Cloud Computing Confusion at Microsoft CEO Summit
Posted by Margaret Dawson on June 1, 2010
A recent Seattle Times blog by Microsoft watcher Sharon Chan reported that CEOs were confused over the definition of cloud computing at a recent Microsoft CEO Summit. When I read Ballmer’s definition (granted, this might be taken out of context), I can see why.
I have attempted in previous blogs to define the “cloud”, because so many poor definitions exist. However, at the end of the day, the definition doesn’t matter. What’s important to know is the cloud is just a different way to consume technology. The cloud isn’t an “it”, it is a “way” of doing something, kind of like the Tao. : )
Your first job is still identifying your business challenges and priorities and determining how IT can help address those. Do you need to improve your customer relationships, better automate your supply chain, upgrade your online shopping experience or replace your legacy ERP system? Then, you look for solutions and/or service providers that help you reach your goals. In doing so, you should evaluate both on-premise and cloud solutions.
If you have a small IT staff or if the team’s core competence is not in the area you need to address, then a cloud or SaaS solution might be an ideal answer. There are also economic benefits to using cloud-based solutions, such as subscription, pay-as-you-go pricing, easy scalability up or down, and the ability to leverage Opex rather than Capex budgets, among others.
I think the greatest confusion for executives and IT managers alike is not so much with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions but with the broader cloud platforms and environments, such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) or Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). While not as straight forward as SaaS, the evaluation is similar.
Does your IT team need to obtain a new application for expense reports? The first question is should they build it or buy it? And then determine if the team has the core competence to build it. If yes, then you can develop it using traditional platforms like .NET or an open source model or you can consider using a “cloud” developer platform like Azure to build a new Web-based application. If not, you might choose to buy a solution, and in doing so, that might be a SaaS provider like Concur.
With Infrastructure, the easiest way to approach it is starting small. Do you need extra storage capacity and don’t want to buy another SAN? The cloud, such as Amazon Web Services, is a good choice, because you can more easily turn it on or off, add more or take away capacity, and you only pay for what you use.
Our chief software architect wrote a great article on the different as a Service platforms that might help.
Tags: Cloud Computing, Microsoft, SaaS, Steve Ballmer
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