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4.
Experiment with and pilot various services, internally and externally,
to identify where the real issues will arise. Take advantage of
opportunities that require quick development work to test the Cloud
environment, and look to Cloud‐based providers for discrete
functions such as CRM to test the concept. An effective acid test for
each Cloud operation model is the takeover of a firm. A smooth
integration of a new firm is the proof point of an agile Cloud
operations model.
5.
Designate a cross‐functional team to continually monitor which new
services, providers, and standards are in this space, and to determine
whether they affect the roadmap. This will be the sensing and
strategy‐evolution function. It’s better to discover where the bumps
are in a test environment than in a production environment. And, of
course, iterate and refine your operating model constantly as it
relates to consuming, delivering, and supporting Cloud services.
3.5.6
Further issues when using Cloud
Through the past years, when application licenses where delivered to
customers, things were quite easy. The application license was bought and
boxes where delivered. The application had to be installed on one or more
of the company servers and the internal IT department made sure the
applications were delivered to the computers of the end users within the
company over the internal network. Purchase costs and an annual fee for
application maintenance applied and the application could be used,
depending on the number of licenses acquired.
With Cloud applications however, different processes apply to purchasing,
facilitating and maintaining software applications. To ensure that business
can continue as usual, without endangering business processes, these same
business processes need to be looked upon with a different view. Not only
from a customers perspective but also from a suppliers point of view.
Vendor Lock In
The greatest challenge when selecting applications other than standard
Office solutions, will be when moving to the Cloud with core business
applications. Especially when these applications have to be connected in
some way with the office applications. Think about mail merge capabilities
where standard letters have to be combined with adress information.
When data is not transferrable from one application to another, the same
data will have to be stored twice in separate applications, which eventually
