From AI to IoT: How the Power of AWS Cloud Propels Innovation

The East African logistics company Alistair Group wanted to expand its operations into new countries. However, it could not meet the additional cargo shipping demands until it adopted a cloud native application that streamlined operations and scale. Creating a proprietary serverless application on Amazon Web Services (AWS) solved the problem.

Thanks to the innovative solution, Alistair Group could manage a growing subcontractor fleet of hundreds of trucks and drivers. The new application automated its operation, allowing drivers to receive assignments, and report and monitor their progress on the go. It also allowed managers to view performance metrics in real-time.

Cloud Supports the Innovation Imperative

Many companies like Alistair Group are going outside of their comfort zone to innovate on leading-edge technologies — from cloud native to IoT to artificial intelligence. They realize their modernization goals thanks to the broad and deep capabilities of AWS and Onica by Rackspace Technology®, a leader in AWS technologies.

The growing spirit of innovation is more than just a lark. Experts say innovation is vital to the future of every organization. “The ability to develop, deliver and scale new products, services, processes and business models rapidly is a muscle that virtually every organization needs to strengthen,” stated McKinsey.

Cloud is the cornerstone of leading-edge innovations around the world. It enables new business models, lowers the cost of creating new applications, builds new revenue streams, increases efficiency and delivers better customer experiences. Gartner reported that by 2025, cloud computing will be essential, serving as the driver that stimulates a wave of innovation and transformation across every industry.

Opportunities for Innovation — AI to IoT

AWS supports a wide range of innovative initiatives, including AI and machine learning, IoT and cloud native.

• AI and machine learning innovation

AI and machine learning help businesses develop deep insights at every stage of their operations. AI is any computer system that can solve problems in ways traditionally associated with human cognition and learning. Machine learning trains computer systems to make predictions using statistical models based on data, which is an essential underpinning of AI.

Organizations can deploy these technologies to, for example, make accurate predictions, get deeper insights from their data, reduce operational overhead and improve customer experiences. Examples of use cases include identifying normal patterns or anomalous distinctions, making intelligent decisions about future behavior and delivering personalized experiences from real-time interaction.

• IoT innovation

There are 18 billion IoT connected devices in use in 2022, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report. IoT enables organizations to move into new markets and build new revenue streams with radically new business models and use cases. However, as IoT spreads across industry segments, the difference between the innovators and the followers often comes down to who can bring their solution to the market first.

Use cases for IoT-driven devices abound, including enhancing user experiences with connected devices, improving manufacturing and industrial applications with real-time intelligence, and gaining critical insights from distributed devices deployed worldwide to enhance and optimize operations.

• Cloud native innovation

Cloud native development is as much a philosophy as it is a set of tools. Cloud native development is about leveraging the advantages of the cloud to build applications that function better than legacy applications ever could. It supports innovation through four leading competencies: agile development, DevOps, serverless computing and APIs. These are powerful for innovating rapidly in response to business changes and competition.

• Agile development: Delivers the capacity to adapt quickly to new challenges while providing control over project activities and deliverables.
• DevOps: Provides a series of process changes that apply the agile techniques from software development to the rest of the development lifecycle — infrastructure, configuration, updates and scaling — with no boundaries between them.
• Serverless: Offers the quickest path to production and is suitable for event-driven processes that help keep costs to a minimum.
• Application Programming Interface (API): Acts as a contract that defines how two applications will communicate with each other via requests and responses.

The AWS Innovation Experts

Innovation is the engine of the business world. Every innovation gives companies the ability to fill a unique demand in the marketplace, differentiate themselves and stake a more robust claim in their industry. But innovation is not always an easy road. Depending on the solution, innovation requires the right processes, people and technologies. Any lack in these requirements can quickly derail the best laid plans.

Are you ready to realize your organization’s innovation goals?

Download our e-book, “Powering Innovation on AWS with Onica by Rackspace Technology,” to learn why innovation is critical for today’s organizations. Discover how the latest opportunities in AI, machine learning, IoT and cloud native are helping today’s companies realize their innovation goals.