Beyond IT:

Expert Quotes on the Business Impact of Cloud Computing

Table of Contents

Cloud Computing and Digital Transformation

Growth of Security-as-a-Service

Increased Agility

Big Data Access

The Third Platform

IT is Still Key

This deck references business leaders and cloud experts. Look for the “Learn More” button for the full expert resource.

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It has created vast wealth for companies that seemed to

spring up overnight, and it has brushed aside corporate icons,

even entire industries, that once seemed unassailable. It

has helped topple brutal dictatorships and has brought IT

from the backroom into the boardroom, making it the

centerpiece of some of the most farsighted and successful

corporate strategies of the new millennium. It is the cloud,

and it has forever changed the way business is done.

- Joe Weinman, author of Cloudonomics

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The basic benefits of cloud computing are fairly obvious…

The cloud o�ers scalability, reduces internal hardware needs, and allows IT to spend less time on maintenance and upkeep.

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For many small businesses, it has meant avoiding internal hardware altogether.

We use MS O�ce365, Dropbox for all our files and host

our QuickBooks Enterprise in the cloud. We have greatly

reduced our reliance on local computers and our ability

to recover from a localized disaster is much more

protected. We don't have an o�ce server, don't need one.

- John Kinskey, founder and president of AccessDirect

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However, the impact of cloud computing extends far beyond the IT department.

Here’s what the experts had to say.

The cloud provides business agility, enabling companies to grow or retract IT resources on demand.

It makes the use of all business data an a�ordable reality.

The cloud empowers resource-constrained organizations to punch above their weight.

-David Linthicum, SVP at Cloud Technology Partners“ “

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Cloud Computing and Digital Transformation

In a recent article on eCommerce Times, Je�rey Kaplan of THINKstrategies warned that the misconception that the cloud and IOT are separate trends from digital transformation and mobile communications could have serious consequences.

Nearly every application that enables organizations to become

more digital is reliant on cloud services. The majority of these

applications are designed to be Software-as-a-Service

solutions. They are increasingly being built on

Platform-as-a-Service so they can be configured for specific

business processes and extended into various vertical markets.

-Je�rey Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies“

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Growth of Security-as-a-Service

It's not just the IT department that benefits from cloud computing

anymore. By utilizing the cloud, companies gain increased flexibility

and scalability, not to mention it's cost-e�cient (you only pay for

what you need/use). With companies paying more attention to

business flexibility (a major data loss can sink a company), the

cloud is becoming the go-to option for risk management.

- Ondrej Krehel, CTO and founder of LIFARS“

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Increased Agility

The agility a�orded by cloud computing now allows enterprises

to pursue new business models and also beat their competitors

to market. Historically, IT’s slow response … resulted in the business

having to gaze at the backs of many trains leaving the station

without them. Cloud computing has significantly lowered time

and cost barriers, and innovative enterprises are now driving the train.

- Jay Litkey, founder and president of Embotics“

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Big Data Access

Beyond just a compliance necessity, enterprises' cloud

archives are a treasure trove of corporate knowledge.… By

leveling information silos and enabling flexible permission

management, employees can use archives as an active data

source filled with untapped business potential and the answers

to their latest business questions.

- Dan Sloshberg, product marketing director of Mimecast“

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The Third Platform

Today, it’s clear that cloud computing is transforming IT.

Tomorrow, cloud computing will transform business. As what

IDC calls the Third Platform (the confluence of social, mobile,

analytics, and cloud computing) becomes more widely

deployed, innovative companies will leverage it to create new

business o�erings and disrupt existing incumbents. The key

question for companies is whether they will grow skills in Third

Platform technologies quickly enough to move to the

successful end of the spectrum.

- Bernard Golden, VP of Strategy at ActiveState“

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IT is Still Key

The empowering nature of the cloud – along with the low cost

and ease of deployment – leads to a ‘Shadow IT’ environment

where as-a-service o�erings are sourced, deployed, and

managed by line managers rather than IT. Business gains agility,

however this disintermediation results in organizations not

getting the full transformative benefit of the cloud…. In short IT

involvement will reduce extraordinary risks from untethered

clouds and Shadow IT and help drive even better business

outcomes.

- Raju Chekuri, CEO of NetEnrich “

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In Sum…

The forces of cloud, big data relevant products/services, mobile

and social… are advancing human progress more quickly and

more fundamentally than at any time in human history.

-Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell, Inc.“

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Sources:

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/82164.htmlhttp://www.cloudonomics.com/http://www.toptechnews.com/article/index.php?story_id=111001U9DXCC