbecauseofthelarge

numberofoilandgasandbankingorganizationsinAsiawithlargepotentialgainsduetocloud.As

CSPsexpandtheirfootprintinAsiaoverthenext

fewyears,theymaybeabletoachieveoutsizevalue.

OrganizationsbasedintheAmericashaveabout

$1.1trillioninavailablecloudvalue.TheAmericas

leadtheworldincloudadoptionatpresent;thevaluethatstandstobecapturedhereislargelythrough

moreadvancedusecases.NorthAmerica’stop

industryintermsofpotentialvalueisretail,whichstandstocapturenearly$162billioningainsdueto

cloudby2030.(Seesidebar“Casestudy:USCentersforMedicare&MedicaidServices’cloudjourney.”)

McKinsey’slatestanalysisindicatesthatthevalueEuropeanorganizationshavecapturedfrom

cloudremainsinisolatedpocketsandatsubscale.ThefocusofEuropeancompanies’cloudefforts,

forexample,hasbeendisproportionatelyon

improvementstoIT,whichgenerateslowerratesofreturnthanimprovementstobusinessoperations.

CloudadoptionintheMiddleEasthasbeen

slowerthanelsewhere.Thisisprobablydueinparttoexpensiveandpoor-qualityinternational

connectivityinsomeMiddleEasterncountriesaswellasregulatoryuncertainty.Yetweseebig

potentialhere:cloudadoptioncouldgenerateasmuchas$183billionofvalueby2030.That’s

roughlytheequivalentof6percentoftheregion’scurrentGDP.

LearnmoreaboutCloudbyMcKinseyandtheMcKinseyDigitalandTechnology,Media&

TelecommunicationsPractices.

Whatiscloudcomputing?5

Casestudy:USCentersforMedicare&MedicaidServices’cloudjourney

InJanuary2024,McKinseyinterviewed

RajivUppal,theformerCIOoftheUS

CentersforMedicare&MedicaidServices(CMS),andMarkOh,theorganization’s

directorofinfrastructureanduserservicesgroup.Here’swhatwelearnedabouttheircloudtransformationjourney.

ShortlyafterstartingCMS’scloud

migration,saysUppal,leadersstartedrealizingtheimperativeforalarger

businesstransformation.Theprojectcalled

foradeeperconnectionbetween

businessandtechteams:“ItrequiredafairbitoftrustbuildingwithCMS’sbusinessunits.”

TohelpbuildthekindoftrustUppalandotherleadersdeemednecessary,CMSsetupaprogramtotrainstakeholdersinhuman-centereddesign,product

management,andcloudtechnologies.“Itallcomesbacktoleadershipemphasis

onempathy,”saysOh.“Ifyou’renot

empathetic,youcannotdeliverservicesandsolutionsthatpeoplewilluse.”

Amindsetofempathyservedasthe

foundationforacultureofenablement,ratherthanmandate.

CMSalsobenefittedfromafinancial

operations(FinOps)programinitscloudtransformation.Ohestimatesthatthis

programcontributedtoa15percent

overallsavingsonannualspend.That’sasignificantamountforanagency

likeCMS,whereannualspendexceeds$100million.

CMSleadershipisworkingtoapplythe

lessonstheylearnedfromthecloud

journeytoothertechnologicaliteration,includingdevelopinggenAIcapabilities.Onceagain,theyarenotmandating:

“We’recreatingasafespaceforpeopletocontributeandcollaborate,usingbest

practices,”saysOh.

WhatcanEuropeancompaniesdotoachievetheircloudgrowthambitions?

HerearefivestrategicprioritiesforEuropeanplayerslookingtoadoptcloudatscale:

—Developrelationshipswithcloudprovidersintotruepartnerships.Europeancompaniesshouldevolvetraditional“supplier”relationships;new

partnershipscanhelpcompaniesbuildtheirowncapabilitiesandtraintheirtechnicalstaff.

—Modernizewaysofworking.Companiesshouldfocusonthreemutuallyreinforcingelementsofeffectivecloudoperations:businessvalue;

workingquicklyinsmall,cross-functionalteams;andbuildingsufficientfoundations.

—Implementfinancialoperations(FinOps)tooptimizecloudspendandmonitorimpact.

Investingearlyinaspend-managementcapabilitycanhelpmanagecosts.

—BeclearaboutROItrade-offswhenscaling.Oncecloudworkloadsbegintoscale,

companiesshouldpaycloseattentionto

ROI,whichcandiminishonceadoptionratesaretoohigh.

—Bridgeexistingcompliancecapabilities

withthosefromCSPstomanageregulatoryenvironments.Fast-evolvingregulations

arestrainingcompanies’processes.TechnologyleadershipshouldworkwithCSPstoensure

up-to-datecompliance.

Whataresomecloudrisks?

We’veseenthatcloudoffershugecostsavings

andpotentialforinnovation.Butthelift-and-shift

approach—simplymovingexistingapplications

tothecloud—doesn’tactuallyreducecostsinthe

end.Toachievethekindofvaluethey’relooking

for,mostcompanieswillneedtoadjusttheirexistingapplicationstothecloudenvironment.Aswe’ve

seen,genAItoolsstandtomakethisprocessfasterandeasier.

Forinstance,amajorfinancial-servicesorganizationwantedtomovemorethan50percentofits

applicationstothepubliccloudwithinfiveyears.Its

Whatiscloudcomputing?6

goalsweretoimproveresiliency,timetomarket,andproductivity.Butnotallitsbusinessunitsneeded

totransitionatthesamepace.ITleadershipdefinedvaryingadoptionarchetypestomeeteachunit’s

technical,risk,andoperating-modelneeds.

Securityprotocolscanalsoposeproblemswhencompaniesshifttothecloud.Theresulting

problems,however,caninvolvemisconfigurationsratherthaninherentcloudsecurityvulnerabilities.

Onesolution?Securingcloudworkloadsforspeedandagility:automatedsecurityarchitectures

andprocessesenableworkloadstobeprocessedatamuchfastertempo.

LearnmoreaboutCloudbyMcKinseyand

theMcKinseyDigitalandTechnology,Media&TelecommunicationsPractices.

Whatkindofcloudtalentisneeded?

ThetalentdemandsoftheclouddifferfromthoseoflegacyIT.Whilecloudcomputingcanimprovethe

productivityofyourtechnology,itrequiresspecialized

andsometimeshard-to-findtalent—including

full-stackdevelopers,dataengineers,cloud-securityengineers,identity-andaccess-management

specialists,andcloudengineers.Andyour

organization’sneedswillchangeasyouprogressonyourcloudjourney.

Sixpracticalactionscanhelpyourorganizationbuildthecloudtalentyouneed:

1.Findengineeringtalentwithbroadexperienceandskills.

2.Balancetalentmaturitylevelsandthecompositionofteams.

3.Buildanextensiveandmandatoryupskillingprogramfocusedonneed.

4.Buildanengineeringculturethatoptimizesthedeveloperexperience.

5.Considerusingpartnerstoaccelerate

developmentandassignyourbestcloudleadersasowners.

6.Retaintoptalentbyfocusingonwhatmotivatesthem.

Whataresomeexamplesofdifferentorganizationsbenefittingfromcloud?

Differentindustries,unsurprisingly,seedramaticallydifferentbenefitsfromthecloud.High-tech,retail,

andhealthcareorganizationsoccupythetopendofthevaluecapturecontinuum.Electronicsand

semiconductors,consumer-packaged-goods,andmediacompaniesmakeupthemiddle.Materials,

chemicals,andinfrastructureorganizationsclusteratthelowerend.

Herearesomeexamplesofhoworganizationsindiverseindustriesarebenefittingfromthecloud:

—aretailerenhancingomnichannelfulfillment,

usingAItooptimizeinventoryacrosschannelsandtoprovideaseamlesscustomerexperience

—ahealthcareorganizationimplementingremoteheathmonitoringtoconductvirtualtrialsand

improveadherence

—ahigh-techcompanyusingchatbotstoprovidepremier-levelsupportcombiningphone,email,andchat

—anoilandgascompanyemployingautomated

forecastingtoautomatesupply-and-demand

modelingandreducetheneedformanualanalysis

—afinancial-servicesorganizationimplementingcustomercalloptimizationusingreal-timevoicerecognitionalgorithmstodirectdistressed

customerstoexperiencedrepresentativesforretentionoffers

Whatiscloudcomputing?7

—afinancial-servicesprovidermovingapplicationsincustomer-facingbusinessdomainsto

thepubliccloudtopenetratepromisingmarketsmorequicklyandatminimalcost

—ahealthinsurancecarrieraccelerating

thecaptureofbillionsofdollarsinnewrevenuesbymovingsystemstothecloud

LearnmoreaboutCloudbyMcKinseyand

ourMcKinseyDigital,FinancialServices,

Healthcare,Retail,andTechnology,Media&Telecommunicationspractices.

Whatarethebiggestcloudmyths?

Basedoninterviewswithmorethan50CIOs,chieftechnologyofficers,andcloudleadersattopNorth

Americanorganizationsontheircloudprograms,weisolatedthefollowingcommonlyheldmythsaboutthecloud:

—Cloudisjustaboutcostsavings.Cloudcertainlyhelpsreducethecostsofowningandrunning

massivedatacenters,butbusinessesshould

approachcloudasanequallyimportanttoolforbusinessenablement.

—Cloudisaone-and-donereplacementfor

physicalinfrastructure.Organization-specifictechnologicalchallenges,likeapplication

migration,security-as-codeprotocols,and

resiliencypatterns,requirebespokesolutions.

—Cloudcanslotintoexistingoperatingmodels.Successfulcloudmigrationrequires

organizationalchange.Leadersshouldoptimizeoperatingmodelsformaximumagility,and

investinFinOpstotrackcosts.

Howlargedoesmyorganizationhavetobetobenefitfromcloud?

Here’sonemorehugemisconception:thecloud

isjustforbigmultinationalcompanies.Infact,

cloudcanhelpmakesmalllocalcompaniesbecome

multinational.Acompany’sbenefitsfrom

implementingthecloudarenotconstrainedbyits

size.Infact,thebarriertoentryforcloud

implementationisskill,notscale.Thismeanscompaniesofanysizecancompeteifthey

havepeoplewiththerightskills.Withcloud,highlyskilledsmallcompaniescantakeonestablished

competitors.Torealizecloud’simmense

potentialvaluefully,organizationsshouldtake

athoughtfulapproach,withITandthebusinessesworkingtogether.

Formorein-depthexplorationofthesetopics,seeMcKinsey’sCloudInsightscollection.LearnmoreaboutCloudbyMcKinsey—andcheck

outcloud-relatedjobopportunitiesifyou’reinterestedinworkingatMcKinsey.

Articlesreferenced:

—“Endingtheconfusionincloudtransformations:Thedashboardsandmetricseveryoneneeds,”May24,2024,ChhaviArora,EmilyWu,HamiltonWilliams,andIsabelleTamburro

—“Thestateofcloudcom