OpinionsOutsourcingInfrastructure

As cloud computing continues to gain momentum, organizations can be easily overwhelmed with the thought of a complete shift in IT strategy, architecture and culture. While the cloud offers promises of lower costs and new business models, even the most detail-oriented CIO may wonder where to start.

The cloud is defined as centrally or remotely managed systems that are connected to using Internet technologies such as Web services and browsers. There are both public clouds and private clouds using all technology of a public cloud but within the security of an organization's intranet.

Taking an incremental approach to cloud migration can enable organizations to cloud-enable IT assets in a manner that maximizes the value to the organization without interrupting the business. As cost-conscious IT departments continue to look at modernization strategies to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, incremental cloud migration is emerging as a natural outgrowth of application modernization. But where do you start and in what order to gain the fastest return on investment (ROI)? 

The easiest step toward migrating to the cloud, is to outsource the management and supply of your third-party solutions. Independent software vendors (ISVs) are using cloud technologies to offer their existing solutions as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), using browser-based clients accessing their solutions that are managed by the ISV or by a third party enterprise cloud services provider that takes the headache of running the core system away from the ISV and, in turn, away from the corporation using the solution.

SaaS solutions can be a valuable part of the solution, as they can be a powerful and immediate tactical solution. The ISVs benefit when they get a bigger part of the IT spend and offer their applications to new customers. The cost of starting a new client is small, with no software to install or maintain at the clients' premises and their solution becomes mobile, as more and more handsets become Web enabled.

On the other hand, large, core systems that run the business are another consideration. These contain the competitive edge, differentiation and intellectual property and in many ways "are the organization." Changing these systems has often been compared to changing a jet engine -- mid flight. The elements to consider here are risk versus return and the ability to stay in business today versus investing for and being viable in the future. 

The lowest cost, lowest risk way of being agile and innovative enough to succeed today, while remaining in the ideal position to repeat the trick tomorrow and the day after, is through re-use. 

As businesses leverage the cloud, incremental modernization empowers customers with benefits including Web-based services, new user interfaces, new data types, and when all these are combined they can modernize their business models to offer new services and enter new markets. These benefits include the ability to capture existing processes, data and business logic on a more agile and cost-effective platform while increasing functionality and usability.