The hype vs. reality debate is nothing new to IT, from the first PC to today's iPad. But ignore the hype at your own peril. If there's an overhyped term today, it is cloud computing. Everyone is on the cloud computing discussion, but will it really deliver as promised? Is this not just vendor driven for revenue? Check out this breathless prophecy:
"We can't even imagine today the potential of cloud computing as we look forward. But given the intersection of higher processing power, cheaper cost and the ubiquitous access to broadband networks that for the first time are able to deliver content in ways that we couldn't imagine before ... transformation that's going to fundamentally change the way we live our lives."
Wow! If you thought that this was spoken by Marc Benioff, guess again. It was Vivek Kundra, President Barak Obama's federal CIO, speaking on "The Economic Gains of Cloud Computing" April 7.
Kundra's viewpoint is not surprising in one sense, in that the government has also been an early adopter of technology. But it is surprising in contrast to the conventional wisdom of many CIOs in corporate America. There are CIO's discussing the new shift in IT being cloud computing, and how this without a doubt a game changer. Is it? Is it not just the latest magazine read and management direction because everyone is doing cloud and we don't want to get behind. What value will it deliver to the business? What competitive edge does it bring to the table? Remember the big outsource your IT craze and the big organizations that outsourced their entire IT department to offshore organizations? How many of them are now bringing that all back in house - didn't work out so well. We have to stop following the few, and listen to our business needs and deliver what is best for the business. Cloud computing may not work for all organizations, and it doesn't have to.
I propose to you that we will see a hybrid approach to cloud computing. There will be SaaS offerings that make sense to the business, and the application meets a business need. There will be IaaS offerings that meet a business need around web services, burstable needs, DR, etc. Don't be so quick to jump on the cloud computing band wagon and make significant mistakes. Take the time to map out the business capabilities, needs and how you can help the business with IT enabling solutions. Be the leader in your organization on cloud computing as the CIO. Drive the discussions and ensure IT stays engaged, IT governance remains in tact, and that whatever services are aquired fit a need and not a stigma.
Good Luck!
About Me
- Scott Arnett
- Scott Arnett is an Information Technology & Security Professional Executive with over 30 years experience in IT. Scott has worked in various industries such as health care, insurance, manufacturing, broadcast, printing, and consulting and in enterprises ranging in size from $50M to $20B in revenue. Scott’s experience encompasses the following areas of specialization: Leadership, Strategy, Architecture, Business Partnership & Acumen, Process Management, Infrastructure and Security. With his broad understanding of technology and his ability to communicate successfully with both Executives and Technical Specialists, Scott has been consistently recognized as someone who not only can "Connect the Dots", but who can also create a workable solution. Scott is equally comfortable playing technical, project management/leadership and organizational leadership roles through experience gained throughout his career. Scott has previously acted in the role of CIO, CTO, and VP of IT, successfully built 9 data centers across the country, and is expert in understanding ITIL, PCI Compliance, SOX, HIPAA, FERPA, FRCP and COBIT.
I believe all this hype about cloud computing is really being driven by the big vendor groups that will benefit the most. They are out to drive business into their cloud offerings, so let's print all these articles, conferences and scares out there to drive corporations into their arms. I think some things make sense and will work, but I think there are a lot of blind damn dumb CIO's and CEO's out there that will follow blind. You hit it on the head - find out what makes sense, what will benefit the company and do that. Don't worry about what all the other jackasses are doing. Everyone went and started outsourcing IT to India - how successful was that? How much rework do we have to do? How much more work do we have to do because of this decision? Tons - and yet they can give an interview and say " we utilize offshore development staff" - big deal. Shows you are a blind sheep following a wolf. Pull your heads out and become leaders and not let the vendors pull you around. We need strong leadership!!
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