Cloud technology is on top of mind for IT executives across all industries. They evaluate the cloud technology based on technical capabilities, security, and cost savings. For many companies it is not a question of whether or not to use cloud computing. It is more about how to use the cloud and what type of cloud to use – public, private or private – to transform the IT operations.
At Freeborders, we are often asked whether the cloud is a game changer for outsourcing. My first answer is, it depends on the definition of outsourcing. If outsourcing is defined as “resources doing application development and maintenance”, then cloud computing is not really a game changer. The real paradigm shift happens with Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), which shifts a company’s systems, storage, and databases to the cloud. IaaA lowers the cost of entry dramatically, especially for small to medium-sized services.
However, transitioning to the cloud is not as simple as turning on cloud services and turning off the traditional environments. New IT architectures are required that take into account security, compliance, and accessibility requirements. IT resources need to be properly trained to obtain the skillsets to manage cloud services. This also includes updating and following strict governance policies to protect a company’s data.
In the future, we will see a continuous shift of services to the cloud as traditional IT environments reach the end of their lifecycle
