Cloud Computing: Giving CIOs the chance to innovate again

Grazed from Business Cloud9. Author: Stuart Lachlan.

CIOs have an opportunity to put innovation back in their job description and contribute more effectively to business strategy through the effective use of Cloud Computing.
For decades, CIOs and senior IT Decision Makers have struggled with the all too common perception of the IT department as a costly overhead rather than a significant contributor to corporate innovation and bottom-line success.

But the emergence of Cloud Computing and the subsequent lessening of the demands of legacy ICT architectures and operations presents today’s CIO with a chance to become innovators once more, says Doug Clark, Cloud Leader, IBM UK and Ireland…

“There is clearly a massive opportunity for CIOs to use the Cloud as an enabler for change and for the IT department as a whole to integrate what it does with the main business strategy,” he argues.

IT leaders should be at the forefront of change and innovation, he states, not held back by necessary operational routine. “When you look at the amount of change that organisations are trying to get their heads around at the moment, it’s an enormous challenge,” says Clark. “There is a need and an appetite for innovation. The CIO can help with this, but often has his or her hands tied behind their back because of the need to deal with the legacy environments that are ‘keeping the lights on’.”…

Read more from the source @ http://www.businesscloud9.com/content/giving-cios-chance-innovate-again/11721