From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap

Appendix E: Leveraging Cloud Computing for Business Strategy

The catchall phrase “the cloud” can be so amorphous and wide-ranging that it is a common source of confusion, but in reality, it is quite simple. The cloud represents products and services managed by a third-party company and made available through the Internet.

In a nutshell, you can access your products and services from anywhere with the cloud. There are few or no switching costs between competing products and services, and there is typically no upfront investment for a cloud product and service.

Before we talk about how an organization could leverage cloud computing for business benefits, let us review cloud computing characteristics—first, in terms of types of cloud, and then in ...