There has been a tremendous growth in the adoption of cloud technology over the last ten years. Strangely enough, however, myths about cloud technology continue to circulate. Being unaware of these misconceptions can hinder an organization’s progress and impede innovation.
An article by Meghan Rimol at the Smarter with Gartner website quotes Gartner Fellow Emeritus David Smith who lists — and debunks — such myths. These misconceptions can potentially prevent the adoption of cloud services and thus hold back companies. Here are five of those myths:
- Cloud is always about money.
It is a common notion that going into the cloud translates into cost savings. That may be so, but there are other reasons why the cloud is always a better option for companies. Agility is a good reason. The money benefits will arise out of the resulting agility, efficiency and competitiveness.
2. Cloud should be used for everything.
Cloud is a good thing to have, and the benefits it brings are boundless. However, the cloud does not benefit all workloads equally. For example, it is best for variable or unpredictable workloads where self-service provisioning is key.
3. “The CEO said so” is a cloud strategy.
An organization should not have to go into the cloud just because the CEO — or the CIO, or any other executive — thinks so. One person does not make a company, no matter how much his or her influence. Instead, cloud adoption should be the move of the entire organization, with each unit appreciating the good that it will do in the long term. The cloud strategy needs to be based not on the mandate of one person, but on sound business goals and realistic expectations.
The cloud is not the be-all and end-all of the process. It is a means to an end. What the end is must be determined by the entire firm.
4. Cloud is always more secure than on-premises capabilities.
Make no mistake about it. There have been some security breaches in the cloud, and most of these involve misconfiguration of the cloud service.
Security in the cloud is always a shared responsibility between the provider and the consumer. Always assess your actual capabilities and your potential provider’s capabilities and hold both to reasonable standards.
5. A cloud migration plan is a strategy.
Smith says, as quoted in the Gartner article, that there are three levels to strategizing: The long-term business strategy, the strategic plans where the cloud strategy lies, and the operating plan.
Often, a cloud adoption/ migration/ implementation plan is seen as a cloud strategy, and erroneously so. A cloud strategy must be based on the company’s main objectives and realistic expectations.
The cloud does wonders for organizations in numerous industries across the world, but users must be careful not to fall prey to myths and misconceptions. Understanding what the cloud is — or is not, and what the cloud does — or does not, is a great starting point in making it a companion in your long-term corporate journey.
