Many local businesses are not realising the benefits of true cloud computing because of perceived adoption hurdles.
This is according to Fabio Taddei, portfolio manager, Cloud and Managed Services, at Fujitsu. However, he says, those same 'hurdles' should rather be seen as drivers towards cloud computing.
Taddei says not much has changed since Fujitsu ran a local cloud computing survey last year. Companies still fear cloud computing puts their data and control at risk, and IT departments are still afraid “the cloud is coming to eat their lunch”, says Taddei.
“It's not. Cloud computing is just a shift in the way IT is being delivered. The enterprise still has overall responsibility for the data and the computing environment - even when that environment is in the cloud,” says Taddei.
On security fears, Taddei notes that, for SMEs, cloud computing can address their security shortcomings and elevate their security and overall systems to new levels.
“Cloud computing gives small and medium-sized enterprises access to top-level security and controls; in fact, it allows them to play on the same level as major enterprises,” he says.
Another concern as enterprises consider moving to the cloud is the capex versus opex debate. It is true that a long-term 'rental' may seem more expensive than buying IT and eventually owning it, says Taddei. However, the beauty of a cloud computing environment is its agility.
“It works because it is highly optimised. It improves agility. You can provision additional IT services very rapidly, which makes you more competitive. In the case of a small or medium-sized enterprise, this means they can step up into the enterprise environment with no big upfront investment.”
While many companies sit on the fence considering a move to cloud, Taddei says they could emulate those who have begun the journey by developing a strong virtualisation platform.
“Companies should identify what components of business processes should go into the cloud. Hybrid will be the flavour of the day for some time, where critical applications are run privately and less-critical services go into the cloud first.”
Taddei will speak at the upcoming ITWeb Virtualisation and Cloud Computing Summit on positioning business for success in the cloud. For more information on this event, to be staged from 17 to 19 July, at The Forum in Bryanston, click here.
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