Cloud computing excites board interest

Beverley Head
Wednesday, 07 December 2011 17:35

Cloud computing has sparked levels of IT awareness among company directors not seen in Australia since ERP was first trumpeted as an important productivity tool.

According to Paul Gibbs, general manager of cloud computing for CSC, the company has recently engaged with the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was 'genuinely surprised at how well informed company directors were about cloud'¦and their awareness that IT could be used as a service.''

In November the AICD released its directors' sentiment index which indicated that most company directors believed Australia was in for a rough ride in the first half of 2012 - and the economic benefits often promised by cloud vendors may seem particularly attractive in light of that forecast. However survey results released this week by CSC, showed that although organisations could save money by moving to a cloud based solution, the savings were often quite small.

Instead the survey found that economy was not the main driver for cloud adoption, rather it was the desire of organisations to provide access to corporate information from multiple devices.

According to Mr Gibbs cloud adopters are; 'Very quickly learning that clouds can be complementary not cannibalistic.'

He believes that Australian enterprise is now poised for a significant uptick in cloud activity in 2012. Although he acknowledged that cloud adoption in Australia had not been as fast as CSC had expected one or two years ago, international experience had shown that the growth in demand for clouds tended not to be linear and there was a tipping point when demand suddenly blossomed.

He believed there were now enough signs to suggest that might now happen in Australia next year.