The latest cloudy research paper this time arrives courtesy of US telco Verizon, and shows that companies who have shown faith with the cloud early are getting a competitive advantage through increased business agility.

The research, of Harvard Business Review readers, categorised users into four different groups; enthusiasts, moderates, cautious and non-existant on cloud adoption, and showed a higher predilection for enthusiasts (35%) than any other group. 34% of respondents were moderates, while cautious (22%) and none (9%) trailed behind.

This is particularly interesting for one reason. Similar research from Quocirca and CA Technologies this time last year had three categories, of enthusiasts (22%), avoiders (23%), and blockers (3%). A middling category, where 35% of respondents sat, was for those who evaluated its usage before deciding – similar to the ‘moderates’ category in the recent Verizon study.

Around two thirds of respondents admitted they had gained at least some competitive advantage through adopting cloud. 30% their advantage had been “significant”, compared to “some” (33%), “a little” (11%), and “none” (8%).

It’s the usual plethora of statistics concerning cloud adoption, although this stat came as a surprise to CloudTech HQ. The most popular cloud deployment is private (41%) according to respondents, followed by hybrid (35%) and public (13%). This goes at odds with greater public cloud deployment, although a recent article from David Linthicum gives credence to the future of the private cloud as a point of control, or interfaces, into public clouds.

The Verizon report notes, correctly, the correlation between companies cautious about the cloud and private cloud uptake. Yet this also correlates with business value derived from cloud, according to the respondents. The biggest win was simplification of HR and CRM (37%), followed by better delivery of internal resources (33%), and greater ways for employee collaboration (31%).

“This research shows that cloud is not just taking a seat at the table; it’s already delivering significant benefit and becoming the norm,” wrote Siki Giunta, Verizon SVP cloud, data centre and connected solutions in a preamble generously titled the ‘sponsor’s perspective.’

She added: “In those early days of cloud computing, the same concerns came up time and again: security, compliance, and loss of control. But years of hard work by governments, standards bodies, vendors, and enterprises themselves have improved transparency, data portability, integration, manageability, and performance.”

Verizon, lest we forget, announced its own cloud platform in October, with various companies – Oracle for middleware, CloudBees to name two – signing up to partner. Despite its various problems with the FCC elsewhere, Verizon hopes that its long standing security and enterprise expertise enables customers to “cloud with confidence”, in the words of the official site.

Find the full report here.

Most people are aware that Windows Server 2003 is coming to the End of Support (EOS) on July 14th 2015. This means enterprises are more or less forced to stop running applications on the WS2003 Operating System, migrate them to a newer OS or replace them. EOS dramatically changes the solid “run-your-business operating platform” to one where there will be no security patches, no compliance and escalating costs. There are few events that open up such large security concerns, throw compliance out the window and have a greater than million dollar price tag all at the same time.
In one of the Microsoft sessions at the recent World Wide Partner Conference (WPC), they revealed that there are 22 million machines still running Windows Server 2003. They estimate that 53% of them are physical, likely running on old hardware providing a big hardware refresh opportunity as well.

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Rarely have we experienced such rapid innovation in the IT industry. CIOs have become essential leaders of the business, both in terms of promoting growth by optimizing technology and mitigating risk for their organizations. At the same time, IT departments are being stretched as business demands outpace available budget and legacy investments consume most resources.
Creating flexibility in today’s IT environment has become critical as organizations seek to strike a balance between maximizing existing enterprise application investments and continuing to drive innovation and efficiency. Many are turning to cloud technology to support evolving business and IT goals.
Just as businesses can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach, neither can the technology on which these organizations rely. That’s where hybrid cloud comes in: giving organizations the ability to seamlessly move between on-premises and off-premises cloud options, allowing them to utilize cloud computing and the business advantages it offers to their fullest potential.

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What if you could deploy a new IT service shortly after you defined the requirements? And, just imagine the bliss, if your IT spend could directly translate into a competitive advantage. Predicting the ROI would be relatively easy. You would be the envy of your peer group.

Unfortunately, as most senior executives already know, it’s never that simple.

Typically, you perform the technology assessment due diligence up-front, you place your bets based upon the most compelling guidance, and then you closely monitor the results. It’s an iterative process, where confidence builds over time. Maybe that’s why new business technology spending tends to be aligned with a past success.

But this procurement model doesn’t adapt very well in response to unanticipated significant market events or the rapid acceleration of unplanned technology migrations. Moreover, tight budgets and other resource constraints can severely limit an organization’s ability to react quickly to changing environments.

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By David Linthicum

Private cloud was popular in the early days of cloud computing when enterprises struggled with security and control issues.  These days, public cloud dominates, as revealed in the recent “State of the Cloud Study” from RightScale.

The reasons for the growth of public clouds are pretty clear, including low operating costs, instant scalability, and the ability to better support changing businesses.  However, the private cloud still has a place in IT, and understanding what’s about to emerge in the private cloud space will give you a better focus on this pattern of cloud architecture.

Private clouds are being leveraged as points-of-control or interfaces into public clouds.  These emerging hybrid clouds or multi-cloud architectures use a tiered approach where the private cloud (tier 1) links to public cloud services (tier 2), and those looking to access cloud services do so using the private cloud services as the primary interface.  Then, as needed, the private cloud leverages the public cloud services.

An example would be a private cloud that runs on an MSP for an enterprise.  While the private cloud provides cloud services such as storage and compute using the native interface of the private cloud software, these services are supported with resources that run in the MSP’s public cloud.

If the private cloud needs additional resources, then it links to public cloud services, such as storage and compute.  The public cloud services carry out operations on behalf of the request made by the private clouds, which, in turn, is carrying out a request made by the application or end-user.

This hybrid architectural approach uses the private cloud as an entry point, and it is beginning to gain popularity for a few core reasons:

• Enterprises typically like to focus on private clouds as the primary resources for applications when there are considerations around control and security, and, in some cases, standing laws and regulations that dictate where data can and cannot reside.
• Use of the private cloud as the “public cloud controller” (for lack of a better term) means there is a single set of interfaces to many different public cloud providers.  This simplifies the use of cloud services by providing a common layer of abstraction using a private cloud.
• Finally, the use of governance and security becomes much easier to implement.  We’re really focused on the private cloud platform, and use the public cloud resources only as needed.  That means there is no repeatable pattern of use that causes vulnerabilities, and the security approaches are fairly straightforward.

The winners in this emerging pattern of use include enterprises that are not yet ready to make the move to the public cloud, but want public cloud types of services.  However, this is a not a temporary solution; this one has scalability to future uses.

MSPs deliver public cloud connectivity as part of their infrastructure, and are naturals to host these types of hybrid clouds.  They will be the more cost effective choice, for sure.

You should at least look at this approach.  Those who thought that private clouds were being relegated to tactical solutions may find that private clouds now have a new role.

The post The New Role for the Private Cloud. It’s Not What You Think. appeared first on Cloud Computing News.

Recurring revenue models are great for driving new business in every market sector, but they are complex and need to be effectively managed to maximize profits. How you handle the range of options for pricing, co-terming and proration will ultimately determine the fate of your bottom line.
In his session at 15th Cloud Expo, Brendan O’Brien, Co-founder at Aria Systems, session will examine:
How time impacts recurring revenue
How to effectively handle customer plan changes
The range of pricing and packaging options to consider

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The 15th International Cloud Expo has just expanded its conference program, to bring together Cloud Computing, APM, APIs, Security, Big Data, Internet of Things, DevOps and WebRTC at one location. Cloud Expo is the single show where delegates and technology vendors can meet to experience and discuss the entire world of the cloud. With cloud computing driving a higher percentage of enterprise IT budgets every year, it becomes increasingly important to learn about the latest technology developments and solutions.

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SYS-CON Events announced today that Verizon has been named “Gold Sponsor” of SYS-CON’s 15th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 4-6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Verizon Enterprise Solutions creates global connections that generate growth, drive business innovation and move society forward. With industry-specific solutions and a full range of global wholesale offerings provided over the company’s secure mobility, cloud, strategic networking and advanced communications platforms, Verizon Enterprise Solutions helps open new opportunities around the world for innovation, investment and business transformation. Visit verizonenterprise.com to learn more.

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What if you could deploy a new IT service shortly after you defined the requirements? And, just imagine the bliss, if your IT spend could directly translate into a competitive advantage. Predicting the ROI would be relatively easy. You would be the envy of your peer group.

Unfortunately, as most senior executives already know, it’s never that simple.

Typically, you perform the technology assessment due diligence up-front, you place your bets based upon the most compelling guidance, and then you closely monitor the results. It’s an iterative process, where confidence builds over time. Maybe that’s why new business technology spending tends to be aligned with a past success.

But this procurement model doesn’t adapt very well in response to unanticipated significant market events or the rapid acceleration of unplanned technology migrations. Moreover, tight budgets and other resource constraints can severely limit an organisation’s ability to react quickly to changing environments.

Outlook for near-term IT transitions

Worldwide IT spending will reach $2.14 trillion in 2014, that’s up by 5.1 percent from 2013 levels – almost one point higher than the 2013 growth rate – according to the predictions by IDC. Meanwhile, cloud spending will likely exceed $100 billion. Growing by 25 percent, IDC believes that the buyer preference will be slanted toward public cloud services.

However, the legacy approach to business technology acquisition – that could often take months or years to reach full deployment – just can’t seem to keep up with the most pressing needs for operational agility.

As a leader in today’s fast moving commercial environment, staying current on everything that has the potential to impact the status-quo is of the highest priority. It’s a well known fact in business, you can’t fully capitalise on a competitive advantage if it has yet to mainstream throughout your organisation and the core parts of your business operations.

That being said, is your executive team conversant with all the latest business technology trends? Are you already cloud-literate and very decisive, or cloud-challenged and somewhat ambivalent? If you don’t know the answer to these key questions, then perhaps now’s the time to establish a benchmark. After all, cloud literacy is no longer optional, regardless of your industry.

How to prosper from cloud computing adoption

Eventually, the senior leadership of every size company in all industry categories will need to become literate in cloud technology adoption. Furthermore, in order to tap the full potential of the cloud services phenomenon, that awareness will need to permeate to all your department leaders. In fact, at some forward-thinking companies, it’s already common for Line of Business (LOB) leaders to be actively involved in the buying-cycle. Clearly, that’s a growing trend.

A joint effort between Cisco and Intel, “The Impact of Cloud on IT Consumption Models” study surveyed 4,226 IT leaders in 18 industries across nine key economies during 2013. The global study findings uncovered important insights about how key trends are impacting IT procurement.

A case in point: 44 percent of IT funding is already coming from LOBs, either directly or as operating budget chargebacks to the IT organisation. Also, 69 percent of survey respondents believe that authority over buying decisions will increasingly reside with LOB leaders.

Therefore, given the increased influence of LOBs across all IT consumption lifecycle stages – including planning, procurement, deployment, operations and governance – it’s imperative for savvy CIOs and IT managers to rethink their internal stakeholder engagement strategy.

As an example, traditional IT leaders should anticipate a greater focus on commercial metrics, such as a meaningful ROI and substantively improved business outcomes. For some, that demand could present a skills challenge for employees. For others, there may be a need to update the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are used to gauge project progress.

Regardless of the challenges encountered in a particular scenario, survey respondents seem unanimous in their belief about how you obtain the best solution — IT and LOB leaders must work together. Respectful collaboration, based upon mutual trust, leads to triumph.

Boldly moving forward with a cloud strategy

So, perhaps you’re wondering, to achieve your top priorities, where might you go to find the best examples of purposeful organisation collaboration, value creation and cloud-enabled innovation?

Value-adding companies with a multifaceted ecosystem of integration partners, such as Cisco, provide access to subject-matter experts that can help you translate the benefits of cloud technology in ways that are relevant to all your business unit managers.

And, experienced business consulting talent and technical services support staff can guide your IT team through the steps to build a best-fit plan of action for your particular use case. These services and support models allow you to properly develop a cloud strategy that is right for you. As you’re probably learning, using disparate cloud services is a far cry from a developed and optimised cloud strategy that meets your IT needs and supports the business strategic objectives.

Combining all of these requisite skills will create a recipe for your own success in the cloud computing era. Besides, once you’re armed with these business transformation capabilities, it’s a sure way to be much better prepared to realise your desired competitive position in the marketplace.