Getting interoperability right to reap cloud computing benefits

The majority of organisations that use cloud services over the next couple of years will be doing so through a mixture of cloud services procured from multiple vendors and their own traditionally-hosted systems. Interoperability, or how legacy IT and cloud services must work together, is key to smart organisations succeeding. Compared to other issues associated with the implementation of cloud computing (such as security), interoperability is not an area that has so far received much attention from the press.

Organisations contemplating using cloud computing need to get interoperability right to reap the benefits.

CIOs need to ensure that:

• the quality of transfer data is maintained when existing corporate systems are talking with external (cloud) services

• cloud services work with existing corporate systems in a seamless group – for example, if the external service is updated, it doesn’t interfere with the way corporate systems work

• multiple cloud providers function together.

Cloud services are going to evolve rapidly over the next few years. Organisations need to establish that interoperability can be maintained between the various components of a solution, even though those components are no longer directly under their control.

To speak to a PA expert about how to integrate cloud computing into your organisation, please contact us now.