Moving to Cloud computing is something a large number of companies are considering or have already done. The benefits have been well documented, but what do you need to consider from a Service Management perspective? Does moving to the Cloud mean changing your Service Management organisation? Well lets look at what may be affected?
Change Management As speed of change increases and customers can easily access the latest versions of technology and IT infrastructure, traditional change management processes and approval times may eliminate some of the benefits, Cloud can bring. However, a good Change Management process should be as efficient as possible, balancing risk and benefits at the correct level for your organisation. You may wish to consider adding new Change Models to your process giving you the ability to review and action changes quickly.
Capacity/Availability Management Cloud can help you introduce flexible demand, and reduce the risk of downtime by balancing work loads and giving advance warning of capacity/availability problems.
Financial Management Does your organisation support utility base charging and/or charging per consumption? Are your organisations current procurement rules and culture set-up to approve and finance fluctuating costs, i.e. pay-per-use. In moving to Cloud computing under an OPEX model IT assets are no longer purchased by the organisation. This means that IT investment costs can no longer be depreciated in the balance sheet. How does this impact your organisations financial model?