Cloud computing enables IT departments to change at the same rate at which business changes.
The current speed of change in IT departments is insufficient. According to Bernard Donnelly, head of Cloud Architecture at Cybernest, traditionally, the speed of change for IT departments is six to 10 years. This compares to an average speed of three to six months for organisational change and an average speed of one to two years for strategic change.
Donnelly spoke about the ability of cloud computing to transform business at ITWeb's Virtualisation and Cloud Computing Summit yesterday.
According to Donnelly, IT departments need to look beyond infrastructure as a service models to maximise their gains from cloud computing. He pointed out that, while cloud is neither a new technology, nor even a new methodology, it is a new way of delivering IT services and resources. He added that this new delivery model is where the transformative power of cloud computing lies.
Stressing the importance of agility, Donnelly stated that 48% of CIOs regard start-ups as their greatest threat. He explained that start-ups are more threatening because, where companies' traditional competition are likely to be just as slow as they are, start-ups are able to deploy new business models rapidly.
Donnelley notes that small start-ups are able to start new businesses from scratch in a matter of months. According to him, cloud computing is enabling this, as it is able to bring IT departments up to speed with the rate of change of business.
In addition to increasing an organisation's operational efficiency, Donnelley said cloud computing offers organisations a greater level of collaboration. He explained that cloud computing gives users access to a collective intelligence, by enabling information to be accessed and shared all over the world.
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