How CIOs respond to the side effects of cloud technology

TechRepublic's article argues that cloud technology leads to "CIO extinction". The article argues that on-demand computing will soon mean that technology-related purchasing decisions will no longer be decided by the IT department, but by the departments of the entire business chain.

Two years ago, cloud technology was just emerging, and the need for it-related management issues was just beginning. It is the CIO who is responsible for the company's strategy for cloud technology and the development of relevant policies.

Because the executive layer is in charge of most of the internal and external technical resources of the enterprise, IT managers must lead the business security trend on demand. But the road behind is still very rugged.

The next article shows that only two of the CIO in Silicon.com's top 12 companies said that March 2009 would incorporate cloud technology into the enterprise technology strategy. For most IT managers, security issues remain the biggest obstacle to their choice of cloud technology.

Cloud technology security risks are significantly higher due to excessive reliance on partners

Two years on, the situation has not improved much, but it has reached an unprecedented heat for the discussion on demand. BT Group's CIO Clive Selley says his communication with IT managers shows that most CIOs are now actively looking for information about cloud technology, but many business leaders are concerned about cloud technology security, compliance issues, and reliability.

Cross Regulation

"CIOs need to know where corporate data is stored because they can't let the data go beyond regulatory limits," he said. Using cloud technology means that you must ensure data physical location and data security. ”

These assurances are far from enough for the CIO who invests. For example, Aviva General insurance business CIO Malcolm Simpkin that security issues are the biggest obstacle to the choice of cloud technology, he is very important to the quality of cloud services.

"When both security and quality of service are solved, it is time for cloud technology to be accepted by a wide range of businesses," he said. But at that time, the cost would outweigh the benefits and the necessary deployment would last for at least two years. ”

This change has already taken place, according to the CIO Survey survey of Gartner, an analyst, that 43% of corporate CIOs plan to migrate programs and architectures to the cloud environment over the next five years. At the same time, Forrester's survey showed that 88% of companies are focused on IT security issues and data protection issues this year.

CIO and Data protection priority

Companies will increasingly focus on data protection for cloud technology. But Simpkin admits that, in addition to increased corporate concern, cloud technology itself has no significant improvement or progress in data protection. Whether the selected on-demand computing architecture belongs to a private cloud or a public cloud, CIOs should prioritize data security.

He said: "We can always feel the pressure from the security, determine where the data storage is a very important issue." If we want to manage our own data, we have to adopt a strong private cloud control, as well as the public cloud. Detailed cloud security planning management details are still in the process of development.

Like many IT managers, Simpkin also clearly sees cloud technology driving the performance of some software areas, such as e-mail systems, and the delivery of commercial hardware products. However, as a performer, we must learn to manage, understand the industry and negotiate with suppliers to ensure that innovative technology can push the enterprise forward.

Simpkin said: "The CEO always wants someone to make sure that the process is correct, and that this person is the CIO." It is your responsibility to provide protection for your business. If there is a problem communicating with the vendor, the CIO will be the one responsible for data security. ”

External service provider cannot ensure success

External service providers do not ensure success if outsourced. Pushing technical issues out of the firewall and being addressed by a third party requires more than a hands-off approach, especially when the enterprise needs to ensure that data is secure and reliable.

"Some people always feel that cloud technology is something other people think about, and it has nothing to do with it," says Trevor Didcock, the easyjet's CIO, who has adopted the mail system on demand. "Other areas where cloud technology can be improved include human resources systems and service procurement systems through specific third-party vendors."

"You have to think about management, it's a distributed computing, so you can have third parties process your data on their own platform," he said. Cloud technology poses a greater security risk because you will rely more on partners. You have to review these partners to see if they are managing your data, rather than relying solely on trust. ”

Didcock's advice to business managers is similar to that of Simpkin, where IT managers should be held accountable: "CIOs should eliminate the barriers to enterprise acceptance of cloud technology." Whether it is corporate policy or suppliers, there is a lot of room to eliminate the gap between enterprise and cloud technology, to help enterprises resolve policy concerns. ”

The competitive pressure of CIOs

What about the supplier side? Software Joe Baguley, CTO of Quest, a management expert, said the biggest problem he saw was that CIOs were under pressure from the competition. Today's users in the home or in the cloud environment is generally used in technology than their own enterprise IT departments to provide advanced technology. He mentions the recent emergence of file-sharing services, such as Dropbox, which allow users to easily save and share information on the web.

"The problem for CIOs is that more and more enterprise data is stored in the cloud, out of their control, and CIOs are trying to build similar storage services in-house to compete with it," Baguley said. But trying to control and dispose of data is like using a sieve for water. ”

Still, companies need CIOs to maintain overall technical control over on-demand computing. The most important thing the CIO has to do is how to help the enterprise smooth and secure transition to the cloud technology environment.

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)