Business leaders want IT to deliver fast solutions and be a true partner. However, if IT cannot provide what the business needs or give a viable alternative, business units will purchase solutions externally. The document outlines how IT can drive innovation through a software-defined, cloud-based approach. This allows separating applications from infrastructure, simplifying management, enabling automation, and providing choice in deployment location. Adopting cloud economics in this way can free up budget for IT to invest in innovation that drives business growth.