22 April 2014
The challenges CIOs and heads of IT are facing have continued to rise recently. These roles have also become significantly more diverse and are no longer confined to ensuring the smooth operation of the company’s IT landscape. As a result of this, Cloud computing will have to become an integral part of IT landscapes in the future if CIOs want to be able to meet the demands placed on them. A new Whitepaper from InEssence Reply, the Reply group company specialising in SAP-Cloud solutions and consulting, concludes that companies can exploit the benefits of this concept with an appropriate cloud computing strategy, without having to take risks. CIOs are now having to choose the right cloud model for their business: private, public or hybrid. The challenge is also to make the long-term transformation process so that IT managers generate the greatest benefits for the entire organisation across IT and Business. InEssence Reply has developed a Whitepaper about the challenges of Cloud Computing that explores why a CIO should consider the topic of cloud computing. As an introduction to a Cloud Computing Strategy, with an analysis of the possibilities for the introduction of cloud services, InEssence Reply recommends the following procedure: First of all, CIOs should analyse the current IT-landscape. There will always be IT solutions and areas that have to remain “in house” for various reasons. In most cases a “cloud-only” IT strategy is impossible to implement. However, there are examples of successful hybrid models, in which cloud applications and on-premise solutions can be merged to form a powerful, flexible and scalable architecture. Communication is the most important step of a cloud computing roadmap. The reasons why areas are being moved to the cloud should be communicated in an open and honest manner. CIOs should position themselves as “Chief Information Broker” and bring senior management and specialist departments on board. After completing the feasibility analysis, it is necessary to collect information about the performance of the corresponding providers before making a choice. And last but not least, set up a good schedule with milestones for internal IT projects as well as for the introduction of external cloud services and the integration of these into the exiting IT landscape. “Even if you do not trust the euphoric market forecasts of some analysts and providers regarding cloud computing, as an innovative and modern CIO, you should remain open to the IT cloud. The trend towards cloud computing can be clearly felt and will intensify even further in future”, comments Dietmar Meding, Partner at InEssence Reply. “With an appropriate cloud computing strategy, companies can exploit the numerous cloud benefits, such as speed, agility and flexibility, without having to fear the risks”, Meding adds.
The whitepaper is now available for download.
Between 2008 and 2013, Dietmar Meding was responsible for SAP’s cloud solutions business as Vice President for EMEA & MEE (Europe, Middle East, Africa & Middle-Eastern Europe). Since 2013, he has been Partner of InEssence Reply, the SAP cloud solutions specialist of the Reply Group.