IT directors warned to pull the mist from cloud computing

That message comes from Neil Cross, managing director of managed services and cloud computing provider Advanced 365. And with analyst Gartner suggesting that CIOs view the cloud as their top technology priority for this year, and the number of firms using on-demand computing will rise to 43% within four years, the warning comes at an interesting time. Cross suggests companies should consider several factors before seeking to introduce cloud computing as part of their IT strategy. First, "determine what you want to achieve and why", he intones. Cross makes the point that IT is about delivering improved business services, not just ensuring the smooth-running of technology. "Both public and private cloud options should be thoroughly reviewed alongside non-cloud alternatives... Moving to cloud computing just because it's the latest buzz in IT isn't a good enough reason and your project is likely to fail," he warns. Second, though, Cross recommends that cloud wannabes understand their business drivers, as well as the IT drivers. "It's essential that any changes made to IT infrastructure are suited to the needs of the business first, rather than being modified to fit the IT department's preferred cloud platform," he insists. Beyond these, his message is the usual list of 'fail to prepare, prepare to fail', 'reducing complexity is as important as reducing cost', 'choose the right partner' and 'think about the risks'. On the complexity issue, though, Cross makes the point that, compared with managing your IT in-house, cloud computing may not be a cheaper option, due to the additional costs of accessing cloud services on-demand and having to retrain staff. "Introducing a new cloud supplier to your business could also create more management complexity into your IT infrastructure, if you're uncertain as to how this supplier will be managed and how you are going to link your various applications together," counsels Cross.