Cloud Computing Is Affecting IT Acquisitions Management

¶ … Cloud Computing Is Affecting IT Acquisitions Management

One of the most disruptive technologies affecting IT Acquisitions Management is Cloud Computing. This disruption is not only technological, it is also economic in that the business models of enterprise software are changing drastically from being budgeted for as a Capital Expense (CAPEX) to being part of operating expense (OPEX) (Marston, Li, Bandyopadhyay, Zhang, Ghalsasi, 2011). This is also changing the purchasing and deployment cycles of enterprise software, leading to applications being up and running in a fraction fo the time needed to install and implement on-premise or server-based software (Rose, 2011).

Disruptions Begins At The User Level and Progress to the Architecture

Enterprise software developed and delivered as part of an on-premise application suite is typically very difficult to customize to the user's specific needs over time. It is expensive to completely change a given process workflow or create an entirely new series of screens for example. With cloud computing-based platforms however, it is relatively easy to change the look and navigation of an application, making it more adaptable to the way users work now and in the future (Marston, Li, Bandyopadhyay, Zhang, Ghalsasi, 2011). This immediately makes cloud-based applications more adaptable and used throughout an organization, driving up the Return on Investment (ROI) while also ensuring they contribute to the goals of the enterprise more effectively.

A second aspect of how cloud computing is disrupting IT Acquisitions Management is in the area of scalability relative to organizational needs. Cloud architectures including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others are specifically designed to support a wide variation in the number of users supported, being able to flex or scale from small to very large numbers of users quickly and transparently (Rose, 2011). This aspect of scalability is also critically important for large-scale enterprise applications including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems as well, which have also begun to be implemented on cloud-based architectures.

The migration of ERP and enterprise-level systems onto cloud-based platforms is also changing the speed and quality of data generated and used throughout the organization for decision-making (Rose, 2011). No longer do organizations need to be constrained in their ability to get the latest real-time information on what is happening with their dealers, distributor or suppliers, as cloud-based applications can streamline integration to other partners via secured connections over the Internet.