Business in the Cloud What Every Business Needs to Know About Cloud Computing
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
MICHAEL HUGOS, Principal at the Center for Systems Innovation [c4si], writes, speaks and consults on strategies for IT and business agility and mentors development teams. He spent six years as CIO of a multibillion-dollar distribution cooperative developing a suite of supply chain and business systems, transforming the company's operations and revenue model. He won the CIO 100 Award and Premier 100 Award for his work, and is also author of Essentials of Supply Chain Management and Business Agility.
DEREK HULITZKY, Vice President of Content Development at a global technology media company, is a keen industry watcher with an intense focus on how CIOs and companies manage their technology teams and responsibilities. A seasoned technology marketer, he is an accomplished event and panel moderator with a rich background in technology content creation, audience development, and management.
A close look at cloud computing's transformational role in business
Covering cloud computing from what the business leader needs to know, this book describes how IT can nimbly ramp up revenue initiatives, positively impact business operations and costs, and how this allows business leaders to shed worry about technology so they can focus on their business. It also reveals the cloud's effect on corporate organization structures, the evolution of traditional IT in the global economy, potential benefits and risks of cloud models and most importantly, how the IT function is being rethought by companies today who are making room for the coming tidal wave that is cloud computing.
- Why IT and business thinking must change to capture the full potential of cloud computing
- Topics including emerging cloud solutions, data security, service reliability, the new role of IT and new business organization structures
- Other titles by Hugos include: Business Agility: Sustainable Prosperity in a Relentlessly Competitive World and Essentials of Supply Chain Management, 2nd Edition
Practical and timely, this book reveals why it's worth every company's time and effort to exploit cloud computing's potential for their business's survival and success.
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Chapter 1 The Evolution and Future of Corporate Business Structures 1
Example of a New Corporate Organization Structure 3
Model of a Responsive Organization 5
A Cybernetic Economy 7
Cybernetics is about Control and Communication 9
Profit Potential of Self-Adjusting Feedback Loops 11
Viable Systems Model: A Framework for Business Agility 14
A Cloud-Based Model for Business Organizations 19
Notes 22
Chapter 2 The New Economics of Business 23
Moving to a Variable Cost Operating Model 24
Information Technology Finally Becomes a Utility 27
Variable Cost IT Operations Enable Business Agility 30
A Combination of Technologies Creates Cloud Computing 34
Implications of the Transition to Cloud Computing 38
Notes 41
Chapter 3 Key Technologies Used in Cloud Computing 43
Cloud Computing Defined 44
Software-as-a-Service 47
Server Virtualization 49
Service-Oriented Architecture 52
Open Source Software 54
Web Development and Mashups 58
Blending It All Together 60
Notes 61
Chapter 4 Data Security and Service Reliability 63
Will Your Cloud Service Provider Be Here Next Year? 63
What to Look for in a Good Service Provider 65
Elements of Good Data Security Policy 66
Cyber Threats and Perimeter Security in Cloud Computing 69
Encryption: The Next Frontier of Data Security 72
Contracts, Service-Level Agreements, and Guarantees 73
Negotiating Service and Pricing 77
Performance Penalties and Restitution Clauses 79
Notes 80
Chapter 5 Moving to the Cloud: When and Where 83
A Business Strategy Based on Agility 84
Using the Cloud for Business Advantage 87
Business Applications with the Greatest Potential 89
Risk Considerations with the Cloud 91
Cloud Cost Considerations 94
Case Study: Selling ‘‘Designer Chocolates’’ 96
Notes 99
Chapter 6 The Transition from Managing Technology to Managing Business Processes 101
The Fixed Cost of Maintaining Large Data Centers is Being Challenged 102
Public, Private, and Hybrid Clouds 103
Issues to Consider with Private Clouds 107
The Cloud is a Platform for Managing Business Processes 109
Automate Routine Processes and Focus People on Handling Exceptions 113
Four Technologies that Enable Responsive Business Processes 115
Notes 117
Chapter 7 The New Role of Information Technology 119
Is Traditional IT Irrelevant? 119
A Tumultuous Ride for the Chief Information Officer 121
The End of IT as We Know It 122
Changes in IT and Business Unit Staffing 123
Evolution of the Traditional Corporate IT Department 124
Agile IT Professionals Using Cloud Technology will be Embedded in Business Operating Units 125
Cloud Computing Separates Data Center Operations from System Development 127
Do We Need Enterprise Technology Architects, or Business Architects? 128
Companies are Investing in New Business Process Design 129
A Renewed Focus on Using Technology for Profit and Competitive Advantage 132
Notes 135
Chapter 8 Five Profit Enablers Driving Business to the Cloud 137
Harvard Medical School 137
Golden Gate University 140
Silicon Valley Education Foundation 143
Beachbody.com 147
Five Profit Enablers Driving Business to the Cloud . . . and Away from Corporate Data Centers 148
Notes 152
Chapter 9 The Business Impact of Cloud Computing 153
New Economic Engines for Growth 153
Time to Get Agile and Reinvent Traditional Business Operations 155
Get Ready, Get Set, Go: Success in a Real-Time Economy 157
Interconnected, Adaptable, and Specialized 159
Collaboration is Now More Profitable than Control 163
Necessity Makes Radical the New Normal 165
The Recovering Complexaholic 169
Notes 170
Chapter 10 Global Implications of the Cloud 171
Real-Time Global Collaboration 171
Serious Games 173
Cloud-Based Collaboration Enables a New Way of Working: The Dynamics of Swarming 176
Real-Time Visibility Could Make Us a Whole Lot Smarter 180
New Realities and New Opportunities 183
Notes 188
About the Authors 191
Index 193
Whether you like it or not, information technology is now mission-critical to every step your business takes. Unlike a few years ago when we left technology to the geeks, computing now gushes from the invisible woodwork and is covering the global psyche with a sea of expectations. Consumers, business-to-business customerseven your own employeesexpect your products and services to cater to a technology-spoiled society. In business, only those who adapt to this ubiquitous, always-on technology will survive. Cloud computing has emerged as a pivotal driver in this equation.
In Business in the Cloud, authors Michael Hugos and Derek Hulitzky draw on their experience in business and technology to illustrate how cloud computing can transform your organization while they clearly define the many financial and efficiency benefits of this new computing model. They show how it can be quickly rolled out, scaled up to handle increased volume if business takes off, or easily scaled back to cut costs if business changes. It allows companies to replace capital expenses with operating expenses, and enables companies to directly align operating expenses with revenue to protect cash flow and operating profits. A critical lynchpin to any organization operating in high change, unpredictable environments, cloud computing ultimately allows companies to focus their technology energies and investments on what matters most. By moving some applications and services to the cloud, it allows businesses to concentrate on devising even newer ways to find customers and profits.
Loaded with case studies and insights from industry thought leaders and practitioners, Business in the Cloud explores:
- The new role of information technology
- A renewed focus on using technology for profit and competitive advantage
- Using the cloud for business advantage
- A cloud-based model for business organizations
- Implications of the transition to cloud computing
- Key technologies used in cloud computing
- What to look for in a good service provider
- Cyber threats and perimeter security in cloud computing
- Public, private, and hybrid clouds
- Five profit enablers driving business to the cloud
- New economic engines for growth
- Real-time global collaboration
- New realities and new opportunities
As a business leader, do you know what cloud computing is? Do you feel compelled to understand it? You should. With constantly changing technologies to choose from, cloud computing is the bridge across a sea of change where every company now weaves technology into their communications, products, and processes. Experts agree that cloud computing is the largest revolution in decades in how people and companies will consume and use technology. And every business leadernot just the CIOneeds to understand it.
Designed for business leaders to absorb the often-vague concept of cloud computing, Business in the Cloud delivers a critical foundation to not only understand it, but also put it to work.
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
MICHAEL HUGOS, Principal at the Center for Systems Innovation [c4si], writes, speaks and consults on strategies for IT and business agility and mentors development teams. He spent six years as CIO of a multibillion-dollar distribution cooperative developing a suite of supply chain and business systems, transforming the company's operations and revenue model. He won the CIO 100 Award and Premier 100 Award for his work, and is also author of Essentials of Supply Chain Management and Business Agility.
DEREK HULITZKY, Vice President of Content Development at a global technology media company, is a keen industry watcher with an intense focus on how CIOs and companies manage their technology teams and responsibilities. A seasoned technology marketer, he is an accomplished event and panel moderator with a rich background in technology content creation, audience development, and management.