CIOs' cloud strategy must include public cloud

A year ago, when discussing an organization's cloud strategy, I heard a consistent theme that "our focus is on creating a private cloud." At times stated, from time to time unstated or at times said pursuant to this agreement an executive's breath was the objective of curtailing developer use of public cloud computing. The target of that objective most commonly was Amazon Web Services.

The wholesale adoption of public cloud computing

Something much more profound than developer experimentation is behind the wholesale adoption of public cloud computing. During developers have flocked to Amazon Web Services and its counterparts, as a general rule, they are not doing it without organizational support. Most developers are embedded within groups that answer to business units, and these groups are responsible for ensuring that the business side of the house has the applications they need to support their objectives.

The fundamental truth underlying the explosive growth of public cloud computing is that it is fueled by development decisions driven by the sponsoring business units. Business units are in accordance with pressure to produce financial results, and, as the saying goes, time is money.

The traditional provisioning lifecycle

Compared to the traditional provisioning lifecycle, public cloud computing dramatically reduces resource availability timeframes. Given this dramatic contrast, business units have received green light to authorize their developers to use public cloud computing.

Over the past year, it has become clear to IT management that this public cloud computing "fling" has become a serious commitment. Apps are now in production and cannot be disrupted by transferring them to an internal cloud. In addition, business units are impressed with what they're offered by public clouds -- no lengthy lead times for resource availability, no need for upfront capital investment, and the list goes on.

Consequently, it has become increasingly clear that public cloud use is going to be a significant part of every company's computing strategy. During many companies will implement an internal private cloud, every company will need to incorporate public cloud computing into its operating environment.

The outset of this piece

As I noted at the outset of this piece, this fact has led to a significant shift in IT cloud computing strategy. A year ago, most CIOs accepted public cloud computing, however their internal assumption was that in the long run the dalliance would end with a return to centrally hosted facilities. Given that expectation, experimentation with Amazon Web Services was tolerated as a temporary aberration, yet only until the internal cloud was ready.

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