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Applying the "Pay per Use" price model as offered by Cloud service
providers, enterprise customers get benefits from the CAPEX to OPEX
transformation of the new deployment of IT resources. Developing and
applying of such a Cloud‐enablement strategy is leading to new forms of
partnerships and cooperation’s with Cloud service providers.
Cloud computing makes sense, for most small and medium‐sized businesses
(
SMBs). The economic argument between in‐house IT and Cloud computing
has already been settled in favour of the Cloud, which can provide more
capabilities and access to greater IT expertise than most SMBs could ever
afford in‐house, at tremendous cost savings.
Larger enterprises should approach Cloud computing in stages. If the
company owns highly underutilised assets, there is less impetus to move to
the Cloud as long as those assets can be utilised over time without
significant additions to IT staff. Even in this case, however, Cloud computing
principles used in‐house to virtualise IT and deliver the technology as
services, creating an internal Cloud, will be more cost‐effective than the
traditional IT model of delivering discrete silos of technology.
3.5.5
A Cloud Business Strategy to kick off Cloud–Enablement
The "Cloud Enablement Strategy" allows a gradual transformation moving
business processes to the Cloud. Working with many organisations we
experienced a broad range of different approaches to successful Cloud
enablement. Cross‐functional teams aligning business and IT guarantee the
best results building a “Cloud Business Strategy” as well as leading through
the Cloud–Enablement program establishing a Cloud operations model.
By utilising the Cloud, companies can scale their infrastructure depending on
the demand, lower the capital expenditure on infrastructure and software,
and reduce the maintenance and license costs for their IT architecture. The
relocation of business processes into the Cloud has a huge cost‐saving
potential. Further business advantages of the relocation of parts of the value
chain into the Cloud are, back‐end on the procurement side and front‐end at
the customer interaction, better use of the enterprise’ resources pools,
improving time‐to‐market as well as agility and finally improving customer
experience.
The five‐point roadmap to a Cloud Business Strategy
All organisations are invited to stay informed about the evolution of Cloud
computing, and reevaluate the potential benefits of Cloud against their
current IT services delivery and consumption model. For organisations ready
