One of the things that you should do when thinking about using cloud-based applications is the roadblocks and problems that you might encounter along the way. The good news is that more and more CIOs right now are realizing that they do not need to overhaul their IT when they get on the cloud, and instead use their current systems to get software as a service offerings for business needs. There are also CIOs who are opting for a mixed setup, wherein you put non-critical applications on the public cloud while keeping mission critical ones on your private cloud.
But even as CIOs have learned so much as far as cloud systems are concerned, some still get surprised by problems and issues as time passes. It is very important for CIOs to anticipate these problems and come up with a solution even before they happen. This is the best way to avoid stress and headaches.
How does a CIO do this?
- Think like a CFO. Getting onto the cloud means a shift in how you think about expenses. No longer are you dealing with fixed costs and capital expenditures, but more as operational expenses. There is also the question of costs coming from new technologies that you need to have. Plus you have to quantify the benefits, which would not be easy. For example, it is difficult to pin a dollar value of flexibility, agility and scalability. You would also need to understand that cloud services usually means unpredictable expenditures along the way because of its usage-based rates, something that CFOs would not be quite comfortable with. You would need to build a case that business managers and the CFO would understand. Instead of dwelling on the unpredictability of usage-based pricing, you might find it more beneficial to your cost to highlight the savings. With the cloud, business users would have an incentive to reduce consumption because that would mean savings for them. Less usage means more savings.
- Have the right and adequate infrastructure. What most CIOs do not understand is that moving your data onto the cloud would mean more traffic going through your network. You would also be dealing with more types of data and more volume on top your current traffic. Unless you are able anticipate this and assess your network needs from a macro standpoint, your cloud initiatives are bound to fail, because no cloud service is going to perform well when you do not have the right infrastructure in place.
- Get the right skills in place. Getting into the cloud would mean that you would need to have new skills to learn. It would not be enough to trust the skills of the provider’s people, you would need to enhance your IT team’s skills as well. You would also need to figure out how to manage your own service level agreements when these are tied to an outside provider’s service. And you would need to manage the third party software and the vendor as well.
If you are in Texas, know that Four Cornerstone provides Oracle consulting in Dallas, among other things. If you need moving into the cloud, then we are the company to call. Contact us now!
