Why Businesses Move To the Cloud: They Hate IT

jfruhlinger writes "Cloud services can be unreliable and pricey, and they often duplicate capabilities larger companies already have in-house. So why do many managers within organizations use them? Partly because they don't want to deal with their own company's IT department. Getting a big project started is often such a politically fraught process that for many managers it's easier to simply write a check."

Re:Of course

[dkleinsc]

I take it you've never worked in an organization that worked something like this:

Manager: "I need a perfect solution to the Traveling Salesman Problem - I just signed a 7-figure contract saying we'd provide that in 2 weeks."
IT: "There's no way to do this, we've got lots of papers and well-known theory that proves that this is a problem the best mathematical and scientific minds that have ever existed in the last 50 years aren't able to solve."
Manager: "Just get it done, ok? Look, there's a lot of money riding on this."

2 weeks later ...
Manager: "So where's that Traveling Salesman Problem solution I asked for?"
IT: "It's not ready yet. As I previously mentioned, it's a virtual impossibility."
Manager: "Keep at it - we can run over, it will penalize us in the contract a bit. Work overtime, stay in the office, do whatever else you need to do, until it's done."

4 weeks later ...
Manager: "So why isn't this Traveling Salesman Problem ready?"
IT: "As I previously mentioned, there's no way to do this."
Manager: "Your fired."

Re:Duh

[datapharmer]

Use that to your advantage. I have a client that has downsized their IT department out of existence. It is now completely outsourced to me and "the cloud". The reason? It would take literally *years* of arm twisting to get anything done internally.... there was always a reason it couldn't be done. Sometimes (but only sometimes) the reasons were legitimate. The difference between the IT staff that got fired and me, is when it could be done I did it and completed things on schedule. When it couldn't be done I told them why and provided other options. If they have an unrealistic expectation tell them that, but also tell them what their alternatives are: spend more money now, use "cloud" (aka rented) resources ad pay later. Show them the cost projections for the service versus the acquisition for 1 year versus 3 or 5 years. The company I mentioned earlier now uses a combination of hosted/cloud services and (locally) outsourced IT to manage their internal infrastructure. Their costs are a fraction of what they were 3 years ago, and I guarantee if you ask anyone there they will tell you that they are happier with the quality, reliability and types of services they have now versus 3 years ago. Sure some companies are run by morons who will save a buck now and find themselves in a nice steaming pile of IT infrastructure meltdown later, but a decent number of companies are just tired of lazy, socially inept IT employees holding back the entire company.

Re:Of course

[KingMotley]

Yes, finding work in IT is easy, if you aren't lazy. As a consultant over the past 7 years, there has only been once instance where after I left a contract it took more than 72 hours to be working at another. Quite often it was less than 24, and usually with multiple offers sitting on the table.

Besides, "the cloud" companies need IT too you know.