Business in the Cloud: What Every Business Needs to Know about Cloud Computing

ISBN-13: 9780470616239 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 224 str.

Michael H Hugos

Opis

A close look at cloud computing's transformational role in business Covering cloud computing from what the business leader needs to know, this book describes how IT can nimbly ramp up revenue initiatives, positively impact business operations and costs, and how this allows business leaders to shed worry about technology so they can focus on their business. It also reveals the cloud's effect on corporate organization structures, the evolution of traditional IT in the global economy, potential benefits and risks of cloud models and most importantly, how the IT function is being rethought by companies today who are making room for the coming tidal wave that is cloud computing.

• Why IT and business thinking must change to capture the full potential of cloud computing
• Topics including emerging cloud solutions, data security, service reliability, the new role of IT and new business organization structures
• Other titles by Hugos include: Business Agility: Sustainable Prosperity in a Relentlessly Competitive World and Essentials of Supply Chain Management, 2nd Edition

Practical and timely, this book reveals why it's worth every company's time and effort to exploit cloud computing's potential for their business's survival and success.

Spis treści

Preface. Acknowledgments. Chapter 1: The Evolution of Corporate Business Structures. Example of a New Corporate Organization Structure. Model of a Responsive Organization. A Cybernetic Economy. Cybernetics is about Control and Communication. Profit Potential of Self–Adjusting Feedback Loops. Viable Systems Model: A Framework for Business Agility. A Cloud–Based Model for Business Organizations. Notes. Chapter 2: The New Economics of Business. Moving to a Variable Cost Operating Model. Information Technology Finally Becomes a Utility. Variable Cost IT Operations Enable Business Agility. A Combination of Technologies Creates Cloud Computing. Implications of the Transition to Cloud Computing. Notes. Chapter 3: Key Technologies Used in Cloud Computing. Cloud Computing Defined. Software–as–a–Service (SaaS). Server Virtualization. Service–Oriented Architecture (SOA). Open Source Software. Web Development and Mashups. Blending It All Together. Notes. Chapter 4: Data Security and Service Reliability. Will Your Cloud Service Provider Be Here Next Year? What to Look for in a Good Service Provider. Elements of Good Data Security Policy. Cyber Threats and Perimeter Security in Cloud Computing. Encryption: The Next Frontier of Data Security. Contracts, Service Level Agreements, and Guarantees. Negotiating Service and Pricing. Performance Penalties and Restitution Clauses. Notes. Chapter 5: Moving to the Cloud: When and Where. A Business Strategy Based on Agility. Using the Cloud for Business Advantage. Business Applications with the Greatest Potential. Cloud Risk Considerations. Cloud Cost Considerations. Case Study: Selling Designer Chocolates . Notes. Chapter 6: The Transition from Managing Technology to Managing Business Processes. The Fixed Cost of Maintaining Large Data Centers Is Being Challenged. Public, Private, and Hybrid Clouds. Issues to Consider When Thinking about Private Clouds. The Cloud Is a Platform for Managing Business Processes. Automate Routine Processes and Focus People on Handling Exceptions. Four Technologies Enable Responsive Business Processes. Notes. Chapter 7: The New Role of Information Technology. Is Traditional IT Irrelevant? A Tumultuous Ride for the Chief Information Officer. The End of IT as We Know It. Changes in IT and Business Unit Staffing. Evolution of the Traditional Corporate IT Department. Agile IT Professionals using Cloud Technology are Embedded in Business. Operating Units. Cloud Computing Separates Datacenter Operations from System Development. Do We Need Enterprise Technology Architects, or Business Architects? Companies Are Investing in New Business Process Design. A Renewed Focus on Using Technology for Profit and Competitive Advantage. Notes. Chapter 8: Five Profit Enablers Driving Business to the Cloud. Harvard Medical School. Golden Gate University. Silicon Valley Education Foundation. Beachbody.com. Five Profit Enablers Driving Business to the Cloud and Away from Corporate. Data Centers. Note. Chapter 9: Business Impact of Cloud Computing. New Economic Engines for Growth. Get Ready, Get Set, Go: Success in a Real–Time Economy. Interconnected, Adaptable, and Specialized. Collaboration Is Now More Profitable than Control. Necessity Makes Radical the New Normal. The Recovering Complexaholic. Notes. Chapter 10: Global Implications of the Cloud. Real–Time Global Collaboration. Serious Games. Cloud–Based Collaboration Enables a New Way of Working: The Dynamics of Swarming. Real–Time Visibility Could Make Us a Whole Lot Smarter. New Realities and New Opportunities. Notes. About the Authors. Index.

O autorze

Michael Hugos, Principal at the Center for Systems Innovation [c4si], writes, speaks and consults on strategies for IT and business agility and mentors development teams. He spent six years as CIO of a multibillion?dollar distribution cooperative developing a suite of supply chain and business systems, transforming the company′s operations and revenue model. He won the CIO 100 Award and Premier 100 Award for his work, and is also author of Essentials of Supply Chain Management and Business Agility.DEREK HULITZKY, Vice President of Content Development at a global technology media company, is a keen industry watcher with an intense focus on how CIOs and companies manage their technology teams and responsibilities. A seasoned technology marketer, he is an accomplished event and panel moderator with?a rich background in technology content creation, audience development, and management.

Blurb

Whether you like it or not, information technology is now mission–critical to every step your business takes. Unlike a few years ago when we left technology to the geeks, computing now gushes from the invisible woodwork and is covering the global psyche with a sea of expectations. Consumers, business–to–business customers even your own employees expect your products and services to cater to a technology–spoiled society. In business, only those who adapt to this ubiquitous, always–on technology will survive. Cloud computing has emerged as a pivotal driver in this equation.

In Business in the Cloud, authors Michael Hugos and Derek Hulitzky draw on their experience in business and technology to illustrate how cloud computing can transform your organization while they clearly define the many financial and efficiency benefits of this new computing model. They show how it can be quickly rolled out, scaled up to handle increased volume if business takes off, or easily scaled back to cut costs if business changes. It allows companies to replace capital expenses with operating expenses, and enables companies to directly align operating expenses with revenue to protect cash flow and operating profits. A critical lynchpin to any organization operating in high change, unpredictable environments, cloud computing ultimately allows companies to focus their technology energies and investments on what matters most. By moving some applications and services to the cloud, it allows businesses to concentrate on devising even newer ways to find customers and profits.

Loaded with case studies and insights from industry thought leaders and practitioners, Business in the Cloud explores:

• The new role of information technology

• A renewed focus on using technology for profit and competitive advantage

• Using the cloud for business advantage

• A cloud–based model for business organizations

• Implications of the transition to cloud computing

• Key technologies used in cloud computing

• What to look for in a good service provider

• Cyber threats and perimeter security in cloud computing

• Public, private, and hybrid clouds

• Five profit enablers driving business to the cloud

• New economic engines for growth

• Real–time global collaboration

• New realities and new opportunities

As a business leader, do you know what cloud computing is? Do you feel compelled to understand it? You should. With constantly changing technologies to choose from, cloud computing is the bridge across a sea of change where every company now weaves technology into their communications, products, and processes. Experts agree that cloud computing is the largest revolution in decades in how people and companies will consume and use technology. And every business leader not just the CIO needs to understand it.

Designed for business leaders to absorb the often–vague concept of cloud computing, Business in the Cloud delivers a critical foundation to not only understand it, but also put it to work.