EDITORIAL

Henry Ford said that if he had asked his customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse. Instead he gave them cars. Today, Ford’s car solution could be the equivalent of cloud technology. It would seem that many people, no matter how learned, are still confused about cloud technologies and the benefits to their business, as well as themselves. A recent report from US-based *Plex Systems, which developed the the Plex Manufacturing Cloud especially for the manufacturing industry, found that in the USA 40 percent of manufacturers interviewed drew a direct correlation between cloud technologies and their ability to innovate during the next five years. That cloud technologies have already improved insights into their business was realised by 66 percent of manufacturers and 93 percent of manufacturers are using consumer tablets in their manufacturing operations. Manufacturers consider cloud computing among the most important technologies in strengthening their competitive edge in the next five years, says the report. Of the respondents, 89 percent of the manufacturers were global and growing, reporting rising revenue over the past five years; 39 percent had attained 20 percent growth during that time period. Although the majority of respondents were US-headquartered companies, nearly 50 percent had international operations. Even if you are not introducing new technologies into your business you should, at least, be aware of them and their potential. You’ll never get ahead in the cloud if you keep your own head in the clouds.