There are dangers that may come from charging too readily ahead into cloud computing. Businesses need to know exactly what they can expect from these new solutions.
That's part of what Forbes writer Joe McKendrick gets at when he quotes IT professional Mike Kavis on the measured steps that your business is going to need to take for a sustained success over the course of time.
For example, McKendrick cites Kavis' dictum that businesses need to be fully informed about the capabilities of their legacy software to make the transition forward, as the process might be more involved and riskier than has previously been assumed.
"Starting with a blank slate or getting an initiative from the CEO to re-platform the entire product line with a new cloud-based architecture is not the norm for most companies," Kavis says, meaning that it will take good information and legwork to get real value out of this transition.
On the other hand, seeking mainframe modernization is clearly still important and last year may ultimately be seen as the turning point when this method of running businesses fervently hit its stride, as Irving Wladawsky-Berger writes for the Wall Street Journal. Using an interesting metaphor, he compares cloud to one's offspring, saying "the cute child is now a teenager, still full of promise, but also of mischief if not properly handled."
Upgrading is obviously becoming a priority for now, but there may be a time when it becomes even clearer what a significant advantage current systems have in this market when it comes to updating. The tools are there to make productivity greater and help your company make a more lasting impression.