Don't go to the cloud just because everyone else is
It seems like all you hear about these days is cloud, cloud, cloud. Amazon has a cloud strategy. Google has one (of course). Microsoft has a cloud strategy. These aren’t the only players – no vendor wants to be the last on the bus, or caught short in the rush to the latest technology. But does that mean you need to implement one?
There’s nothing wrong with moving to the cloud, as long as there’s a business case to do so. Going to the cloud just for the sake of doing so can introduce risks and new costs with potentially minimal ROI. When you look at implementing a cloud, be sure to look at the larger picture and as part of a complete IT strategy. There are also the considerations of security, cost, availability, and control, which have to be weighed against its benefits. Don’t go to the cloud just because its there, go there because it makes sense for you.
What is the benefit to the business of going to the cloud? If your email system is working well and you have no issues or cost concerns with it, it may not be of benefit to transition that to the cloud. However, if you are just now implementing a new service it may make sense to utilize the cloud and take advantage of it. In other words, if it works, you may not need to “fix” (or break) it just yet.
There are many types of clouds. Public / private / hybrid … hosted applications, software as a service, infrastructure as a service … determine which makes the most sense for you initially, and start small with a pilot. Cloud computing is still relatively new; it makes sense to not bet your business on your first implementation.
