9XPCWM6XKSPP – When I was working as a management consultant in 1998, almost all of my client CEOs wanted help formulating their ‘Internet strategy’. The Internet certainly impacted every one of those companies, but it didn’t make them all Internet companies. Some tried very hard to force a fit and a number of them simply put .com at the end of their name or an “i-” or an “e-” at the beginning of their names. I witnessed dozens of heated debates about the impact that such semantic gymnastics would have on valuations.
In hindsight we realize that the Internet was transformative for those who helped build it and for those who successfully leverage it for information and communications. Today as the third chapter in the Internet’s history is being written, it is about the Internet becoming a platform for the creation and delivery of applications as services, or Cloud Computing. And just as they did 10 years ago, technology executives, investors and even IT professionals are asking the question du jour, “What’s your Cloud strategy?”
As someone who actually got a degree in Philosophy, my head has been in the clouds for almost 30 years. Now I’m finally making a living at it and I couldn’t be more excited about what’s going on all around us.
I won’t be bashful about sharing my opines and enthusiasm about this IT revolution but I actually want to offer two notes of caution to those scratching their heads as they look to the Cloud. First, many traditional applications work well delivered as a service through the Internet, but not all. Carefully evaluate the pros and cons before making the leap.
Second, not all SaaS offerings are created equal. Just because an application is delivered as a service over the Web doesn’t mean that has the features, reliability, availability, scale, security and performance you expect. Cloud computing delivers on its promise only if you get all that at a fraction of the cost that you would otherwise pay if you deployed traditional software. Essentially, beware of the wolves in SaaS clothing.
Michael Campbell, CEO
