Real Cloud ExperienceReal Cloud Experience
There are plenty of good arguments, but the reality can be less attractive and more complex than expected.
August 5, 2011
There are plenty of good arguments, but the reality can be less attractive and more complex than expected.
Can we stop the cloud articles in the airline magazines that stimulate the CEO, CFO and board members? This would help reduce the cloud hype.
CEOs, CFOs, enterprise boards all hear about the cloud and its value. The cloud is cheap. Let those who run IT do the job because the enterprise is not in the IT business. If it is already built, why do it ourselves? Implementation is fast.
All good arguments but the reality can be less attractive and more complex than expected.
Chris Filandro, the CIO at Meritage Homes spoke a meeting of the Society for Information Management. His remarks are presented in "Changing the Way We Talk About the Cloud" posted at Know IT at the Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business. The article discusses cloud based applications in general, not cloud based communications. The reason it is worth reading is that with Unified Communications (UC) and its integration with Communication Enabled Business Processes (CEBP), cloud based applications and communications become more than linked, they are integrated. So what experience with cloud services can directly impact UC whether in house or as a cloud service?
The challenges faced with CEBP are the same as those faced by application developers with other applications that may reside in the cloud. Enterprises trying to customize a CEBP solution may encounter difficulty when trying to integrate with other software. This can be seen with CEBP, the call center and SalesForce.com. How do these play with customized software?
Customizing standard software can be a lot more expensive than anticipated. The cloud offers a low price but that does not include the customization. Many of the cloud features are available but usually on a per-feature cost model. The costs can add up.
Trying to develop solutions in house for cloud residency can be complex and time consuming. Developers will probably need training before embarking on the customization, another possible hidden cost. The enterprise may need to pay for consulting support for the implementation, yet another cost.
A different challenge comes from the cloud pricing model, a per-per-user model. The CIO and IT staff have to determine who really needs access to the applications. When the solution is in house, many enterprises offer access to nearly everyone. With the cloud model, pay-per-user, the CIO and IT staff need to be given a good justification for user access. The fewer the users, the lower the cloud bill.
The article concludes with comments worth repeating:
* "Corporate leaders face a daily barrage of messages about how dramatically the cloud will change their business ("pay today and tomorrow have a new solution"). Inundated with these messages, it's easy for C-suite leaders and board members to get starry-eyed about the wonders of the cloud.
* It's also easy for CIOs to simply dismiss cloud messages as hype. But Chris Filandro...said that is a mistake. [Filandro said], "If I stick my head in the sand, there's only one thing that's showing." Instead, CIOs must explain the realities of the cloud, not dispel it.
* Based on his own experience managing a transition to the cloud, Filandro counts among its benefits: reduced time to market (nine months v. five years) and lower cost (about half); risk mitigation, easier development of very-specialized applications; and the ability to customize the solution in house.
* Among the challenges, Filandro cites: costs for "a la carte" solutions that quickly add up; greater complexity for in-house developers; and the need to vet end-users (since cost is per user). Plus, as quick a migration as a cloud might promise, a large organization is still a very big ship to turn.
* Filandro: Cloud isn't the answer to every problem. It's just another tool in the technologist’s toolbox."
* It's also easy for CIOs to simply dismiss cloud messages as hype. But Chris Filandro...said that is a mistake. [Filandro said], "If I stick my head in the sand, there's only one thing that's showing." Instead, CIOs must explain the realities of the cloud, not dispel it.
* Based on his own experience managing a transition to the cloud, Filandro counts among its benefits: reduced time to market (nine months v. five years) and lower cost (about half); risk mitigation, easier development of very-specialized applications; and the ability to customize the solution in house.
* Among the challenges, Filandro cites: costs for "a la carte" solutions that quickly add up; greater complexity for in-house developers; and the need to vet end-users (since cost is per user). Plus, as quick a migration as a cloud might promise, a large organization is still a very big ship to turn.
* Filandro: Cloud isn't the answer to every problem. It's just another tool in the technologist’s toolbox."
Like it or not, when an enterprise implements CEBP, that enterprise is integrating communications and applications as never before. The application developers need communications as well as application experience and knowledge. CIOs are managing resources that are not resident in house and may need to change their management style.
