In a traditional environment, architectural decisions are often implemented as static, one-time events, with a few major versions of a system during its lifetime.

As a business and its context continue to change, these initial decisions might hinder the system’s ability to deliver changing business requirements. In the cloud, the capability to automate and test on-demand lowers the risk of impact from design changes. This allows systems to evolve over time so that businesses can take advantage of innovations as a standard practice.