Cloud is the next transformational technology in the IT world, and is arriving faster on the heels of the previous tech shift than at any other time in IT history. Even though Cloud is the most overhyped term out there, this rapid advance will take many IT organizations and IT vendors by surprise.
Price Waterhouse Cooper authored a whitepaper showing a good summary of the ratio of IT spending to GDP. There is approximately a 15 year separation between the efficiencies delivered by each of the UNIX, Distributed, and Virtualization technology transformations. Between each shift to the next technology, there was an increase in IT spending above the average growth trend. This may be due to the proliferation of the existing technology within the datacenter, and the cost of maintaining the personnel to manage the proliferation of systems.
Will VM sprawl lead to massive increases in IT spending in the next few years to bring spending back to the trend? Not if the next major technology transformation happens quickly enough to drive additional efficiencies of doing IT.
Cloud technologies (scalable & elastic infrastructure + on and off site data and app mobility + orchestration / automation + end user portals + financial transparency, and aaS pricing) have the potential to keep the industry on a new trajectory of lower costs relative to increased productivity. It looks like the pace of transformative innovation has increased since widespread adoption of Cloud infrastructures is already beginning to displace “mere virtualization.”
My advice? Become a transformation agent within your organization to champion the new normal of Cloud technologies. Cloud will transform IT. Now is the time to get ahead of the shift, develop new skills, lead others who can’t see what’s happening.
Great post and I think you’re spot on. I think those companies that transform will have a competitive advantage over those that don’t.