October 15, 2010 – Outsourcing consultant Ben Trowbridge recently returned from Bangalore, India where he addressed members of the 2010 NASSCOM IMS Summit on infrastructure benchmarking and the future of cloud computing.
Trowbridge is the founder and CEO of Alsbridge, Inc. an outsourcing advisory firm serving Global 2000 businesses. He is recognized throughout the Indian outsourcing community as one of foremost experts who are shaping the future of outsourcing.
At NASSCOM, Trowbridge met with more than 300 professionals and senior executives from the India-based outsourcing community. “The foremost topic on everyone’s mind was cloud computing,” says Trowbridge.
Trowbridge explains. “Cloud computing represents one of the most significant shifts in information technology many of us are likely to see in our lifetimes. Reaching the point where computing functions as a utility has great potential, promising innovations we cannot yet imagine.”
Despite the promise of innovation Trowbridge says businesses are still wrestling with concerns such as security and the loss of direct control over systems.”
“Despite a lack of clarity around whether cloud services are the next evolution of IT service delivery models, it is increasingly clear that organizations must re-evaluate their strategic sourcing alternatives. The sourcing strategy, future IT architecture plan, and contract terms must take into account the potential value of cloud computing,” he says.
Trowbridge offers five tips to companies considering cloud computing options:
1. Recognize that as technological innovation and business change drive the evolution of IT service delivery models, new sourcing strategies are required. Don’t force-fit today’s strategies and approaches to totally new sourcing alternatives.
2. Assess how conducive your organizations’ current IT infrastructure and platforms are to the introduction and roll-out of cloud computing in support of today’s and tomorrow’s business requirements. Consider how changes to service delivery models and platforms will affect the allocation of risk between the client and provider organizations.
3. View cloud computing as an expansion of delivery alternatives rather than a replacement of today’s infrastructure and software environments. Most organizations simply have too much invested to abandon established enterprise infrastructure in favor of cloud services.
4. Initiate a dialogue with key stakeholders and key partners/providers to define key assumptions and critical operating parameters and determine how much flexibility exists in areas that may or may not be of strategic importance, including operational control and visibility; IT security; and performance level management.
5. Develop a contingency plan that is aligned with your sourcing strategy. Be prepared to act regardless of how much service delivery models change as a result of the introduction of cloud services.
About Alsbridge
Alsbridge, Inc. is an award-winning global advisory firm and a distinguished member of the 2010 Inc. 500 fastest growing privately held companies. Alsbridge redefines the way companies reduce costs and improve back office operations. Our proprietary benchmarking tools and data resources enable clients to utilize the most cost effective and value added sources globally for information technology, business processes and telecommunications networks. Through a combination of internal optimization and outsourcing, our clients achieve cost savings that support their strategic business objectives.Founded in 2003, Alsbridge is the proven, effective difference. The company’s web site is: www.alsbridge.com.
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