Getting-businesses-ready-for-the-cloud
By Deborah Bates
21/03/2011
Businesses need to get ready for cloud computing, according to one expert writing for BBC News.
Business editor Tim Weber said that 2011 would be the year that
businesses had to sort out some form of strategy for embracing cloud
computing.
The expert claimed it was more than just an IT development: "In
reality...cloud computing is a fundamental change of how we - companies
and consumers - use computer technology."
"It turns software into a service where customers don't pay for a
licence, but for how much they use; it makes computing power and storage
space a commodity, bought when needed and scaled up when necessary."
Worryingly, software expert, Martin Leuw, claimed several small and
medium-sized enterprises had no idea what cloud computing was.
Those who are concerned about implementing a strategy, but are unsure how to integrate cloud computing into their current IT system management,
should contact professional IT support specialists, who can help them
understand the development and adapt their businesses to embrace it.
IBM's Nick Coleman agreed with Weber, arguing that companies needed to
"enable the cloud, get the road map, embrace the implementation and work
out the security dimensions."
Cloud computing has many benefits, with Information Week recently
reporting that many firms were using the technology as business
continuity support; integrating it into their disaster-planning
procedures.
