IT Best Practices

Before Your Next Board Meeting: 3 Cloud Tasks

Cloud computing has the potential to shrink expenses while expanding profit ““ and that’s why the decisions around moving to the cloud is oftentimes made by the board of directors and not the CIO. With this being the case, CIOs need to be proactive in their preparedness for discussions, implementations, and problems around cloud computing, according to David Linthicum. He goes on to explain that one problem a CIO can encounter is an unprepared or unwilling workforce ““ resulting in only a few options:

Many IT shops are ready and willing to adopt new technologies, including cloud computing, but some have to change their people first. Prepare a plan for changing human resources along with the technology. This can run from a simple reorg to retraining or massive outplacement, depending upon your situation.

Although this may seem a bit draconian, the humans are the ones who make cloud computing succeed or fail. Many cloud migrations have hit a wall, not due to the technology but because many in IT are passive aggressive and make cloud projects die the death of a thousand cuts — or they are just not that bright and can’t keep up with the changes in technology. Either problem will kill the business.

In the end, success in both discussions about and implementations of a cloud solution comes down to how prepared a CIO is before the question ever reaches their ears (or inbox). By analyzing the cloud proactively and preparing for potential questions from the board of directors, CIOs can prevent being surprised and underprepared for the shift.

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