Demand Forecasting in the Cloud: Modern Computing Meets the Forecasting Discipline

Cloud computing is slowly but surely establishing itself as the preferred platform and trusted IT operating model. It has both pros and cons, though the advantages far exceed the drawbacks. Through public clouds, organizations can significantly reduce upfront investments in IT, increase and decrease capacity according to their needs and pay only for what they use, and centralize data and systems which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. This will also enhance demand and supply chain planning by offering a platform that can quickly store, process and analyze large amounts of data (both structured and unstructured) to gain insight. However, it is not without risks, which include security, loss of control, and dependencies on cloud providers.