IT management needs to embrace cloud computing

Not enough organisations are incorporating cloud computing into their IT service management (ITSM) frameworks, according to UXC Consulting, in conjunction with the annual IT Service Management Forum.

UXC Consulting’s survey results show that only 4.5 percent of Australian businesses have the cloud service model built into their ITSM framework, which now includes an assortment of company-owned equipment and bring-your-own devices including laptops, netbooks, tablets and smartphones.

The last 12 months has seen a shift in the way businesses are consuming or are planning to consume IT services, said David Favelle, UXC Consulting’s director for Emerging Technology & Innovation.

He says cloud computing is becoming an increasingly popular option in light of organisations’ current technology investment, security and risk appetite as well as other drivers such as agility, flexibility and the ability to correlate business outcomes with the direct costs.

However, aspects of cloud computing have not always penetrated the ITSM framework, said Favelle. “Cloud technologies have already become part of many businesses’ existing IT service portfolio, but the next steps will require deeper architectural consideration and impact assessment on the current IT operating model and workforce skills.”

This may involve organisational projects moving from legacy systems to operation via cloud computing. “Cloud computing is a disruptive technology shift with a growing inevitability, and it exposes an IT department’s ability to deliver an end-to-end service offering,” Favelle noted.

“Inhouse processes such as financial management, capacity management, information security management and availablity management are not up to speed if you compare it to SaaS [software-as-a-service] or IaaS [infrastructure-as-a-service] offerings. Cloud is as much a call to action for our on-shore IT industry as it is a new delivery model.”

He said the survey feedback indicates that the IT industry needs to accelerate development of some core ITSM disciplines.