TechLines: cloud benefits

In this excerpt from ZDNet Australia's TechLines: Cloud Control session from 17 February, the panel looks at areas in which cloud computing can be used to best advantage.

When asked by host James O'Loghlin about what questions an organisation should ask itself when considering cloud computing, futurist Mark Pesce replied, "Are you working out of more than one location? Are you working globally? Do you need to have things up 24/7? Is your power supply reliable? Is your staff reliable? The more questions you ask yourself about this, the more reasons you're likely to find for putting yourself out in the cloud."

According to Ovum analyst Kevin Noonan, "There are some incredible efficiencies from the supplier side. One of the interesting things that has happened to IT in recent times is that central processing becomes cheap ... in fact, the bigger you are, the cheaper it gets."

Noonan also noted that considering cloud computing also turns the discussion back to "needs".

Microsoft's Gianpaolo Carraro expressed a similar view: "Cloud computing allows the IT department to change the relationship it has with the business. As opposed to being an 'operator' in lower-value things (like 'please make sure it's backed up'), you are now becoming a peer to the business — a consultant to the business."

When the focus is on what needs to be done, rather than on how it gets done, the discussion becomes easier, according to IBM's Glenn Wightwick: "Take email, for example. We do a lot of work with universities, and they have thousands of students coming in every year and traditionally they ran their own separate email systems for each university. Rapidly, they've moved beyond that because they've realised that really doesn't differentiate the university... It's better to get someone who does email really well and take advantage of the efficiencies."

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