Mature cloud ready to change business

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The cloud will change not only the way companies use IT but the way they do business – and it will be those who adapt to this inevitable change the most readily that will be the strongest.

   That’s according to Barry Childe, the head of research and innovation, global markets technology, HSBC who offered his personal insight into how the cloud is changing business at the recent Cloud Europe Expo.
Just 12 months ago he would have said the technology was “pioneering” but things had advanced so quickly that he believes the technology is “now mature enough to bet your business on.”

   But taking that bet will require a change in corporate culture and that can be difficult but is essential.  “Change is difficult but when it is a significant change it can be a particular challenge.  The strongest companies will be the ones that adapt more readily,” said Childe who describes himself as a ‘technology entrepreneur’.

   Sometimes it can be difficult to quantify the returns he observed but it is not always about numbers.  “With the cloud your capability increases enormously.  And when the customer understands you can do the harder things they ask for, they will give you even harder things to do.  And while those harder things can require a lot of innovation they can be the most successful things.”

   Childe rejected the notion that with the cloud there is less need for an IT department.  “The technology is very disruptive both culturally and in implementation.  You need the right people to make the cloud work and I don’t just mean technically – it needs skilled people who can evangelise and drive change through the business.  Putting the pieces of cloud together is a difficult task and those that can do it are very valuable in an organisation.” He offers a Thunderbirds analogy.  “Jeff Tracy might have been the boss but he needed Brains to make it work.”

   But the task of getting the cultural acceptance of the cloud will become easier, he says, “as the metrics start to back up the stories.”   He added: “It’s mature enough to bet your business; 12 months ago I would have said it was still pioneering. But now, in principle, we are good to go and you can bring it out of the niche and into the strategic.”

   There are no templates for cloud either he said.  “One of the things I love about these sorts of events is you get to talk to different people.  The interesting thing is no one does it wrong, they just do it differently and I can learn from that.  Have to find the right solution for your business; it is not one size fits all.”  HSBC has plumped for a private cloud and Childe offered the insight:  “It will be a long time before we have anything but private cloud for HSBC data.”

   He advised:  “You have to spend time to find the right fit and do not be afraid to look at new firms – there are some fantastic innovations out there.”
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Over 4500 technology decision makers attended Cloud Expo Europe which is expected to be even bigger in 2013 when it runs 29th & 30th January.