Working in the Cloud Leads to Changes for Businesses

Author: Paul Cantelli

Cloud computing has become established as the new, preferred IT environment. But exactly how, and to what extent? A considerable majority of businesses still aren’t using cloud computing, and as the scales tip in favor of the cloud, what will be the ramifications for IT as we now know it?

Irving Wladawsky-Berger wrote a commentary on this subject, asserting that ”cloud computing truly represents a major transformation in the way all institutions, from the smallest to the largest, will leverage information technologies.” He should know. He’s a fellow at MIT‘s Center for Digital Business, strategic adviser to Citigroup and former vice president of technical strategy and innovation at IBM.

The trend toward working in the cloud has growing more slowly than some might have predicted. IT professionals can be recalcitrant, resisting change that will certainly profoundly impact their work lives. And many users are still wary of security and other issues that seem more intangible in the cloud.

Clearly, says Wladawsky-Berger, ensuring the change to cloud computing is a C-level leadership issue. If the cloud is approved and in fact demanded from the top, change will come more surely and it can be managed in a more orderly and productive manner.

Cloud computing is driving more than physical IT infrastructure changes. Entire IT departments and functions are becoming unnecessary as businesses no longer need dedicated technicians to create, set up, maintain and trouble-shoot systems internally. Instead, cloud computing facilitates simpler work processes easily adopted by staff in other departments.

At the same time, working in the cloud increases productivity thanks to 24/7 remote access and virtually no down time. And businesses can recapture significant resources currently devoted to technology-related equipment purchase, maintenance and housing.

If you’re still not sure what the cloud can do for you, or how to put change in motion, contact us at The Tax Office, Inc. We can work with you to develop a cloud computing transition plan that’s painless, to help your business grow more productively and profitably.