Why Companies Can't Afford to Ignore Cloud IT

By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Spend a little time with my father-in-law and I gain some great stories for applying IT humor. A farmer who believes he is older than he actually is, his thought process tends to be a little more outdated than some. The mere mention of the Internet sends his eyes rolling, even though he’s fascinated by the speed in which he can sell something on Craig’s List.

An even stronger reaction comes out of the mention of the cloud. The main reason is he doesn’t understand it, so considers it a waste of time to discuss. And while he’s working in an industry that relies more and more on technology, the concept actually scares him, even in its simplest form. Starting a conversation on the cloud generally leads to him turning to complaining about Facebook (News - Alert) – the habits of users is something he can get his mind around.

As funny as it seems that someone would be scared of the technology that impacts us on a daily basis, what he is exhibiting is really just human nature. We tend to be scared of or avoid things we don’t understand. Large connected systems managing data across a variety of networks is beyond comprehension for many, yet the anticipated benefits of cloud IT are significant. You no longer have to create those large systems. Instead, you simply benefit from them.

To that end, there are still company leaders who don’t vary much from my father-in-law when it comes to technology and the cloud. They don’t understand it and consider it potentially a threat to the way they do business or to the network security they already have in place. Yet the benefits are becoming more and more clear – lower cost, pay for use only, increased capabilities, increased capacity, the list continues. When worked into the budget, company leaders can no longer ignore the potential of the cloud.

For that reason, the demand for cloud IT transition hasn’t waned and remains strong. According to Deutsche Bank analysts, the migration to the cloud is still the biggest and most disruptive trend in enterprise IT today. Companies are consistently focused on lowering their IT budgets and the cloud offers a way to do so, without sacrificing operations. As many prepare to make their move to the cloud, they do need to lean on proven providers to lead the way.

What the C-suite needs to understand is the pressures of the market have changed the game. Speed is essential if a company hopes to maintain pace with the competition. Massive infrastructure builds take a considerable amount of time and money – both of which are hard to come by in lean times. By focusing IT capabilities in the cloud with a robust cloud IT strategy, companies are better positioned to focus on core competencies so as to give the competition a run for its money.