Here are my notes on the fourth of four panels I attended at the MIT CIO symposium. See MIT Sloan CIO Symposium: Part One: The Virtual Organization for the introduction to this series

Moderator: Mr. Brian Watson, Editor in Chief, CIO Insight. Brian said that the cloud is a hot topic but there seems to still be a lot of uncertainty. He asked the panel where we will be in the cloud in a year. What are biggest barriers?

Mr. Ron Markezich, Corporate VP, Microsoft Online. The cloud is a marketing term and we tend to distrust these terms but it will grow. There is a misconception that everything will move to the cloud but it will be a long period. It is an option to use but not the total solution. One barrier now is a comfort level. Another technology barrier are the legacy applications in place. Less of a barrier is network access. You do not have use a browser for everything on the Web, email is an example.

The term cloud is being over used by vendors because it is a hot topic. We need to define it within your organization so business leaders are not confused.

It is more than just saving money. If you only focus on cost reduction, you miss the innovation opportunity. He provided an example of a CEO being able to blog to employees to establish a closer connection on a global basis.

You want your cloud service provider to be in business for the long term and expanding their service offerings.

Mr. Ed Bugnion, VP, Cisco. He offered the quote, “the faster the computer, the longer it takes to log in” and said this applies now. The cloud provides  a transformation of data centers to a virtual environment, from fixed resources to a more fluid environment. The necessary building blocks are a presence of reliable infrastructure, the use of virtualization, and the need for scale to meet demand. IT people spend so much time keeping existing stuff running so it is appealing to move that chore for new stuff to someone else. 

Mr. Emil Sayegh, GM Mosso, Rackspace Cloud. Emil said in a year most CIOs will have looked at the cloud. There will also be the outsource issue and whether it is done in a cloud environment.  The world will be a combination of cloud and on-premise. Many applications are not written for the cloud so there are migration issues. Also government regulations do not allow cloud options for some applications. Emil encouraged CIOs to experiment with the cloud. They will see ways to save money.

Emil gave an example of effective use of the cloud. The week before the US Presidential election the major TV channels came to his firm to set up temporary infrastructure to support web sites for up surge during election.  The flexibility of the cloud and ability for short-term commitments are a big plus in this economy to convince CEOs.

The strongest value proposition is the ability to get started quickly. You can get a quick start and do not have to deal with legacy. Twitpic is an example. Twitpic used their services. They got the picture capture capability all around the world right away.

Mr. Bill Rogers, CIO and VP of Information Technology, Goss International. About a year ago Bill moved some non-mission critical applications to the cloud. It was easier to do and he saved money. It is a new business model for customers of IT and one that can be painful. He sees the cloud just for non-mission critical applications.

Some CIOs just need to step up and lead the way but they need a compelling business case. Energy costs savings can be one ROI driver. He is pleased that cloud providers only asked for 30 day notice of discontinuing. He also had a path to put data back on his servers if needed so Bill felt less risk and good flexibility. There needs to be a standard definition of the cloud.  Too many are floating around.