IT and the business of IT is changing. It is likely to be changing for a long time to come. Such a long time that IT will start to look like things you have seen before and things you have not - all at the same time. Cloud computing is a prime example.
For what it’s worth, cloud computing is not grid computing, where virtual supercomputers perform large tasks. Nor is it utility computing, where – like electricity – computing resources are provided as a metered service. And it is not autonomic computing – self-managing computer systems. However, all these elements are in use by many cloud computing deployments today.

For now, the definitions matter, but only to a certain extent. Getting bogged down here detracts from the very point of cloud computing, which is to consume computing services without knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them.

Let’s examine the potential benefits of approaching business IT on this premise:

• Cost savings - Using, not owning software and the supporting infrastructure is attractive in terms of the reduced capital outlay required.

• Access - Entry to a service via a web browser means the location of the user is irrelevant. It also means the service should adapt to whatever device is being used.
• Performance, reliability and resiliency - Enabled by spreading loads over multiple sites and by services being able to call on additional computing power as and when required.

• Security - Centralisation of data improves security as it focuses capabilities and controls access.

• Environmentally friendlier - Higher use, economies of scale and efficiencies mean more work done per unit of energy consumed.

Many of the risks associated with cloud computing are inextricably linked to those benefits. When everything works properly, there are benefits. The moment it doesn’t, they become risks and liabilities.

While cloud computing heralds a sea change from traditional client-server and software licensing models, most businesses are still deeply entrenched in this traditional model of computing.

Indeed, enterprises have significant inertia. Freeform Dynamics’ research has shown time and again that tinkering does not get companies where they need to be. However, wholesale changes to computing strategies are incredibly expensive and politically dangerous, and we should not underestimate the difficulty of the transition. Hence there are many reasons why the ratio of non-cloud to cloud computing in most businesses will not change overnight.

With these positives and negatives in mind, the question becomes: “How are firms starting to take advantage of the benefits on offer from the cloud?”

The answer comes in two parts.

First, a certain degree of readiness is required for larger organisations. The first step is to consolidate IT infrastructure as far as possible. This is where virtualisation comes into play as a key enabler of the cloud computing paradigm.

Divorcing computing capabilities from the hardware it has traditionally been deployed on allows organisations to enjoy some of the same benefits on offer from the cloud. This is where the majority of organisations are today.

By mirroring cloud infrastructure internally, organisations can make decisions as to which parts of their IT should be maintained, and which should be sourced or accessed via the cloud. These decisions are, naturally, specific to the individual business, and should form the foundation of an organisation’s strategy for cloud computing.

The second part of the answer is simply getting on and doing some cloud computing. Many businesses of all sizes trust Salesforce.com, Google Apps and so forth. Others are using cloud resources to develop what we call cloud-native applications (CNAs). The growth of social computing and Web 2.0 are further examples of movements synonymous with the cloud concept.

As a practical reality for most organisations in the short term, the cloud is a natural location for where non-critical applications reside and non-critical processing is executed. The next step is to open up functions that have unpredictable requirements to utility resourcing via the cloud, so as to get used to truly scalable, on-demand computing.

There are multiple entry points, and many of them are innocuous enough for most organisations to try out with minor financial outlay. Ultimately, this is the entire point.

Today, the answer to the question: “Is cloud computing right for my company?” is “probably”. How much cloud computing is right for any company can only be assessed by deeper, industry, domain, use-case and other analyses. The reality behind the hype is that organisations are starting to consume software-as-a-service via the cloud, and are starting to exploit platform-as-a-service offerings to build their own CNAs.

Cloud computing represents the direction in which business IT is heading. The sky really is the limit, but the speed of change will be dictated by business-specific metrics around risk and reward and by solid proof offered by cloud service providers.
Martin Atherton is research director at Freeform Dynamics. Read the blog here