Cloud computing facts may unclench server huggers’ hold

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Alex Barrett.

Every IT function you can think of is available as a cloud-based service these days: email and communications, payroll, human resources, file sharing, analytics — the list goes on. Cloud services are often used by newer companies with no legacy infrastructure, but they’re also pitched to replace existing on-premises systems. That’s when the trouble starts, said Curtis Peterson, vice president of operations at RingCentral Inc., a provider of cloud-based business communications services that is an alternative to legacy PBX systems.

While higher-level executives may be open to the idea of cloud-based services, more entrenched, operational IT staffers — so-called server huggers — often are not. Here’s what Peterson hears from server huggers and what he has to say to those who just can’t give up their beloved hardware…

"If we don’t own it, we can’t control it."

"I call this the delusion of control," Peterson said. He says IT teams can actually gain a greater degree of control over a cloud-hosted application, thanks to ubiquitous Web- or mobile-based management consoles. There’s probably some truth to that, but also a measure of wishful thinking…

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