Ovum reveals framework for best-practice cloud services deployment
1 min read
Consultancy Ovum has unveiled a framework that it believes will assist government agencies – but potentially also businesses – with understanding the organisational issues associated with adopting cloud-based IT services.
"Cloud services have long been debated across the globe, but it is now time to stop discussing theory and start discussing the actual experiences of early adopters," comments Dr Steve Hodgkinson, director of Ovum's IT research and advisory services for the Asia-Pacific region and author of the report.
"Many government agencies are stuck in a game of ICT snakes and ladders, unable to sustainably develop strong ICT capabilities because of funding, resource and skill constraints," he explains.
"[But] mature, enterprise-grade cloud services provide a cloud innovation edge to agencies – enabled by world-class ICT capabilities at a lower cost than would otherwise be possible."
Ovum's framework is based on experience gained from five case studies. Each of the agencies reviewed used cloud services to overcome constraints in their existing ICT capabilities, and the results were compelling.
They found the benefits were even greater than expected while the risks and difficulties were not as marked as is often the case with traditional ICT projects.
"These proof points reveal that cloud services do actually live up to the promise of better, faster, less expensive and less risky ICT," states Hodgkinson.
The Ovum Cloud Services Catalysts Framework defines the key leadership decisions, business needs and Internet-age thinking that explain why early adopters were able to embrace cloud services.
Most important, the framework provides a tool for thinking about the degree to which a cloud service is a good fit for an agency. It also provides a diagnostic tool for thinking about the catalysts that may need to be created or nurtured in order to enable agencies to understand and embrace cloud services.
"The case studies of early adopters reveal more about leadership and decision-making than they do about the abstract benefits of the cloud delivery model," insists Hodgkinson.
"Why is it that some agencies embrace cloud services while others remain sceptical – and even fearful – of the cloud services model? Our framework is a major step forward for understanding the enablers, and sticking points, of cloud services adoption in the public sector."
