The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was directed by the federal government to define cloud computing to assist federal agencies in implementing cloud architectures.

In 2011, NIST published NIST SP 800-145—“The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing” and defined cloud computing as: “A model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.”¹

There’s much to learn about the benefits that this business model can bring to organizations. Cloud computing will transform how you do business. This article explains the benefits of using a cloud architecture for calibration management software systems. The following benefits and topics will be discussed: work from anywhere, always on, reduced IT costs, scalability, automatic updates, reduced coordination costs, improved quality control, disaster recovery, environmental sustainability, increased competitiveness, stronger security, and compliance considerations.²

Three years’ worth of new graduates have entered the workforce entirely remote due to the changing atmosphere of the work world, and more companies than ever are fully remote. Millions of employees have experienced remote work for the first time and don’t plan to go back to brick-and-mortar offices. After Covid hit, it became clear that remote isn’t just a trend; it’s the future.

Although many of the world’s most forward-thinking organizations have adapted to remote, achieving excellence with that format requires more than just a Zoom license and permission to work from home. Remote success requires policies, benefits, leadership, and processes to be effective and inclusive. With or without the existence of Covid, these are transformative shifts that aren’t going away. Remote HR needs and development are now an asset to every company. It’s no longer enough to address remote effectiveness. In order for companies to thrive and grow, effective remote leadership from human resources departments is a mission-critical element of any competitive business.

The ISO 9001 standard talks about the relationship between the company and the customer in a couple of places. First is management’s responsibility to make sure that customers’ needs are a top consideration, and that their requirements are met. Then that customer satisfaction is improving, and customer satisfaction data are analyzed.

Many books deal with improving customer satisfaction, and a few focus on loyalty. Loyalty is a topic unto itself because it’s significantly different from satisfaction and is inherently measurable through behaviors that customers exhibit. In many organizations these three topics are treated as separate entities that don’t connect with each other. Many companies have siloed customer requirements from customer satisfaction measurement, and many don’t even look at customer loyalty. However, these three things are innately related to each other. One cultural development has enabled a strong connection among the three: social media.