The cloud is there to stay !

Besides the fact that since beginning 2010, each day, a number of articles and press releases are published about the cloud we can expect that the cloud is here and will stay.

So what makes ‘the cloud’ to stay ?

The cloud is not about the technology but it’s about the way we do business today and how we (will) use IT.

Today we live in a global world where distances are becoming relative due to the internet and by that, cultures get mixed. Business do not have to compete anymore with their neighbors but with every competitor around the globe.

Speed to deliver is everything in this economics and IT needs to adapt. The ‘IT cloud’ plays an important role in this change.

"Braking the circle"

IT departments where used to each 3 or 4 years roll out massively a new version of a desktop towards their employees. Depending the size of the organization this job could take weeks or even months, not mentioning the preparation and aftercare of such a rollout. As a result IT departments don’t have time left for new tools applications which are needed to support the organization through the globalization…

Organizations are realizing that they need to break this circle and look for better solutions. Using an IT Cloud solution is one of them. An IT Cloud solution allow organizations to roll-out an IT service in a fraction of time they are used to, at a know cost and without overloading their IT department. Instead the IT department can again take the time to select the proper business tools and Apps to support their business and it’s expansion.

"OPEX instead of CAPEX"

Another important reason for the success of the ‘IT Cloud’ is that organization do not need to invest in purchasing hard- and software to be able to use new tools or Apps. Using an IT Cloud solution organizations have an alternative to use the same tools and Apps, typically based on a price per month per user. This is certainly a benefit in difficult economic times for organizations but also a perfect solution for small organizations that now have the opportunity to use the same tools as their bigger competitors without the need for large investments.

"Speed of Delivery"

As mentioned before, the way we do business is changing rapidly. Organizations need to adopt quick to be able to compete, and therefore IT needs to follow… The classic way of doing IT is not capable to achieve this demand.

Last i had one of our customers saying the need to be able to boot-up a large number of servers for a calculation job during a demo at one of their clients, just to convince them they can handle the job. Without an IT Cloud solution that customer would be unable to give this demo and convince his client...

These arguments are just some examples why the cloud will stay... As you see it’s not about technology, but about the way we deliver IT.

If ‘the cloud’ as we know it today is also ‘The Cloud of tomorrow’, I am not sure, in fact I doubt it. It’s like the clouds in nature, you look at the sky and see a cloud pattern at the horizon, if you look up 15 minutes later, the cloud pattern looks completely different. It’s maybe the best comparison between the ‘IT cloud’ and natural clouds I can make for the moment…