Migration of applications and processes to a Cloud model is certainly a hot topic, but is it all just hot air? Marcus Hill doesn’t think so

As the prospect of IT migration to the Cloud enters conversation more and more, people are beginning to ask whether or not the Cloud model is nothing more than the next unified communications, set to take another five years before it goes mainstream, a solution in search of a problem.

I’d say it isn’t and here’s why.

Firstly, there’s the scale of investment in developing the technology by a number of players, like Hewlett Packard and Fujitsu.

There’s also the likelihood of an increase in the use of Cloud services by the Government, since the model plays so well to the cost-saving agenda of the current coalition. If they’ve got to save all these billions of pounds a year without harming front line services then surely something’s got to change.

Companies like Amazon and Google have helped to prepare consumers for the idea of the Cloud, so acceptance will be consumer-up and not corporate-down, which will only boost its popularity.

Another driver is that we haven’t yet returned to an economy where capital is easily available. Cloud speaks to an OPEX rather than CAPEX-based model. Through the Cloud, enterprises can access applications that would previously have been the preserve of those who could afford expensive and proprietary software. Now anybody can get what they want in a bite-sized way.

Resellers of IT for their part can start by delivering specific functions where they can easily add value and where the economic advantages are apparent, e.g. finance, HR, payroll.

Cloud can take different forms: SaaS (Software as a Service), BPaaS (Business Process as a Service), or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). The first two favour early adoption, while people are already calling for IaaS. Anybody familiar with backing up their own desktop data online will be prepared for the latter. People are already getting used to the idea of not owning computer power and storing their own data, and they already know it makes sense.

It’s important to understand, though, that Cloud is not a magic ray of sunshine that will banish all your IT gremlins. The Cloud also comes with challenges. Cloud adoption is only as good as the quality of the network that supports it. It also necessitates your moving towards a ‘desktop to data centre’-type SLA, and away from a traditional service-led agreement. The almighty Cloud also demands that we challenge the existing model of how bandwidth is consumed.

All this will depend to an extent on the development of models that don’t yet exist. This’ll take some time and at first we’ll probably see only discrete areas of adoption. I don’t think mass Cloud adoption will be happening any time soon, as there’s too much work to be done on getting the right service level in place and at the right price. And yet I certainly don’t believe Cloud is the next unified communications. It’s more real and it’s more in tune with today’s needs.

The Cloud is coming whether we like it or not, and its first casualty will be the traditional reseller. The Cloud will be the death knell for those who rely on selling servers. Clever resellers, though, are already investing in their own Cloud offer in parallel to their existing business.