Cloud computing isn’t a massive new idea that’s just sprung up over the past couple of months. Rather, it’s the summation of a series of technologies that have been converging for some time. Here and now, though, cloud computing is a viable choice for businesses of all sizes. So what’s holding them back deploying it?
Plenty, as it happens. Here, we take a look at ten of the main reasons people might be holding back on deploying cloud-based working, and how valid they might be…
1. Infrastructure
The clear and obvious requirement for effective cloud working is fast, reliable Internet access. In other words, there should be enough bandwidth so that those who need to collaborate and work across cloud technologies are able to do so. That’s something that’s quite easy to manage when the bulk of workers are in an office, but it gets trickier with remote workers, and those who travel.
In the latter case in particular, regular travellers will be oh-so-aware of the difficulty in finding a workable, secure web connection. And given that one of the main benefits of cloud working is to have access to files and applications wherever you happen to be, variable web access has to be a concern.
Over time, this will, to an extent, sort itself. Some British trains, and several airlines, now accommodate web access to varying degrees of success. And finding a reliable Internet connection in a major city or hotel is far easier than it once was. Despite this, companies can’t always expect fast Internet always available, and organisations looking to work with cloud need to be able to work around that.
2. Losing Control
It’s not just an emotional attachment to a server room that keeps companies from outsourcing data storage. It’s the fact that there’s an inherent feeling of security in having data under close control (assuming there’s some kind of remote backup, of course).
Removing the need for mass localised storage clearly has some cost benefits, but for a generation of system administrators and support staff brought up on a different way of working, it’s a change that rings some alarm bells. One in particular: trusting an external source for working data. Because what happens if access drops? If someone loses said data? Even appreciating the inherent securities that cloud computing offers, there’s a leap of faith, and an element of uncertainty (along with a loss of transparency), that creeps in when data management is moved out of the immediate control of an IT department.
3. Change
Tying into the idea of loss of control and taking that one stage further, people fear change. It’s interesting that in a fast moving industry such as IT, that nonetheless holds true. They don’t tend to fear upgrades – a jump from Office 2003 to Office 2007 rarely brings someone out in spots – rather a wholesale alteration in the way systems are supposed to work.
It’s hard not to have some sympathy with this. In many organisations, information technology is a tool, a means to do a job, and nothing more than that. There’s a strong argument that the software industry in particular has become adept at selling upgrades and alterations that we don’t actually need, or that don’t make a working difference to daily life. Thus, when one comes along that does, reticence is hardly surprising.
Persuading people to alter the way that they’ve done things for years, whether attempted via carrot or stick, is rarely a straightforward battle. And just persuading key decision makers, and their staff, to embrace cloud computing can be a heck of a job in itself.
Even the best deployed cloud solution might therefore still be a bit of a bumpy ride.
4. Security
When data is being looked after by another party, it’s right and proper that security issues are raised. Every business has confidential information that it likes to keep behind closed doors, and the fear that cloud computing could make such material more vulnerable isn’t one that can be ignored.
Yet recent times have seen that the biggest source of confidential document leaks is more likely to have been a misplaced USB stick, or utilising unsecured connections to trade material. Reputable cloud service providers view security as pivotal to what they offer and, with the added help of a bit of common sense, there’s a strong argument that most businesses would benefit from more robust security if they do migrate to a cloud service.
5. Cloud Outage
Clearly, this is a very real and sensible concern. There’s no computer network in the world that doesn’t have the risk of downtime at some point in its life. However, there’s still the comfort blanket of being able to yell at an IT department, and get up-to-the-minute information when it’s a self-hosted computer network that’s at the heart of the problem.
What happens, though, when that’s taken out into a cloud environment? Who gets the earbashing then? And more to the point, what happens when a cloud service a business is relying on goes down, even for a short period? With localised working, even without a network, having some machines with working productivity software installed at least means things can get done.
What’s often forgotten in the midst of this argument, though, is that a cloud service stands a good chance of having a working, operational backup called into action quickly. Furthermore, accepting the aforementioned potential for problems with any network, one by-product of cloud adoption is that the maintenance and repair of problems is also outsourced. Granted, there’s an element of double-edged sword to that, but it nonetheless presents a viable opportunity for savings. Plus, there’s every incentive for any service provider to ensure maximum uptime.
6. The Bill
Where things stand now, there are some obvious economical benefits to adopting cloud services: the reduction in dependency on in-house IT; the outsourcing of data management and security; the saving, potentially, on draconian software licences, and battling to keep hardware performance up to date.
Yet the future is uncertain. Technology is littered with examples of new innovations and developments that were initially designed to reduce costs, and yet many businesses are still investing heavily in their IT budgets.
Some valid questions arise about cloud computing, then. Is it offering value for money? What guarantees are in place that pricing won’t slide upwards as businesses become more and more dependant on cloud services? Is this just software companies trying to get us to switch to a subscription system for licences, and thus the longer term cost may actually be higher?
These are appropriate questions, often with no immediate, appropriate answer. There’s an element of leap of faith, and an element of locking down a good service contract. But cast iron guarantees? They’re, unsurprisingly, sadly lacking. And for firms with razor-tight balance sheets, that has to be an issue.
7. It’s Too Early
Even accepting the comparable maturity of some elements of cloud-based working (many, for instance, trust their e-mail to a webmail service with little worry), there’s still a general feeling, rightly or wrongly, that this is still an area of computing that’s in its infancy. Let’s not forget, too, that lots of ‘next big things’ have gone on to be anything but. As such, many businesses are holding back from adopting cloud services, as they wait to see how the assorted offerings evolve and develop, and as they let others do the pathfinding for them.
There’s always some sense to not moving business critical operations to areas where you’d be an early adopter (although cloud adoption can, and should, be done piecemeal), and there’s a feeling that the wrinkles need to be resolved in cloud services before more and more firms embrace the potential on offer.
Yet, there’s a degree of obvious myth to the argument that the services are immature. Rather, that the attempt to package them up and sell them has changed, and is arguably in some degree of infancy. Do the thinking and the technology back it up? That might just have more pedigree than some suspect.
8. Lemmings
Much of the discussion surrounding cloud computing has implicit assumptions built into it. That it’s the right thing to do. That it’s the logical next step in business technology. That it’s a question of when, rather than if, a company should take advantage of cloud computing. In much the same way that Microsoft used to assume that everybody would upgrade their copy of Windows within a couple of years of Microsoft releasing a new version, there’s an impression sometimes put across the cloud computing is borderline compulsory.
But, of course, it isn’t. And there’s a strong debate regarding whether the argument that cloud is the future has been convincingly made. Because, while there are potentially massive benefits to what’s being offered, there’s no one-size-fits-all mentality here. Is cloud computing really the right option for a small business of two or three people? Is it the right way forward for a large organisation, with hundreds of employees in different locations?
There are strong cases to be made in both instances there that the answer is yes (again, down to the fact that you can choose what works for you). But that doesn’t mean that the case doesn’t have to be made. The benefits of the cloud have to be defined, be tangible, and be presented properly. It’s the users who tumble over the cliff to follow the crowd who’ll, inevitably, hit problems, and fail to reap the full, intended benefits of what the cloud can offer.
9. What, Actually, Is It?
Arguably one of the biggest challenges facing cloud computing is this: how, exactly, do you define it? Because already, different service providers will describe cloud products in very different ways. There doesn’t appear to be one, unanimous working definition as to just what cloud computing is, and without that, packaging up and selling the benefits to organisations is made that bit more difficult. That’s even before said organisations have considered rolling it out to their employees.
Furthermore, part and parcel of the cloud of uncertainties surrounding cloud computing is the argument over standards. There’s no solid, common and obvious foundation for cloud services to build upon. Like it or lump it, people know where they are with a Windows operating system, a copy of Lotus Notes and some variant of an office suite. But what such common, unifying tools exist in the cloud? There’s not, at this stage, an obvious, dominant player in the market, and for companies looking for a big brand name to trust, that does have to come into their thinking.
Until cloud computing can be defined in a manner that’s as understandable as an operating system or an office suite (and arguably, it can be defined as both), it’s going to create some uncertainty in firms as to what exactly they’re being sold, and how it allows them to work with others.
10. Human Beings
At the heart of every significant problem to do with technology lies the same factor: a human being. History has proved time and time again that you can have an IT infrastructure that’s seemingly tight and secure, and it’s a simple human slip that’s opened up an element of risk. Furthermore, a human being that doesn’t full understand, or doesn’t want to understand, what it is that they’re being presented with, will always cause some degree of problem.
Realistically, of course, every issue we’ve discussed here has a human at the heart of it, or a fear of what a human can and inevitably will do when given the keys to something new and different (and that’s just one individual: the potential dangers multiply exponentially when humans hunt in packs).
It’s the insurmountable problem. It’s why many businesses are keen to retain the technological status quo they currently possess, in that it keeps the human/technology balance in a position that it’s migrated to over a period of time.
Bluntly, there’s little in life that works that a single human being can’t damage. And, combined with the assorted other threats that surround cloud computing, it’s the fear of what humans can do with it that ultimately pushes some firms back from making the jump.
Mind you, if fear was a reason for not doing something, there’s a compelling argument that very little would be done at all…
Steve Cassidy is a consultant specialising in re-engineering networks at all scales of businesses. His affinity for crisis management can be traced back to his career path through N M Rothschild & Sons, where he gained an understanding how people use technology,. Despite the temptation to view subsequent challenges as an anticlimax, Steve has been writing about managing and design networks for the last 18 years. His mix of experience in market economics, project finance, network and telecommunications technologies has informed decision makers in firms of a wide range of sizes and sectors.
