Cloud, outsourcing and business value construction
HP has an interesting paper on how to choose the right cloud computing solution for your organization that covers this kind of planning.
In a way, I see cloud in its current state as a perfect example of an innovator’s dilemma scenario. It is a new entrant. It doesn’t do as much as outsourcing in one way, but it does something very different in other ways. For those that need all the capabilities of outsourcing, they will not likely change. Those that have never been big enough or still want to feel in more control -- cloud will let them experience that sensation. There is no doubt though that, since its inception, Cloud has been defined to move up-market.
I think that an organizations experience and the relationship they have with their outsourcers will impact the questions listed in the first paragraph. If the organization is very control oriented (particularly at the infrastructure level), they’ll never be able to take full advantage of cloud, let alone outsourcing. They’ll probably be frustrated by both.
As I’ve mentioned before the role of the CIO is likely to change to much more about business value and ... than it may be today. If the organization has a close connection with a cloud broker, some of the relationship management issues will be off-loaded as well. Many of the issues shown below for cloud adoption or outsourcing are the same.
This kind of shift will take a different type of person. They’ll have to be good delegators, since that is what both outsourcing and cloud provide. They’ll also have to have the vision of what will be possible with these different capabilities and be able to define the business value of the shift.
If you considering a cloud computing solution, what do you see as the pros and cons of cloud?
