Cloud computing: Gauging the benefits, barriers, hype and reality
- TAGS:cloud computing
- IT TOPICS:Data Center, Emerging Technology, Enterprise Apps, Internet, Management, Security
Research firm IDC says cloud computing will "cross the chasm" -- move from early adopters to mainstream -- over the next three years. IDC surveyed 244 enterprise users and here's a high-level summary of what they found....
Top perceived benefits of cloud computing:
- Easy/fast to deploy
- Pay for only what you use
- Less in-house staff & costs
Top challenges of cloud computing:
- Security
- Performance
- Availability
- Hard to integrate with in-house IT
- Inability to customize
What customers want from cloud computing:
- Competitive pricing
- Performance assurances (SLA)
- Understand my business & industry
- Ability to move cloud offerings back on-premise
CFO magazine has an interesting article about cloud computing, which includes this hype-vs.-reality chart:
Hype: All of corporate computing will move to the cloud.
Reality: Low-priority business tasks will constitute the bulk of migration out of internal data centers.Hype: The economics are vastly superior.
Reality: Cloud computing is not yet more efficient than the best enterprise IT departments.Hype: Mainstream enterprises are using it.
Reality: Most current users are Web 2.0-type companies (early adopters).Hype: It will drive IT capital expenditures to zero.
Reality: It can reduce start-up costs (particularly hardware) for new companies and projects.Hype: It will result in an IT infrastructure that a business unit can provision with a credit card.
Reality: It still requires a savvy IT administrator, developer, or both.
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