I was following the recent debate in The Economist website on cloud computing. The motion on the floor was that the cloud can't be entirely trusted. We have Stephen Elop from MSFT pushing the software + services model and Marc Benioff from Salesforce.com pushing for an all out cloud future. I wrote the following on the comments section of the debate.
I found the debate on cloud computing to be very fascinating. The focus, however, has been on cloud computing technology and cloud vendors. Based on examples presented here and in what I have seen in companies, the real learning for me has been the potential for companies to adopt a cloud strategy. This means that they have the ability to reduce the "drag coefficient" of their current IT systems and focus more on the business and innovation. The current conversation is too vendor focused. The debate needs to move on to what customers can accomplish by following cloud strategies.
Cloud strategies rest on certain key assumptions about your IT capability. Core principles like data interoperability, transparency, user involvement, low switching costs, ability to mix and match applications, tap into services anywhere and anytime, ubiquitous access to information are all axiomatic to this. The CEO can now think of unique value propositions that can trust the IT systems to deliver on the underlying principles.