Cloud computing provides the following advantages:

• Standardized, IT-based ability, given by “off the shelf” or commoditized hardware components, utilization of large-scale virtualization beyond processors – core applications, development platforms and storage.
• “Pay-per-use” economics for very small contract durations and consumption-based billing on the basis of actual usage.
• Scalability
  • From the customer perspective: The ability to “flex” and add capacity on the fly.
  • From the provider perspective: Build in “elasticity” and scale on demand.
• Flexible access models, for example, web-based interfaces for administrative and usage needs, give simplicity of utilization as a key differentiator.

Client Challenges

The key business challenges to successful cloud adoption include the following:

• Strategic balancing of on-demand cloud computing-based solutions v/s fiscal realities of current infrastructure costs, capabilities and lifespan.
• Assessing the specialized capacities or limitations and related business requirements attached to public, hybrid or private cloud solutions.
• Managing vulnerabilities in cloud data systems leading to potential fraud, revenue loss and/or data security risks.
• In order to efficiently implement cloud solutions, availability of the required skills and resources is ensured.
• Meeting complex compliance requirements and government regulations around accessing, sharing and storing data.
• Developing an organizational change strategy in support of, and aligned with, cloud adoption.
• Building a comprehensive migration strategy to guarantee maximum business value, including direction on what workloads to migrate to which kind of cloud computing and for what sort of expense and administration level or support model.