Integrate Cloud Into Existing Architecture Strategies

With the level of industry hype about cloud computing, CIOs may get the impression that adopting cloud-based offerings is a sure path to business benefit. But cloud computing is not the answer to all your computing and infrastructure headaches, and to make cloud work for your organization you have to understand what makes it different. There are numerous tradeoffs between cloud, cloud-like, and traditional computing options, so to make an informed business decision, one must understand how cloud offerings fit with and change decision models for the full range of cloud and non-cloud options. Thus, rather than creating a siloed cloud strategy, integrate cloud options into your existing strategies for the organization's business solution portfolio, application platforms, and computing infrastructure. This report is designed to help CIOs create a strategic investment plan for cloud computing that influences and enables agile business strategy.