How Cloud Computing Improves IT Asset Management and Security
In order to meet rapidly increasing IT and core business system support needs, many companies have been turning to cloud computing solutions for more agile project management, better disaster recovery planning and increased network security. Cloud investment has risen exponentially over the last few years. TheInfoPro, a division of 451 Research, recently released a cloud computing survey, which highlights the forces driving cloud migration as well as some of the potential roadblocks that are keeping companies from integrating the cloud into their business models. The statistics were compiled through interviews with 100 IT professionals conducted in early 2013. Here’s a quick rundown of the study’s key points:
– Sixty percent said that cloud computing is a “natural evolution” of IT service and do not differentiate between cloud and non-cloud IT spending projects
– Of the 40 percent of respondents who do segment budgets, 69 percent said that spending will increase in 2013 and again in 2014
– Software-as-a-service (SaaS) investment increased by 33 percent
– Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) project spending rose by 30 percent
– Although enterprises are generally spending more, 83 percent of respondents said that obstructions still remain; however, IT-developed roadblocks decreased to 15 percent
– The worldwide cloud computing market will increase at a 36 percent compound annual growth rate through 2016, hitting $19.5 billion
Cloud computing offers businesses the ability to better oversee and manage a variety of their core business operations. Better IT management is a high priority for many businesses, as digital demands drive the need for more infrastructure, hardware and software. IT asset management (ITAM) in the cloud allows IT administrators to deploy virtualized SaaS solutions in workstations to improve PC performance and monitoring capabilities from a central location, instead of having to install the same software component on every single machine. A SaaS solution’s benefits increase over time, as performance maintenance, update installations and security oversight that traditionally would have been conducted on a machine-by-machine basis can be set up and deployed from a centralized workstation through the cloud at the click of a button.
Making IT Operations More Cost-Effective
Uncontrollable rises in IT operating expenses have severely curtailed the profitability of organizations in many industries over the last few years. The ITAM costs of maintaining PCs, networks and other equipment – the connective tissue that allows many organizations to function – has proven to be an insurmountable challenge for a good portion of enterprise IT leaders. However, cloud solutions like SaaS and IaaS offer effective methods of keeping PCs and network devices in good health without the sunk costs traditionally associated with enterprise IT.
InfoWorld contributing editor Roger Grimes recently wrote that cloud-based security is a solution that is “right under our noses.” He pointed to the way that virtual machines can accomplish many tasks that humans previously needed to perform, and VMs will soon be able to do many more. ITAM from the cloud enables administrators to keep tabs on each computer without having to conduct all the oversight and monitoring manually, a process which either takes a massive time commitment and/or significant workday disruption to complete. Ultimately, Grimes envisions a world in which everyone, everywhere works together, through the cloud, to share information and adopt the same security measures, which could effectively put hackers off the map. Until then, enterprises can invest in cloud solutions to improve the functionality, performance and security of their critical IT assets on an organizational level.
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