Cloud computing continues to gain momentum in organizations of every type and size.

Because of the cloud’s flexibility and scaling capabilities, among other perks, tech leaders are abandoning fully on-prem solutions, according to aid Courtney Kissler (pictured), chief technology officer at retail company Zulily LLC, which recently adopted a cloud-first infrastructure.

But while leveraging the full capabilities of the cloud can reap many rewards, it can also be a challenging process.

“It’s important to be intentional about the use of cloud and leverage the capabilities,” said Courtney Kissler (pictured), chief technology officer at Zulily. “The cloud can create a way for you to free up your technologists’ mindshare to focus on more strategic things. And over time, cloud has become a commodity. It’s something that you can adopt and leverage to avoid spending time on provisioning servers and doing things that are now automated and part of the cloud offering.”

Kissler spoke with theCUBE industry analyst Lisa Martin for the “Special Program Series: Women of the Cloud,” during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the benefits of cloud for retail companies, the changes Kissler has seen over her years in the industry, and how data is being used to enhance customer experiences. (*Disclosure below.)

The age of data

Every company is in the data business in today’s growing digital landscape, with every industry able to benefit from utilizing gathered data to the fullest extent. In retail environments, the cloud could be used to leverage data insights on a massive scale to improve customer experiences, according to Kissler.

“Often, cloud can help you solve for speed to delivery, having high confidence in your ability to deliver, because many of the cloud tools allow you to do a canary deployment,” she stated. “There are ways to leverage cloud technology that also makes it innovative for the internal developer and, you might even say, internal customers.”

One of the biggest changes Kissler witnessed since her career began is the growing importance of data across companies, with new technology expected to be equally data-driven as well.

“I think many technologists think of technology as too complicated. In reality, we are wired for being data-driven,” she said. “We’re infusing that into how we think about everything we do and making sure that’s part of the DNA of the organization.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the “Special Program Series: Women of the Cloud”:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the “Special Program Series: Women of the Cloud.” Neither Amazon Web Services Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE