In the past, organizations perceived the cloud as a monolithic environment where a specific set of use cases could be carried out.

Today, the enterprise is entering a phase with cloud continuums, on which several purpose-built solutions can drive growth in the private and public sectors.

“From now on, whenever people talk about cloud, it’s actually a cloud continuum,” said Karthik Narain (pictured, left), lead for Accenture Cloud First at Accenture PLC. “It’s a continuum of capability from public to edge and everything in between, all seamlessly connected by cloud-first networks, which means all the capabilities that customers used to get from one public cloud destination they can [now] access across the continuum.”

Narain and Chris Wegmann (pictured, right), managing director for AABG technology and practice at Accenture PLC, spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during AWS re:Invent. They discussed the transformation of cloud and how Accenture and AWS are partnering to push the envelope. (* Disclosure below.)

Cloud redefined

Former CEO of AWS Andy Jassy is often credited with popularizing the term “hybrid cloud.” Since then, several proliferations of this concept have taken hold, reshaping the perception of what’s possible in cloud computing.

Organizations that want to fully transform digitally must embrace the concept of the cloud continuum as a working whole, according to Wegmann.

“But now, with the power of the cloud continuum, where innovation is available with the many new services that were launched today, you could truly use the cloud as an innovation engine,” Narain added.

The refactoring of cloud strategies has become more of a necessity and less of a choice due to the pandemic, Wegmann pointed out.

“The pandemic is now forcing companies to change. And the research shows that the companies that have truly adopted the whole continuum are doing much better than the companies that didn’t,” he stated.

In adopting this particular context of cloud, there are a few discernible patterns present with companies finding success, Narain pointed out. One of those is creating a strategy to harness the evolution of the continuum. Another is understanding that it requires reshuffling certain organizational elements, cultures and action patterns.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of AWS re:Invent. (* Disclosure: Accenture PLC sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Accenture nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE