Cloud: Fuelling the crisis of confidence in corporate IT?

Cloud: Fuelling the
crisis of confidence in
corporate IT?

ROB LIVINGSTONE
- PRINCIPAL, Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd, and
- Fellow, University of Technology, Sydney

Brisbane, 8th November 2011

navigatingthrougthecloud.com

What am I going to cover?

1. A perspective on Cloud
2. Next few years – from confusion to calm
3. Some of the less obvious challenges of public cloud
4. Migrating to public Cloud: A 14 point „ready-reckoner‟
5. Kryptonite and the „power‟ behind the appeal of public cloud.
6. The spectre of a Shadow IT Department
7. The shift away from the cost centre
8. Influences on your career
9. The future is now
10. Discussions and questions


1. A Perspective on Cloud

Maurits Cornelis
Escher (1898-1972)
- most famous for
his artworks of so-
called impossible
structures, such as
Ascending and
Descending,
Relativity, his
Transformation
Prints and more

Relativity by M. Escher navigatingthrougthecloud.com


It all depends on your perspective…

• No absolutely precise definition
• No defined standards
• It can mean different things to
different people under different
circumstances



Cloud is about getting from one place to a better place,
…. however ….
The challenge is to know the risks and the endpoint with certainty


2. Next few years – from confusion to calm

“There are known knowns. These are things we know
that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to
say, there are things that we know we don't know. But
there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we
don't know we don't know”
- Former US Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld , 2002

Let‟s start our Cloud journey
to turn the unknowns into
knowns!


3. Some of the less obvious challenges of public cloud

1. Which security standards apply to the cloud, and to which
components of the vendor‟s infrastructure?
• Review the statement of applicability (SOA) of the appropriate
Certification
• Is your Cloud solution in-scope of the SOA?
2. Risk transfer
• Can I buy insurance in the event of a problem with the Cloud?
3. Can you implement a SaaS Escrow arrangement in case the
provider folds?
• Some providers cannot offer Escrow due to the technical
design of their infrastructure
4. Does the provider have a disaster recovery plan?
• What form does it take, and what scenarios does it cover?
5. What warranty exclusions or limitations apply to all services
offered.
• Are these important to your organisation?

4. Migrating to public Cloud:
14 point ‘ready-reckoner’.
If the answer to these questions are YES, then you should be able to
progress relatively to the public Cloud:
1. Is this a completely new system?... AND……
2. Will the system always be standalone? (i.e. you do not need to
build any system interfaces)
3. Are your business requirements likely to remain relatively static?
4. If the vendor goes out of business (or shuts down their service) do
you have a workaround?
5. Are there any contract early termination penalties for services no
longer needed (Incl. any write-off‟s of ancillaries)?
6. Are the Cloud system boundaries clearly defined?
7. Are managerial accountabilities clearly defined and assigned?
8. Is there an immediate „crisis‟ on your hands and Cloud is the only
realistic alternative given its immediate availability?


4. Migrating to public Cloud:
14 point ‘ready-reckoner’.

If the answer to these questions are YES, then you should be able to
progress relatively to the public Cloud:

9. Is your data in the Cloud free from any State or Federal record
retention laws?
10. Are you comfortable in having your data (possibly) resident in a
foreign legal jurisdiction?
11. Can you manage, maintain and configure the system without the
need for IT programmers or other IT specialists?
12. Is your data free from specific legislation (Eg Privacy Act) or is not
subject to contractual obligations (eg major customer contract)?
13. Are you happy placing your most sensitive / critical and important
intellectual property in the Cloud?
14. Are you looking to use the Cloud system for a short period of time
only? (ie: Serving a short term need such as a major project)


5. Kryptonite and the ‘power’ behind the appeal of
public cloud.

Is this what happens
when public SaaS
meets the true facts?


5. Kryptonite and the ‘power’ behind the appeal of
public cloud.
Risks associates with asymmetry of understanding of ‘Cloud’
between IT and the business:

• While there is largely a solid understanding of what‟s inside the
public cloud „black box‟ by CIOs and those within the IT
industry, this is largely not the case for line-of-business
executives and managers.
• As long as this asymmetry of understanding exists:
1. Potentially inappropriate decisions regarding enterprise
systems may be made by the business on behalf of IT
2. The full relevance and potential of cloud computing may
not be fully realised in organisations.
3. The business may not end up performing appropriate due
diligence, which may increase risk exposure

• Are you ready to manage this if it occurs in your environment?

6. The spectre of a Shadow IT Department

• Cloud computing in all its forms and flavours is changing the
way IT services can be delivered to businesses.
• For the first time, business users are able to have a choice
amongst a variety of IT services, without always needing to
engage with their internal IT departments.
• If IT cannot deliver in a manner that meets the business
users‟ expectations in a timely and cost-effective way, the
business now has plenty of other options.
• Can lead to Shadow IT.
• Shadow IT will flourish in organisations where:
• The prevailing organisational culture is somewhat
relaxed about good governance and/or
• Where there are poor business-IT engagement and
alignments, and/or
• IT is just not meeting the real needs of the business


7. The shift away from the cost centre

• CIOs have often had to battle the perception that IT is slow and
merely a cost centre.
• The perceived speed and simplicity of cloud is shaping the
conversations across the business on the role of IT.
• As such, IT is now increasingly being expected to deliver more
utility-like services to the business – if not, the Shadow IT
department will!
• It is therefore important for IT Departments to fully understand the
cost drivers in a utility costing model, rather than the traditional fixed
„cost centre‟ approach.
• Those without a solid appreciation of cost accounting, and the cost
drivers within IT will be poorly equipped to provide meaningful
comparative cost analysis for the IT services „as-a-service‟ to the
business.
• ie: Is $50/month really cheaper than the $1Million capital
investment?

8. Influences on your career

Here are few thought starters on how to mitigate against any
unplanned career changes that can arise from the „consumerisation‟ of
IT*:

• Read widely and be well informed about influences that are or could
impact you, your department, business unit, company /
organisation and industry.
• Start developing trusted professional networks outside of your
employer
• Broaden your skills base – especially if you are trading salary for
largely technical expertise
• Develop your own personal „business plan‟

* ….or anything else, for that matter!


9. Cloud – The future is now

1. Cloud technology, as with any other innovation, has the potential
to do things cheaper, faster and better.
2. Cloud has the potential to be a real game changer for the astute
3. It also has hidden pitfalls for the ill-informed
4. Understand the influences it will have on your IT career, and
develop your own personal „business plan‟
5. To achieve the real benefits of Cloud technologies, understand:
• the true cost
• the value
• the risk
• when to buy
• what to buy, and
• when to exit the technology and/or switch horses.


10. Discussions and questions

Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd
ABN 41 146 643 165

W1: www.rob-livingstone.com
W2: www.navigatingthroughthecloud.com
E: rob@rob-livingstone.com
P: +61 2 8005 1972
P: +1 609 843 0349
M: +61 419 632 673
F: +61 2 9879 5004
rladvisory

© All rights reserved. Unauthorised redistribution not without prior approval

Cloud: Fuelling the crisis of confidence in corporate IT?

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Cloud: Fuelling the crisis of confidence in corporate IT?

Similar to Cloud: Fuelling the crisis of confidence in corporate IT? (20)

More from Livingstone Advisory

More from Livingstone Advisory (7)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Cloud: Fuelling the crisis of confidence in corporate IT?