The ubiquitous cloud.  One tiny word, one HUGE concept.  As one of the biggest debates in
organizations today, whether or not to migrate to the cloud is a hot topic that is
challenging many an IT department.  In
his SPLF presentation CEO Insider: Barriers
to the Cloud, Fpweb’s CEO, Rob
LaMear discussed some of the major challenges facing organizations looking
to migrate to the cloud, as well as how to champion these challenges. 

Whether or not we like it and are ready for it, the
landscape is rapidly changing according to Rob. 
The role of the CEO is constantly evolving, and leaving an organization’s
leader with three main roles: mitigate
risk, grow the company, and develop and drive strategic initiatives.  When it comes to migrating to the cloud,
there is a definite correlation between these functions and the barriers that
face organizations looking to migrate to the cloud.  According to Rob, these barriers include:

• Security;
• Performance; and
• Reliability.

Luckily, as more and more companies move to the cloud, the
hurdles that these barriers yield are quickly being broken down.  With organizations such as Fpweb, Microsoft, Amazon, and
more working dauntlessly to increase agility, cut costs, and eliminate impediments,
getting to the cloud is much safer and secure today than it has been in the
past. 

That being the case, how exactly do we get to the cloud,
queried Rob.  First and foremost, you
need to have a champion.  When an
organization has a hero with a solid proof
of concept (POC), the barriers to the cloud are greatly dimensioned, thus
making it much easier to demonstrate feasibility, sustainability, and business
value. 

Whether your solution is to
migrate completely to the cloud, or to implement a hybrid model,
embracing the cloud doesn’t need to be laden with insurmountable barriers.