Cloud Billing for Enterprises Moving Center Stage for Monetizing the 'Now' Economy

By Peter Bernstein, Senior Editor  |  May 10, 2016

Before getting to the “cloud billing” and “monetization” aspects of the headline above, a brief explanation of the NOW Economy is useful context.  It is something that Oracle (News - Alert) Communications caught my and the world’s attention with -  as it was the thematic focal point of their showcase at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) (MFC) back in February of this year.  It is a modernization of what people have been talking about as the “Real-time Economy” for almost two decades.  Only it is now on steroids. 

This all started with the realization that digitization of content along with the Internet was going to make real-time the only time when it came to being responsive in an increasingly online world. It has been expanded greatly to incorporate the need for more and more context-based agility.  And, while I don’t like using Wikipedia definitions, the one for “real-time economy” is spot on:

Real-time economy is an environment where all the transactions between business entities are in digital format, increasingly generated automatically, and completed in real-time (as they occur) without store and forward processing. The real-time enterprise is a giant spreadsheet of sorts, in which new information, such as an order, is automatically processed and percolates through a firm's computer systems and those of its suppliers The core objective of the real time economy is the reduction of latency between and within processes. Latency reduction will reduce capital occupancy costs by occupying assets (physical and labor) for less time.

Where NOW Economy enters the picture is as an even more apt description.  Things like mobility, virtualization, the cloud, Big Data, and the move to “E”verything being a service, are transforming the face of how business models need to be upgraded to accommodate the speed at which business is transacted. On top of this is a sense of urgency to become agile immediately if not sooner to survive and prosper.  In short, monetization, as it has always been, is paramount. However, the need for speed and agility has never been more pronounced.  As I have previously pointed out, we already live in a world where real-time is the only time.  We also live in what I have many times characterized as “The Age of Acceleration,” where the only constants are change the fact that the speed at which it is coming at us is increasing almost exponentially.

The global economy truly is a NOW Economy and is so right now. Understanding how to be in the moment and ready for whatever comes next is truly “mission critical.”  Hence, leveraging technology, specifically the cloud for maximizing the monetization of “E”verything as a service can’t be an afterthought.  The benefits of the cloud are now well-documented.  It thus makes excellent business sense to move enterprise billing to the cloud.

This move fits with the growing appreciation of C-levels around the world of not just the benefits of moving to the cloud but also to a subscription-based mode:  These benefits include:

  • Rapid monetization of services
  • Recurring revenue streams
  • Better visibility of customer requirements based on deeper insights into usage

The latter point results in the ability to quickly customize features, packaging and pricing, and provide different billing models that are better for attracting and delighting customers.  It creates a win/win for vendors and customers alike.

A great way to understand the benefits and reasons why cloud billing for enterprise subscription services is something that your organization needs to considers is the forthcoming webinar, Monetizing the NOW Economy: Cloud Billing for Enterprise Subscription Services.  To be presented live on Thursday, May 19, 2016 02:00 PM EDT / 11:00 AM PDT, you are invited to join me, Jean Lawrence, Product Marketing, Billing and Revenue Management Cloud Service, Oracle and Brian Kracik, Senior Director, Product Marketing, Enterprise and Cloud Services as we delve into:

  • What’s driving subscription commerce and what capabilities are required for the NOW economy
  • Pathways, deployment models and considerations for cloud billing
  • How cloud billing can deliver new subscription services quickly and cost-effectively, provide real-time views of your customer base, and achieve financial compliance

  It used to be that to say something was getting cloudy meant that there was less clarity about something.  However, when it comes to enterprise billing of services on a subscription basis getting cloudy is a really good thing. 




Edited by Stefania Viscusi
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