Sean Wainer, Citrix SystemsSean Wainer, Citrix Systems


Companies of all types, sizes and industries have adopted cloud convergence solutions, as the world moves from the PC era to the cloud era, said Sean Wainer, country manager for Citrix Systems, speaking at the ITWeb Cloud Computing Summit, in Bryanston.

According to Wainer, the PC era was IT-centric, capex-driven and characterised by IT maintenance and long lead times. “During this era, IT dictated everything on users in order to maintain control,” he said. On the other hand, the cloud era is user-centric, opex-driven, on demand and is driven by innovation.

For Wainer, cloud convergence brings infinite scale, elastic efficiency, as well as best-in-class economics. “With cloud convergence, organisations can increase agility and IT service delivery with automation and self-service. Organisations also gain flexibility by extending resources to private and public clouds while reducing costs by dynamically scaling to meet capacity and resource requirements. It also enables organisations to ensure , compliance and control, from data centre to cloud.”

According to Wainer, the top drivers for cloud computing are improving IT service, increasing speed of deployment, enabling innovation, saving on capex, as well as greater flexibility and agility.

Business and IT leaders are attracted to the business case for cloud computing, said Wainer. They believe that, with cloud computing, they can innovate and grow faster while the business saves money, and that’s a win-win, he noted.

“For CFOs, they say cloud computing could be a significant cost reduction for the organisation, while IT directors believe cloud means they will have time to focus on more strategic initiatives; developers also believe that, with cloud, they could be able to do some really neat development.”

Wainer pointed out that multiple cloud strategies provide flexible options for organisations; however, he advised that they balance cost and scale with and control.

Before embarking on the journey to the cloud, he said enterprises must assess objectives, requirements, existing investments and readiness of the organisation. “After making the assessments, they should create a well-designed strategy and plan that leverages existing resources as well as new private and public cloud services.”

Finally, he noted, they must build, test and roll-out a solution starting with simple workloads to ensure the platform and automated operations meet business expectations.

ORGANISATIONAL REVOLUTION

Brett Dunn, team lead for enterprise system engineers at EMC Southern Africa, reiterated that organisations are changing in the face of cloud computing and the information era.

Brett Dunn, EMC Southern AfricaBrett Dunn, EMC Southern Africa

“We have entered the information era, where creating value from information is the new economy,” said Dunn. “With the advent of cloud computing, IT departments must now learn to compete for their internal customers.”

Thus, he said organisations must prepare their people by talking openly about cloud computing, while fostering collaboration and creating incentives for them to become multi-skilled.

Describing the three typical approaches organisations take regarding cloud computing, Dunn said, previously, IT was responsible for building its own home-grown ‘cloud’. However, he said, this approach fails to engage with the business and also does not address people or process issues.

In the second approach, everything goes to an external cloud, with IT becoming solely a broker, raising valid concerns around risks associated with cloud computing, he explained.

In the final approach, IT learns to compete; IT invests in transformation, becomes the internal service provider and owns the business relationship.

According to Dunn, business transformation through IT transformation is much harder, but more rewarding.

He added that, despite incredible improvements in cost, efficiency, quality of service and agility, business units are sourcing IT alternatives.

In most cases, he noted, IT remains hard to do business with; IT funding models get in the way; or IT still appears as a collection of tech silos as opposed to a solution provider.

“We avoid ‘selling’ our services out of fear that we will create demand we cannot fulfil. We perpetuate custom engagements versus driving a mindset of standardised enterprise services.”