It used to be so easy. The company needed more IT infrastructure, so you bought more components, built more technology, and scrambled to keep it all well oiled. Then along came the cloud and the world shifted under your feet \u2013 or perhaps more accurately, over your head. Suddenly they wanted you out of the server room and (instead) in the boardroom, assessing the services of cloud vendors and discussing the cost benefits of the new technology. And then it\u2019s all \u201cstrategy this, planning that.\u201d But you keep thinking to yourself: What was wrong with the old stuff? And do things really have to change?
\nIf \u201cInternal Trembling\u201d is all that comes to mind at the mention of \u201cIT\u201d nowadays, you\u2019re not alone. For the past few years, CIOs have developed an inferiority complex, questioning the very skills that got them where they are now and assessing how they can be useful moving forward. In the worst cases, cloud computing has made flying blind at work a reality, and that can shatter CIOs\u2019 confidence. Server rooms, with their friendly racks of IT infrastructure were once so warm, cozy, and inviting. Now everything\u2019s cloudy. Adding cloud computing \u2013 with its associated outsourcing management responsibility \u2013 to the mix when your roster already includes responsibility for managing legacy systems, maintaining uptime, delivering customer service, securing data, ensuring compliance, making mission-critical decisions, and sometimes even getting coffee for the CEO, can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n