First Steps to Creating a Cloud Computing Strategy for 2013

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Louis Columbus.

2013 will be one of the most pivotal years for cloud computing because trust in these technologies is on the line. Expectations are high regarding these technologies’ ability to deliver business value while reducing operating costs. Enterprises’ experiences have at times met these high expectations, yet too often are getting mixed results. Managing cloud expectations at the C-level is quickly emerging as one of the most valuable skills in 2013.

The best CIOs at this are business strategists who regularly review with their line-of-business counterparts what is and isn’t working. These CIOs who are excelling as strategists also are creating and continually evaluating their cloud computing plans for 2013. They are focusing on plans that capitalize the best of what cloud computing has to offer, while minimizing risks…

CIOs excelling as strategists are also using cloud computing planning to punch through the hype and make cloud technologies real from a customer, supplier and internal efficiency standpoint. Lessons learned from these cloud computing planning efforts in enterprises are provided below:

• Cloud computing needs to mature more to take on all enterprise applications, so plan for a hybrid IT architecture that provides both agility and security. This is a common concern among CIOs in the manufacturing and financial services industries especially. As much as the speed of deployment, customization and subscription-based models attract enterprises to the cloud, the difficult problems of security, legacy system integration, and licensing slow its adoption. There is not enough trust in the cloud yet to move the entire IT infrastructure there in the majority of manufacturing companies I’ve spoken with…

Read more from the source @ http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2012/12/18/first-steps-to-creating-a-cloud-computing-strategy-for-2013/