Cloud Computing: Turning potential into performance-driven value

On any given day, we speak to customers and partners who speculate cloud computing is either an over hyped term destined for obscurity or the greatest promise for the future of Information Technology and today's high availability computing needs. While there is a great deal of fanfare associated with the cloud, our belief based on customer and partner feedback is that the hype will prove to be well deserved.
Our thoughts are echoed by those of Gartner that predict by 2012, 20 percent of organisations will own no IT assets as cloud-enabled services increase.
Vital role of channel
It is also our belief that the channel will play a vital role in the uptake and success of cloud-enabled services. Given the dual charge to develop IT strategies and protect an organisation’s information assets, the channel has an obligation to adopt cloud computing carefully.
This adoption will come at a cost – the cost to develop skills, expertise and new service levels – which implies all members of the channel are not created equal. Only those channel partners with strong balance sheets, a long term commitment and rigorous operational discipline will be able to adequately embrace and capitalise on the customer trend towards cloud computing. During this period of highly disruptive cloud technology choices to evaluate, there is a limited window of opportunity to develop a strategy to gain maximum benefit from a ‘Trusted Cloud’ service provider.
Buy only what is needed
In order to sort between the hype and the reality, let's consider a consistent understanding of the definition of cloud computing and why it fits the profile of a significant and disruptive trend. Cloud computing represents the inexorable movement towards transitioning computing from hardware and software that we procure with capital expenditures to a pay as you go, provisioned utility-like service that is consumed as needed and paid for with operating cash flow.
Cloud computing offers customers an option to eliminate wasted computing power by only buying what is needed, as additional compute resources can be allocated dynamically. This dynamic model facilitates business agility allowing customers to select capacity, service and provisioning “as required“ which means expense follows demand vs. expense is a sunk, lost cost.  Small and medium enterprises with modest investments in legacy computing have already adopted cloud computing aggressively and their productivity gains are putting competitive pressure on larger organisations to do the same.