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 IT departments.  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, 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 more 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.