Changes in technology do happen and although they might be difficult, doing nothing and ignoring them can be worse, NewLease head of Cloud strategy, Stephen Parker, said.
He was speaking at the Veeam ProPartner Conference 2013 in Sydney.
Parker said there is customer demand for the Cloud, especially since Amazon brought datacentres into Australia, Microsoft shifted its whole business organisation behind the Cloud and other innovators brought out new Cloud-related technologies.
“It’s growing all the time. It’s not one of these strange reflection points that go nowhere. It can be scary doing things for the first time but you have to get over it. The businesses that get on it will be successful and those that don’t, are going to have real problems.”
He claimed the adoption of the Cloud technology by customers will force the ways of the industry to change, including the skill sets required in the industry from engineering to consulting.
“That change is causing us challenges. A lot of people are saying ‘Great, I get the Cloud, I know it’s happening, and I’ve got to do something but where do I start’ because it’s a big and daunting thing,” he said.
Parker mentioned that businesses don’t have to do things to adopt the Cloud overnight, but instead suggested they have a look at what the business value is in making some changes and associate that with the risk.
“Our businesses are what we’re running, not technology. The Cloud, whilst there is a huge amount of hype around it, is also a label that talks about how we as suppliers and buyers of technology are choosing a different way of consuming it as a service,” he said.
Parker claimed one of the first steps businesses should take is access where their data resides.
“Start somewhere and do something. You really need to think about where your data is but I also suggest what you do if you’re a customer or a service provider talking to a customer, is check on what you’re doing right now.”
According to Parker, the main barrier to businesses adopting the Cloud is security. But he said the Cloud is no better or worse than the current processors businesses have.
“About 50 per cent of businesses say they are not adopting the Cloud due to security reasons but it is significantly more secure than what we have today – we give cleaners after-hours access to our servers in the broom cupboard, and you are worried about security in the Cloud?” he added.
