CIOs Warned That Cloud Could Be A Smokescreen

An Ovum report warns CIOs against using cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) applications as a smokescreen for potentially problematic onsite installations.

In a study of SaaS delivery of IT management capabilities, author Stephen Mann, an Ovum analyst, recommends that CIOs should only implement SaaS if they are clear about the business outcome.

SaaS Needs a Strong Business Case

If the case is not made clear, the result can be an application that is more expensive, slower and worse than if a more traditional approach was taken.

“There is currently a buzz around SaaS but CIOs need to ensure their decision to introduce it is based on a strong business case, rather than on the back of industry hype,” Mann warned.

He is far from being a reactionary and the report does acknowledge the benefits of SaaS. In a management context, IT resources can be focused on more business-critical targets rather than on systems’ support. The subscription-based services also smooth out the costing of these ancillary services.

“SaaS is now becoming a mainstream part of the corporate IT mix but using it for the right reasons, in the right places and in the right way within an organisation is crucial,” Mann said. “CIOs need to establish this before embarking on an implementation project.”

The illusion that attracts customers is that the service will be faster, better and cheaper in the long-run. Mann said that this is only true if the same amount of consideration is afforded to the project as would be concentrated on any in-house implementation.

A bad decision not only forces a step back to other solutions but can add costs of migration to what would have only originally been an installation.

“In our view SaaS is the biggest shift in the IT management product landscape in the last five years,” Mann observed. “However, CIOs need to ensure applications are used within the right functions and in the right way so that it is a welcome addition.”

In the report, he covers the issues to be considered such as the fact that CIOs need to ensure they are on the front foot before taking the plunge into areas such as policy guidance for employees.