Date: March 23, 2011
The IT industry is on the cusp of its next great transformation, one that happens once every 25 years, and cloud computing is at the core. Cloud computing is moving rapidly into the delivery and execution phase after years of everyone trying to define it, and those organizations not prepared are going to be left in the dust as their customers, suppliers and employees change around them.
The promise that is cloud computing is a completely accessible, borderless IT environment where information is kept anywhere in the world. It is being fueled by the mobile device onslaught and will cause IT departments to rethink their entire infrastructure - from data center designs - to application purchasing and deployment - to compliance and risk management. While moving to the cloud will create the ability for organizations to better and more quickly respond to customers and market conditions, as well as reduce overall IT expenditures, there are many challenges.
