Simulations and scenario planning have long been used by organizations to evaluate strategies and tactics, test product concepts and service approaches, and examine the potential impact of new business models. Today’s customers and businesses benefit from computer simulations of complicated scenarios ranging from weather forecasts to the performance of aircraft that are still in development.
A corporation can lower the expense and risk of conducting these trials by running simulations in a cloud vendor’s data center. A bank or store, for example, considering a digital transformation, can simulate the impact of integrating numerous consumer channels on sales and profitability.
With enormous computational capacity now available on-demand, businesses may perform simulations on almost anything for which they have adequate, high-quality data. As a result, such simulations make it possible to pose questions left unanswered before and test more ideas.
Cloud-powered simulations have numerous potential applications. We discovered seven areas where many groups generate the most benefit. The Seven Use Cases for Cloud Simulations are discussed below:
1.) Asset Management and Optimization: Companies use simulation modelling to estimate when assets will break and need to be repaired or replaced. For example, General Electric’s Power & Water division has created virtual plants utilizing cloud-based real-time simulation. In addition, the corporation can model the state of every asset in its gas power plants and wind farms by using so-called “digital twins” of crucial pieces of equipment.
2.) Research and Development: High-performance cloud infrastructure can be helpful in product development, allowing firms to swiftly analyze designs, test performance, and eliminate quality issues. Unilever, for example, is developing novel deodorants and other goods by merging data generated in its labs with publicly available microbial genetic data.
The cloud can enable similar simulation capabilities in medical research and development. For example, the Laboratory for Personalized Medicine at Harvard Medical School is employing a cloud-computing platform to construct genome analysis testing models, speeding up research on the therapeutic use of new genetic tests. Novartis is also accelerating its pre-clinical R&D activities for medication development in the public cloud.
3.) Human Capital Management: Several businesses are utilizing cloud-based simulations to attract individuals and assign them to the appropriate tasks. For instance, a company may learn that an MBA graduate does not always correspond with company longevity. Nevertheless, it may delve further and discover that MBAs in smaller markets are less likely to depart, but those in metropolitan locations are more likely to move professions.
4.) Customer Experience: Companies use computer modelling approaches to forecast client receptivity to new products, services, offers, or product functionality, which might range from a new app to a new banking product. One fashion shop, for example, simulates the impact of discount offers on products at specific times-such as a holiday festival- using data from numerous channels (sales transactions, consumer website visits, online and mobile behaviour). The simulations effectively increased repeat sales and revenue on specific product lines.
5.) Fraud Detection: Many businesses are turning to the cloud to help them detect, respond to, and potentially prevent fraud. HSBC, for example, employs the public cloud in its anti-money laundering activities. The bank uses analytics and machine learning on massive data sets to uncover trends that signal fraudulent conduct, which it then reports to the proper government bodies.
6.) Customer Service and Field Service: Cloud-based simulations can assist businesses in troubleshooting service and performance issues for consumers in the same way airlines and utilities use modeling for predictive maintenance of their assets. In addition, companies can simulate situations to develop a more flexible, on-demand field service function as they collect more data from internet of things connected items and field service calls.
7.) Inventory Management: Organizations with highly remote divisions or service regions such as remote health centers might employ cloud-based computer models to assess how best to serve and operate their far-flung units, following the same premise as field service simulations.
There is simulation potential for all enterprises across the world. And now is the time to figure out where the best opportunities exist. Computing power is available. Data is now available in greater amounts and diversity than ever before. A competitor or upstart will if you don’t use the potential to run complicated simulations on high-performance cloud assets.
