It seems to be generally accepted by many that the Cloud is now a part of mainstream solutions for businesses. Indeed, the paradigm shift towards business adaptability that has been enabled by the Cloud is now central to many business models.
One of the major drivers behind this business necessity has lain in a shift from capex to opex as well as enabling a much quicker entrance to market and an unprecedented ability to scale and de-scale as needed.
At this moment in time, 80% of large corporates are signed up to a Cloud service[i] with an estimated 100% set to be by 2012. On a basic level, corporate leaders now have 10 or more Cloud applications at their disposal. Such figures are testament to the central role that Cloud services are increasingly playing.
Yet considering the benefits of Cloud, it is incredible that there has been significant resistance to it in some quarters, particularly – and ironically - from IT professionals within companies.
Early adoption of the Cloud has in fact been led by the business with “C” level executives using Cloud to navigate around the IT department. CIOs are however still central to the process by either slowing down the inevitable migration to the Cloud or in responding to the quickly blossoming business imperatives of it.
By far the most important reason given for not moving more applications to the Cloud is security. This however is an argument that is often used in an exaggerated way. Most execs seem to be unaware of the Cloud Security Alliance, which has recently upgraded the industry standards for security. These measures were developed with leading technology companies and corporations from different sectors such as financial services and retail. These standards are more robust than many corporations’ own and with the many variations of Cloud, including private Cloud platforms and options where data is kept in-house; there is enough diversity to cater for every taste.
It therefore would seem that many of the concerns with the security of the Cloud are largely unfounded. This excessive fear of Cloud is out of proportion to reality. Corporations have been investing in and driving for decades technology solutions that reside outside their corporate walled gardens (SWIFT, BACS, etc), yet when it comes to the Cloud the expertise developed by some CIOs for the handling of external systems is all but forgotten. Those who do remember are in for a massive saving. Already some enlightened corporates have migrated from legacy systems such as Lotus Notes to the Cloud and by doing so have reduced their annual software bills by a factor of 80%, leading to savings of millions of pounds or dollars in many cases.
The key question that needs to be asked is who has a vested interest in not moving into the Cloud and why? Interestingly, it is the CIOs with a technology only mindset that have been reticent to move into the Cloud. A self- preserving pack mentality means that these CIOs are reluctant to take a chance at technology that could reduce the need for skilled in-house IT technicians. In other words, people that have come from the same background they have. Secondly, there has been an active movement; one could almost say campaign, by the software industry, which makes its fortune on selling licenses, with the recurring revenue stream of updated software and license renewals. The close relationship many CIOs have with both internal IT professionals and their external software community also means that much of the advice these CIOs receive is arguably far from impartial.
It is no secret[ii] why Cloud is seen as a potential problem to technically biased CIOs and a potent threat to software providers. The Cloud model is based on subscription related usage on demand, whereas the software model is based on corporation purchases and maintaining the software licenses regardless of whether they are used or not. CIOs that are technology only led know full well that the Cloud leads to restructuring and downsizing of their IT ‘empires’ whilst loosening their stranglehold upon the business caused by legacy systems.
The experience of migrating to the Cloud is arguably one of the biggest positive changes in business adaptability of recent times. Those organisations led by a CIO that puts business first and is passionate about liberalization of the business are having a significant positive impact upon corporate competitiveness and innovation. Indeed, an ever increasing number of concerned executives are now using external advisers to help migration to and development in the Cloud. There has even been a spate of C level recruits whose remit is based firmly within the Cloud and driving towards business adaptability. However, those CIOs that have not yet jumped on this band wagon or who have been resisting this are being exposed, and the organisations they lead are suffering as a result. CIOs have been central to business progression for sometime – but when he or she becomes an obstacle for arguably self-interested or reasons with little grounding, organisations should be taking a long hard look at themselves and be asking – ‘can I trust my CIO?’
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[i] Source: ‘The Arrival of “Cloud Thinking”: How and Why Cloud Computing Has Come of Age in Large Corporations’ study conducted by Management Insight Technologies, sponsored by Computer Associates.
[ii] Nicholas Carr has written two books covering this subject: “Does IT Matter?” and “The Big Switch”.
