Enterprise infrastructure design has been undergoing massive change in recent years. The trend toward centralized, virtualized, and open source systems is shifting the concentration of equipment and applications. IT infrastructure has traditionally been characterized by lots of hardware, storage and on-premise software. Today, cloud computing is growing at an explosive rate and has changed the definition of infrastructure as we know it. For enterprise CIOs, cloud is no longer a question of "if" but rather, "how do I get there?”
Over the next two years, most CIOs will develop and execute a cloud strategy; if they already have one in place, it will be about maximizing the cost savings and agility that cloud delivers. For those who have not yet made the leap, migrating to a cloud strategy puts intense pressure on CIOs to reinvent themselves and their role within their organization.
Simon Aspinall, chief of vertical markets, strategy and marketing at Virtustream, offers a plan for CIOs embarking on a transformation to an updated infrastructure. Aspinall says, "When considering moving complex legacy applications to the cloud, CIOs should take a couple things into consideration:
- Devise a plan: Moving to the cloud requires planning, a well-defined strategy and clear understanding of business needs and usages today. Instead of jumping the gun and adopting cloud solutions to increase productivity, companies should establish a plan and provide the proper tools to employees to ensure a seamless migration to the cloud.
- Secure executive buy-in: Many business leaders think the cloud is not suitable for their company because they think of the cloud as unpredictable, unreliable, low-cost way of shadow IT. The onus will be on CIOs to spread awareness that enterprises can now take advantage of the second-generation cloud that is highly secure, highly compliant and offers performance that meets business requirements and demands."
Certainly attaining executive buy-in is critical in any significant transformation effort. And the executives targeted for inclusion need to include the entire executive team rather than only the CEO. Stakeholders need to understand how the changes will benefit them and the organization as a whole and be enlisted to help in the first step of devising a plan.
Read, "Red Hat CIO: Five lessons for taking your enterprise to the cloud."
Scott Koegler practiced IT as a CIO for 15 years. He also has more than 20 years experience as a technology journalist covering topics ranging from software and services through business strategy. He has written white papers and directed and published video interviews.
