Clouds in my Coffee.. You Probably Think this Blog is About You..

At this stage, in Corporate IT, one could say that the forecast is cloudy all day.  The cloud is commonplace, but the role it plays in organizations varies. Wasabi Roll found that half of the IT world has conducted a full (24%) or partial (35%) cloud implementation in some fashion. Typical uses are in the area of email, sales management, and other Software as a Service, SaaS variations.  The cloud expenditures hover at 10% or less.

However don’t be fooled by the early adopter figures, 87% of executives surveyed, believe that cloud environments have the potential to transform business and operating models. Moreover, 81% of the businesses are either planning their initial venture, or are already in deployment stages of a cloud deployment.  And finally, and astonishingly so, 10 respondents said they are already running their core IT services using the cloud.

Cost savings are seen strategically, not tactically.  In short, cost savings are expected over time.  However, although providers tout 30% savings, most executives would be happy with a 10% to 15% savings.

Many factors drive the decision over public or private cloud.  Industries with the strongest adoption of private clouds are financial services, healthcare, and diversified industrials.  Interestingly enough, there is a divergence in who should champion the cloud initiatives.

Naturally CIOs see it as an IT function.  However, business executives believe it should waft to the CEO position, for it goes beyond IT into Marketing and other SaaS functions currently not under IT.

Now what is most interesting is that all this momentum is void of any tax considerations.  45% of the respondents are either ignoring or are unaware of the tax implications, such as CapEx to OpEx changes, outdated laws and regulations when characterizing various cloud transactions, and intercompany charges and the use of third parties for services rather than employees to name a few.

What Does This All Mean for IT Professionals

• Work closely with business units to not only get their comfort level that you will champion their interests, but actually have them work with you to devise an amenable strategy and action plan.
• Deploy competent specialists (tech and business) to study the cloud market, capabilities, and offerings and exclusions.
• Evaluate the interoperability of the cloud solutions against current applications, platforms, and infrastructure.  Assess their readiness for relocation to the cloud.
• Decide if the CIO will become the Chief Integration Officer.  If so, there are opportunities in driving business models and innovation.
• Don’t forget to develop and deploy operating governance and risk management programs from the IT perspective of the cloud services.

Source(s):

http://www.kpmg.com/AU/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/cloud-computing/Documents/clarity-in-the-cloud-business-adoption.pdf

So “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;”

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About Rick Ricker

An IT professional with over 21 years experience in Information Security, wireless broadband, network and Infrastructure design, development, and support.

For more information, contact Rick at (800) 399-6085