CloudBus

As information technology becomes the core engine for Business the Board needs to review their understanding of the Risks posed by your team members. It is clear today that Snowden though a low ranking officer in the NSA he was able to snoop and access classified data by using free ware tools.  When someone does the same to your organizations digital assets it will have grave repercussions on your business and could make it bankrupt.  In one organization a few employees were monitoring email and were aware of management decisions and thoughts exchanged on email by the leadership of  including internal matters relating to finance, human resources and other confidential information. The leadership was clueless about the risk posed to the organization by this simple act of leakage of email.  Who is the Snowden in this turbaned Group ! Most Boards and leadership teams allow the IT team to sit in an ivory tower little understanding their activities, they cons...

Recently I was in a panel discussion in a Seminar and the question of the CIO's journey to the corner office as the CEO of the Company. Unfortunately the instances of the CIO transforming to a CEO are few in the world of business and there are number  of reasons logically this transformation is possible but in a Real world it is a fantasy. Let us examine the qualities of a good CIO the first of course is being a good team player, second political acumen to survive and please the various stake holders in business and the last is the IT prowess. CIO's who are successful do excel in people management and handling corporate warfare and wading through uncertain cycles in the business. But are these qualities enough to make them the CEO, there are certain factors missing, the CIO never leads the business troops which is essential to be a CEO, neither does the CEO interact with the Board on a regular basis in most companies, the CIO is drowned in budgets,data and analysis whereas ...

The Big Data Conundrum continues, those who are innovative and know how to leverage it, benefit. Big Data is not for everyone, just like market research is not used by all enterprises.  The first answer you will need is will Big Data be useful to my business and can I get the required investment ? If your Business can benefit, then do you have clean data? the job of cleaning and collating Big Data is a challenging task and is not for the weak.   You will then need to build a team with complementing skills to work on big data, though the attitude needed will be the ability to sift through chaff for grain, with patience and a need to win.  Big Data cannot be driven by the CIO rather it should be driven by the leadership team who handle the business strategy, the CIO can help with the technology tools and solutions to make Big Data Reality. Big Data similar to a Bougainvillea Bush, Beautiful but one needs to manage the thorns! So who should...

The CIO on his own cannot introduce cloud computing in the Enterprise, even if the CIO is a believer in cloud computing his business leadership may not accept cloud computing adoption;  they have bigger risks to handle with higher rewards which takes priority over technology and as a business priority they still believe in the old saying " If it ain't broke don't fix it " when it come to corporate computing. The CIO needs the Cloud Evangelist to Navigate the Cloud ! Business Leadership look at CIO's as people with high IQ who are a necessary evil in the business ecosystem and are best left to do what they need in their own Ivory Tower. A smart CIO can use some help from a Cloud Computing Evangelist to convince the business leaders in  on the benefits of Cloud Adoption. The Cloud Computing Evangelist can work with the CIO to pitch the cloud as a strategic business enabler and as an utility to steer the the Business leadership's understanding a...

As we ring out 2012 which had its share of success and tribulation in cloud computing. We can ring in 2013 as the year Cloud Computing will  transform into an everyday utility like electricity. The Cloud will cease to be a novelty or a laboratory, it is for real and it has proved it can deliver reliably in 2012 despite the pessimists who  kept picking on every cloud disruption rather then seeing the totality of the benefits. 2013 will be the year when the cloud will be the utility that transform and drives the economy in a tough and recessionary year. There will be large cloud utilities formed by merger and acquisition of fragmented cloud server providers and we we will have companies like Microsoft, HP, Dell, IBM, Cisco, EMC  embracing the cloud for their survival and relevance in the technology landscape. More then 250 companies in the Fortune 500 can move to the cloud today based on their nature of their business and focus on gro...

The dilemma faced by today’s business leader is “Do we need Cloud Computing?”  Business needs reliability, accessibility, confidentiality, integrity, availability, security & Benefit. The cloud scores well on all these requirements, though the complexity of cloud deployment and governance increases from a Public cloud to a Private Cloud and to a Hybrid cloud and the skills required increase from SAAS to PAAS and to IAAS. Cloud is costly, cloud is not secure, cloud is marketing, virtualization is cloud  is echoed by many technology professionals , though none of these may be totally valid. Cloud Computing decisions will move to the corner office and the Board Room and will be a Strategic Business Enabler rather then a CIO/IT Leadership's  prerogative .  The Road Less Travelled is Fraught with Danger! Photo Credit – Amitav Thamba Cloud - A Business Perspective The business today needs Reliability, the cloud is as reliable as an  in-ho...

After a few false starts, Microsoft is ready to be the Leader in Cloud Services in 2012. Today there was a news item that Microsoft will buy the Nokia Smartphone business with this Microsoft has all the arsenal needed to be the Leader in the Cloud.   http://www.slashgear.com/microsofts-nokia-smartphone-division-acquisition-tipped-imminent-05206304/ Business is Waiting for Microsoft's Cloud Services  The Marketing Skills of Microsoft are legendary and we will see Steve Ballmer leading the troops from the front to conquer the world and give them the Azure services bundled with Microsoft (earlier Nokia) smart phones. Microsoft is equipped to play in all three spaces namely PAAS, SAAS and IAAS and will lead in each of these segments especially among Corporate users. Microsoft will shun its non profit social networking and media business if its advertising revenues cannot support them and will become a pure play provider of Cloud and Technology services to the Bu...

The Business will lead cloud computing adoption in 2012 and beyond. Just like ERP adoption was led by business and not the EDP manager , cloud computing adoption will be led by the Business and not the CIO/CTO. If you do not learn how to ride the cloud computing horse, then you are doomed to be trampled under their hooves, learn to adapt to business. Unless Technology leaders learn to change their stripes quickly and improve their trust and knowledge on cloud computing they stand to be drowned in the cloud computing deluge which is waiting to be unleashed in the coming years. CIO/CTO/ Die Hard Technology non believers, convert and repent and adopt cloud computing else you will be swept away into insignificance like the old EDP Manager . Welcome 2012 with the belief and conviction that Cloud Computing and Business will tango together just like the two horses in the picture. Add Cloud Computing Adoption as the No 1 item in your TO DO list for 2012!