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

by Michael H. Hugos ( ); Derek Hulitzky

• ISBN13: 9780470917039
• ISBN10: 0470917032
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2010-09-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

A close look at cloud computing's transformational role in businessCovering 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 EditionPractical 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.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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