\u201cA substantial amount of the \u2018Big Data\u2019 discussion is relevant and interesting to organizations (as a practical matter) because of the advent of the \u201ccloud,\u201d said Alon Israely, Co-Founder & Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Business Intelligence Associates, in this exclusive Q&A with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan, \u201cespecially as the deployment and implementation of many \u2018Big Data\u2019 systems rely on utility computing.\u201d
\nCloud Computing Journal: The move to cloud isn’t about saving money, it is about saving time \u2013 agree or disagree?
\nIsraely: It\u2019s about saving both time and money, but primarily it\u2019s about saving money \u2013 when you save time, you save money. The advent of utility computing environments and distributed storage is very much about the economics that technology brings. Today, businesses can focus on spending more of their budgets (and time) on their core business and not on IT (e.g., IT assets, resources, etc.). Of course moving to the \u201ccloud\u201d also creates efficiencies around time spent on technical tasks \u2013 such as deployment of systems and applications, and allows for faster business processes because, for example, using web-based interfaces and smarter workflows \u2013 but since saving time translates directly to saving money, in the end it is primarily about saving money.<\/p>\n