A close look at cloud computing's transformational role in business

Covering cloud computing from what the business leader needs to know, this book describes how IT can nimbly ramp up revenue initiatives, positively impact business operations and costs, and how this allows business leaders to shed worry about technology so they can focus on their business. It also reveals the cloud's effect on corporate organization structures, the evolution of traditional IT in the global economy, potential benefits and risks of cloud models and most importantly, how the IT function is being rethought by companies today who are making room for the coming tidal wave that is cloud computing.

• Why IT and business thinking must change to capture the full potential of cloud computing
• Topics including emerging cloud solutions, data security, service reliability, the new role of IT and new business organization structures
• Other titles by Hugos include: Business Agility: Sustainable Prosperity in a Relentlessly Competitive World and Essentials of Supply Chain Management, 2nd Edition

Practical and timely, this book reveals why it's worth every company's time and effort to exploit cloud computing's potential for their business's survival and success.

Whether you like it or not, information technology is now mission-critical to every step your business takes. Unlike a few years ago when we left technology to the geeks, computing now gushes from the invisible woodwork and is covering the global psyche with a sea of expectations. Consumers, business-to-business customers—even your own employees—expect your products and services to cater to a technology-spoiled society. In business, only those who adapt to this ubiquitous, always-on technology will survive. Cloud computing has emerged as a pivotal driver in this equation.

In Business in the Cloud, authors Michael Hugos and Derek Hulitzky draw on their experience in business and technology to illustrate how cloud computing can transform your organization while they clearly define the many financial and efficiency benefits of this new computing model. They show how it can be quickly rolled out, scaled up to handle increased volume if business takes off, or easily scaled back to cut costs if business changes. It allows companies to replace capital expenses with operating expenses, and enables companies to directly align operating expenses with revenue to protect cash flow and operating profits. A critical lynchpin to any organization operating in high change, unpredictable environments, cloud computing ultimately allows companies to focus their technology energies and investments on what matters most. By moving some applications and services to the cloud, it allows businesses to concentrate on devising even newer ways to find customers and profits.

Loaded with case studies and insights from industry thought leaders and practitioners, Business in the Cloud explores:

• The new role of information technology
• A renewed focus on using technology for profit and competitive advantage
• Using the cloud for business advantage
• A cloud-based model for business organizations
• Implications of the transition to cloud computing
• Key technologies used in cloud computing
• What to look for in a good service provider
• Cyber threats and perimeter security in cloud computing
• Public, private, and hybrid clouds
• Five profit enablers driving business to the cloud
• New economic engines for growth
• Real-time global collaboration
• New realities and new opportunities

As a business leader, do you know what cloud computing is? Do you feel compelled to understand it? You should. With constantly changing technologies to choose from, cloud computing is the bridge across a sea of change where every company now weaves technology into their communications, products, and processes. Experts agree that cloud computing is the largest revolution in decades in how people and companies will consume and use technology. And every business leader—not just the CIO—needs to understand it.

Designed for business leaders to absorb the often-vague concept of cloud computing, Business in the Cloud delivers a critical foundation to not only understand it, but also put it to work.