Business units are creating silos by bypassing IT and using public cloud services. Here's how CIOs can create order.

Judith Hurwitz, President & CEO, Hurwitz & Assoc.

November 15, 2013

1 Min Read

The bottom line: smoothing out the silos
The success or failure of your cloud strategy will depend largely on having the right balance between oversight and control. Cloud silos are so easy to set up that they tend to expand at a rapid pace. The goal of IT management is to find ways to accept the inevitable but provide the guidance and tools to break down the silos. There are some pragmatic ways to do that:

  • Focus first on automation of routine functions and policies. Cloud services will become the way new users gain access to the services they need. Cloud management services backed by service automation will help keep users satisfied and make sure that users have the right level of security and that critical data is protected.

  • Become the gateway to partner with the business. Business units that want to move fast to establish new services will work collaboratively with IT when IT offers the most practical and cost-effective solution. If IT can manage which services are used based on need, silos become less of a problem.

  • Begin to deliberately map out well-designed cloud services that will address business needs.

As IT begins to understand both the pitfalls and benefits of cloud services and the new silos they're going to create, IT organizations can become agents of change. The new silos, like the old, are simply a symptom of the ever-changing technology landscape and the need to compete.

Want to relegate cloud software to edge apps or smaller businesses? No way. Also in the new, all-digital Cloud Software: Where Next? special issue of InformationWeek: The tech industry is rife with over-the-top, groundless predictions and estimates. (Free registration required.)

About the Author(s)

Judith Hurwitz

President & CEO, Hurwitz & Assoc.

Judith Hurwitz leads Hurwitz & Associates, which is an enterprise software strategy and consulting firm focused on emerging technologies including cloud computing, big data, security, service management, and distributed computing.

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