So, you have decided that moving to the cloud is the right choice for your business. You've done all the researched, talked to all the experts, and settled on a strategy that has the best chance of success for your specific needs.
That's outstanding. So, how are going to fund this effort? The cloud may help you move fast and save money but the cloud isn't free!
A lot of IT managers incorrectly assume that all they have to do is make the case to their IT management team or CIO when it comes to funding decisions. In reality, that may not be the case. Of course, getting management buying at all levels is important buy may not be enough to get a "new" project funded.
According to a recent research study shared by Business New Daily,
CFO influence over IT is growing as CFOs alone have authorized 26 percent of all IT investments, while CIOs have authorized only 5 percent of IT investments, according to a recent joint study by Gartner Inc., FinancialExecutives Research Foundation and the Committee of Finance & IT of Financial Executives International. The survey also showed that 42 percent of IT organizations report directly to the CFO, and 33 percent of IT organizations are reporting to the CEO.
What does this mean to the average IT operator? Basically, you are going to have to make your case by talking less of the nuts and bolts of what you need to do and more on what the business outcomes will be when it is completed.
Here's a few questions that are worth preparing answer's for:
- What is the clear value that building/buying/using the cloud will bring to the business?
- What are the tangible impacts to the business (revenue gains, costs reductions, etc)?
- What old technologies/systems/applications can we get rid of with this effort?
- What is the transition plan and how much will each phase cost?
Here's a few more resources worth reviewing:
- Preparing for the real costs of cloud computing
- Cloud CIO: How cloud computing changes IT staffs
- The New Economics of IT (free download but registration required)
- 5 helpful hints for building effective private clouds
- Our latest webinar, Journey to the Private Cloud (free but registration required)
